A mother-of-two has been forced to sleep with her daughter in their living room for over a year after a London council put the homeless family in a one-bed flat.
Sonia Monteiro, 44, is taking Hackney council to court over their cramped living conditions, which she says are disrupting her children’s sleep and ability to do schoolwork.
Ms Monteiro and her 12-year-old daughter are sleeping on beds set up in the living room-kitchen area, and they struggle to sleep because of a loud extractor fan. The pair are also disrupted if her 17-year-old son, who sleeps in the only bedroom, needs to use the kitchenette.
Ms Monteiro, who works as a cleaner, said the family are “living on top of each other”.
“My children fight when my son disturbs my daughter. We just need enough space so we can live in peace”, she added.
Housing support worker Elizabeth Wyatt is worried that if the overcrowding is deemed acceptable in the courts then it will “have huge consequences for all homeless families”.
Ms Wyatt, from Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth, added: “London is facing the biggest homeless crisis in generations, with record numbers of children growing up in squalid temporary accommodation. Temporary accommodation standards and conditions are already appalling with homeless families having very few rights.
“Instead of going to court to undermine homeless rights, the council should be using their resources to find the best possible temporary accommodation homes while fighting alongside their residents for the high-quality council homes we need to end the housing crisis.”
Hackney council said that, while it wants to provide every family in their area with a good, permanent home, it is forced to rely on temporary accommodation to house homeless families.
There were 336,366 households on London local authority waiting lists for social housing in 2024, a 10-year high. The London Councils’ group also estimates that more than 183,000 people are currently homeless and living in council-provided temporary accommodation in the capital.
Ms Monteiro, whose words were translated from Portuguese by her friend Teresa, told The Independent: “I’ve told them that the place is not suitable for us, but the council is saying that it is. My son sometimes has to come in to the kitchen to use the table to study, as he doesn’t have a table in his room. He has to use the light to study and that disrupts us, sometimes he is just using the light of the phone.”
She added: “The conditions are really hard for all of us, especially my daughter. All this time she has not had her own space and it is really stressful for her. She doesn’t have a quiet place to study because we are living on top of each other.
“I feel like the council are using the legal process to keep us there as long as possible. It is stressful going to court and you feel like you are doing something wrong but I have no choice but to go through the legal process.”
Ms Monteiro came to the UK from Portugal in 2020 to find work as a cleaner and has settled immigration status here. The family was initially staying with her sister who lives in London, but they couldn’t stay with her indefinitely and were made homeless over two years ago.
They were initially living in a hostel, before being moved into a different council flat. They were then moved to their current flat, which they have been in for just over a year, Ms Monteiro said. Her 12-year-old daughter, who did not want to be named, said: “In the first temporary flat we lived in there were a lot of mice and no privacy for nobody. But when we moved, I thought it would be better, but it is still the same.
“We don’t have enough space. My older brother has his own room, but me and my mum don’t. Even though we are both girls, we want our privacy. We sleep right next to the kitchen area.”
Ms Monteiro said she also receives housing benefit, universal credit and child benefit to support the family. “I hope that the court makes a positive decision for us. My daughter will be studying for her GCSEs soon and she needs privacy,” she added.
Hackney council said it could not comment on the specifics of the court case, but said: “We always want to provide every family in Hackney with a good, permanent home. Unfortunately, due to the severe housing crisis, we often have to rely on temporary accommodation to support households who come to us as homeless while we help them find a long-term solution.
“That’s why we’re investing in more council-owned temporary housing, where we can better control the conditions and standards. The space and size standards for temporary accommodation are clearly defined by law, to which we fully adhere.”
