Homeless Romford mum says council hotels costing her a fortune

To some, Christmas in a hotel might sound like a treat. But for Lauren Smith and her three children, it will just be more misery. 

The family has already spent months in emergency accommodation, shunted by Havering Council from one budget hotel to another.  

In July, Lauren’s washing machine caught fire while she was out. The blaze left the rented two-bedroom flat she and her children had called home for the past nine years uninhabitable. 

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• Havering Council left homeless families without cars in A127 Travelodge

“It was devastating,” she said. “Everything was flooded and black. The furniture was lost. Half the clothes were gone. All the kids’ toys were gone.” 

They stayed in some relatives’ spare room, Lauren sleeping on the floor, believing it would be temporary. 

Then they learned their landlord planned to sell the flat after it was fixed instead of renting it back out. 

Lauren arrived home one day in July to find firefighters damping down her Romford flat, after her washing machine caught fire (Image: Lauren Smith)

Lauren began looking for a new home. But, she said, despite contacting over 30 estate agents: “I couldn’t get any viewings. It was so difficult.” 

Deaf since birth, Lauren has struggled to find employment and receives benefits. As soon as she told this to estate agents, they said they couldn't help her. 

When she approached Havering Council, it suggested she expand her search to up to 60 miles away. 

But, said Lauren,: “My kids go to school in Romford.” She didn’t want to uproot their lives. 

Budget Hotels 

Eventually, the cramped arrangement with relatives became unsustainable. They had to move out.  

After two nights in which the family slept in Lauren's car, Havering Council put them in a Romford Travelodge. 

Even though she was no longer paying bills, her outgoings soared as she was unable to cook her own meals. 

“I’m spending more than I was when I was living in my own flat," she said. 

“I always watched my money. Now, every night I have to get takeaways.” 

With no fridge, Lauren tries to keep food and drink cool in her hotel rooms by standing them beside the window (Image: Lauren Smith)

From Romford, the family was moved to a Travelodge on the A127 in East Horndon, Brentwood, then to another near Lakeside shopping centre in Thurrock. 

“It was costing me £80 a week in petrol,” she said. “We were late every single day to school. I had asked them, ‘Please don’t put me anywhere far away because of the kids’ schools’.  

“When they said, ‘You’re going to Lakeside’, I said, ‘I can’t’. They said, ‘Well, if you don’t you will be taken off the register’.” 

Uncertainty 

The family is only allocated a room one week at a time. They find out each Wednesday where they will stay for the next seven nights. 

“The latest I’ve heard where I’ll be that night is at 5pm,” said Lauren. 

One Wednesday, she had to take her daughter to the hospital, where she had no phone signal. 

She emerged to find she was being moved. The hotel had removed all her belongings from her room and put them in clear plastic bags. 

Another Wednesday, she said, “I broke down in front of the school, not knowing where I was going that night. The teachers came out and comforted me."

Fortunately, they were moved back to the Romford Travelodge and have been there for several weeks.

But this is far from a stable environment for the family.

Lauren said: “Since we’ve been in hotels, the school has picked up that my son is suffering from anxiety. He was really getting upset in school. He’s always talking about how he doesn’t like living there.” 

Each time Lauren and her family are moved, they must take with them around 20 bags full of belongings, she said (Image: Lauren Smith)

She admits she debated whether to tell her story publicly. 

“But it’s got to a point now where it’s gone too far,” said Lauren. The council are not doing what they need to do. I haven’t heard from my case worker in about a month.” 

Council 

Cllr Paul McGeary, Havering’s Labour cabinet member for housing, said the council accepts that living week-by-week in hotels is “a horrible position for any family”. 

He said caseworkers were “very busy” amid a “London-wide housing crisis”, but “do get back to families as quickly as they can”. 

Requests for help with homelessness have hit “unprecedented” levels in Havering. 

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• Havering housing boss: 'Financial crisis will force vulnerable from homes'
• Extra £380k 'not enough' to tackle Havering homelessness surge

Rents are rising, but Havering’s Local Housing Allowance (LHA) – the government cap on what it can pay in rent for homeless families – is frozen, so fewer local properties are affordable. 

Cllr McGeary urged government to lift the LHA and increase Havering’s annual Homelessness Prevention Grant. 

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has already given Havering some extra funding. 

It said it was considering responses to a recent consultation on how to “ensure the most vulnerable are supported”.