A family of seven who are living in a three-bedroom house say they have been “fobbed off” by the council over their cramped living conditions.
Corroll Pereira, his wife and five sons, moved to the property in the Kenley area of Croydon in October last year.
However, with members of the family having a range of complex needs, Corroll insists they should be a priority case for getting a larger property and says the current shortage of space is having a “detrimental” effect on them.
Corroll, 53, has had multiple hernia operations and is a full-time carer for his 40-year-old wife, who has epilepsy and anxiety disorder.
Their son James, eight, has learning difficulties; nine-year-old Hayden has ADHD, autism and anger issues; Thomas, 14, has ADHD and sleeping difficulties, while 16-year-old Kayne has autism and Ashley, 19, has trouble sleeping.
Corroll told MyLondon : "We know that that there's no miracle five-bedroom mansion that's going to come out and be thrown at us. We know that.
“But it's the fact that we keep being fobbed off. We get the 'we've housed you' attitude. We should be in the highest priority band with Croydon Council because [we] are overcrowded - medically and physically."
The family previously lived in Crawley, also in a three-bedroom house.
A specialist ADHD nurse practitioner treating Thomas supported their bid to move to Croydon, to be nearer to other family, saying that living in a three-bedroom property was having a detrimental impact on Thomas' condition.
However, Croydon Council only offered them a three-bedroom property once again.
The family at one time considered putting a bed in the kitchen for Thomas, so that he can be on his own, an option which their ADHD nurse specialist advised against due to the potential safety risk.
Thomas has also been getting into trouble at school for not doing homework, despite his dad saying that's because they have no space to do so.
"Thomas often goes to sleep at 1am, or wakes everyone up, turn the lights on in the middle of the night. The doctor said that if we want to manage his sleeping patterns, the only way we're going to do that is if he had his own space.
“Meanwhile, Hayden will bang his head against the wall until he is bleeding as he gets frustrated.
“He has to sleep in our room because there's nowhere else, so he often can't sleep because we are in the bedroom."
Corroll added that he is struggling with his own mental health as a result of managing the family's conditions and being a full-time carer, a job which means he can't go back to work.
He said: "There's nowhere in the house to sit and think, 'oh, I could put my feet up and sit and enjoy this space for 10 minutes'.
“I am a full-time carer. I wouldn't change that for the world. But obviously sometimes I want respite.
“If seven people were 'normal' people in this property, it would probably would be OK.
“You could probably live with it. Because of all the medical conditions and the learning difficulties and the all the the other issues that's where it's becomes a problem."
The family are now trying to move out of the borough, with a view to obtaining a bigger property more suited to their needs.
A Croydon Council spokesperson said: “This family successfully bid for this property in 2021 and were supported by the council in their move from Crawley.
“Larger families are able to bid for properties with one less bedroom than the recognised need due to limited supplies of four-bedroom and above properties.
“The family have said they now wish to move out of borough and we are supporting them with their move.”
