A mother-of-four has described how her and her children are sharing beds in an overcrowded flat.
Omosivie Eze is trying to move out of her two-bedroom apartment in Newton Heath, which she has described as “horrible” for her four children. The 35-year-old has applied for a four-bedroom house from Manchester City Council but fears she could face a long wait to be rehomed.
The family moved into the private rented property in 2018 – the only home they could afford at the time. Omosivie sleeps in one bedroom with two children while the eldest are forced to share a bed in the second room.
The single mum says the lack of space is driving her family to breaking point and she is losing sleep over the ordeal. She says that her 15-year-old son finds their living situation so distressing he has threatened to run away from home.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Omosivie, who lives in the property with her children Emeka Junior, 15, Chiamka, 11 Ogechi, nine and Adaora, two, said: “He shares the same bed as his sister. When he turned 15, we were hoping we could have a bigger place and he could have his own bed.
“We’ve complained to the council loads of times. We applied for a four-bedroom house but they don’t have enough houses. I’ve tried to look into private rented housing loads of times but I can’t afford it.
“My second daughter sleeps in the same room with me but I managed to get a small bed for her,” she continued. “The little one sleeps in the bed with me.
“I’m really worried about my son because he’s still complaining that if we don’t get a bigger place he’s going to walk away. He’s only 15, when he’s at home he fights with his sister most of the time.
“I’m really depressed – very, very depressed. I don’t even sleep. The amount of time I sleep every day is two hours and I’m awake during the night. It’s so horrible. It’s really horrible.”
A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “Ms Eze has been placed in priority band 2 for rehousing, which recognises that her family are currently living in an overcrowded privately rented home. She requires a four-bedroom social property and has indicated that she does not wish to consider moving to another private rented home.
“Unfortunately, there are a high number of priority band 1 residents awaiting a four-bedroom property and this means people currently in band 2 will wait longer for a social home to become available.
“The City Council is committed to increasing the number of affordable and social homes in the city, including larger family homes, to meet growing demand and help to reduce the time residents are waiting for a home through the city’s social housing allocations system, Manchester Move.”
