A Romford man who has lived in an abandoned bin shed says Havering Council will not offer him social housing, but won’t tell him why.

Leonard – not his real name – said he contacted the Recorder out of desperation after months of Havering Council not answering his questions.

Since being rescued from the street, he has spent years in a small room in a house of multiple occupation (HMO).

With that HMO now facing closure, Leonard hoped he might be moved to a flat.

Instead, he has been told he is only eligible for relocation to another HMO.

He says the council insists he does not meet the criteria for a council flat – but will not explain its reasoning.

When the Recorder asked on his behalf, the same thing happened.

“Under our borough’s allocations policy, Leonard is not entitled to council housing,” Havering told us.

When we asked why, it simply reiterated: “Leonard doesn’t meet the criteria as outlined in the policy.”

Homeless

“I don’t understand how they can say I’m not entitled to council housing,” said Leonard.

“They say you have to have lived in the borough for six years and have family connections. I have both of those, so I don’t get their logic.

“I was in their care from six months to 18 years old. Havering Social Services were my legal guardians.”

According to Leonard, now in his 50s, he has never moved away.

He became homeless a few years ago, when a long-term relationship came to an end.

He initially went to a homeless shelter, but left because some of the other residents made him uncomfortable.

Romford Recorder: Leonard said he lived for eight months in a bin shed on the Waterloo estate in Romford, before eventually seeking help from StreetlinkLeonard said he lived for eight months in a bin shed on the Waterloo estate in Romford, before eventually seeking help from Streetlink (Image: Charles Thomson)

Havering's Homelessness Crisis:

He slept rough instead, near the Waterloo estate.

 “They were knocking the flats down and I found an old building made out of bricks,” he said.

“I put a bed in there and some carpet tiles on the floor and a little gas cooker. I lived in there for about eight months.”

But eventually he rang Streetlink, which helps people off the streets and into accommodation.

HMO

Streetlink referred Leonard to Havering Council, which found him a room in a HMO in Harold Hill. That was three years ago.

“I’m living in a bedroom,” he said.

“There’s not even a chair in the room. Just a single bed, a wardrobe and a chest of drawers.”

He does not even have his own bathroom.

Once, he claimed, a fight between two occupants over whose turn it was to use the cooker in the shared kitchen ended when one stabbed the other with a knife.

He doesn’t want to continue living in HMOs any longer than is necessary.

In November, he thought maybe the time had come to move on to a one-bedroom flat, when he received a letter from the council.

It said his current HMO was closing, so he would have to leave within four weeks.

Romford Recorder: Leonard has lived for three years in a Harold Hill HMO, sleeping in a single bed and without his own toiletLeonard has lived for three years in a Harold Hill HMO, sleeping in a single bed and without his own toilet (Image: Charles Thomson)

Unanswered questions

But, he said, the council told him he was only eligible for a room in another HMO.

It has never explained why he is not eligible for social housing.

“I rang up and asked them for the criteria,” he claimed.

“Everything they said, I met. So I said to them, ‘Why do I not meet the criteria, then’? They hung up on me.”

It has been months now since he received the letter about his HMO closing, but he has still not been given a new address.

“Not one person’s rung me up and had a decent conversation with me,” he said.

“All they want to do is get rid of you. They make everything so hard that a lot of people would just give up.”

Council

“We are currently working with Leonard to make sure he has somewhere suitable to live after he moves from his current accommodation,” said Paul McGeary, Labour cabinet member for housing.

“Making sure it is the right place does take some time.

“He will be able to stay where he is until such time as we find a new place for him.”

The council still did not explain why Leonard was not eligible for social housing.