Voice Online
Friday September 1, 2023
Tower Hamlets council accused of keeping Black families in mould ridden flats
‘DEPRIORITISED’: Somali women protest outside Tower Hamlets Council offices; inset, mould in the flat of a Somali council tenant in the borough
SOMALIS IN east London claim they are being “deprioritised” for social housing over other ethnic groups.
Somali women have been protesting outside council offices in Tower Hamlets, which is run by a mayor and cabinet composed exclusively of Bangladeshi men.
Data seen by The Voice shows that just 217 Somali families have been given homes in the last five years.
The Somalis say many of their families with small children are stuck in substandard accommodation, including flats riddled with mould.
They accuse mayor Lutfer Rahman and his council of “institutional racism.”
Councils argue their housing allocation systems are ‘colourblind’ because offers are made purely on the basis of need.
Nadia, 37, told The Voice she has been on the housing waiting list for four years because of overcrowding and mould in her home.
The mum-of-five, a carer for her 85-year-old disabled mother with deteriorating heart failure, said the conditions in her flat were intolerable.
“Every time they come, [workers sent by the council], they wash [the walls], they paint over it, but the same problem is occuring.
“An inspector came to my house and said the brick is the problem and needs a lot of money to do this work and I don’t think the council will spend that kind of money.”
Nadia said the air she and her family are breathing in everyday is toxic and the smell from the damp and mould is “horrendous,” forcing her to open her windows even with the heating on.
She added: “When they found out the condition of the house was not liveable, they put me in emergency Band A; I am the first priority. So as a high priority, every house I bid for I’m number one, nobody is in front of me but every time I’m not getting the house.
“Someone is getting the house and I’m thinking, how does that work? I also emailed them, [Tower Hamlets council] and they would say something about my mum’s mobility, all these other stupid reasons. There is a big problem at Tower Hamlets.”
Tower Hamlets Council, which has over 30,000 social homes, is now facing the prospect of legal action from angry residents.
Freedom of Information requests found that between 2018 and 2023, 3,798 houses were given to Bengali residents, while 266 were offered to residents from African backgrounds, of which 217 are Somalis.
Rahman, a former Labour mayor who won power in 2018 with his Aspire party following the end of his ban from public office over a series of scandals, has been praised for his Socialist policies like free school meals.
But for some he remains controversial and his Aspire party was criticised for its lack of diversity. Labour’s Black and Asian councillors have flatly rebuffed Rahman’s overtures to join his cabinet made up of nine Bangladeshi men from Aspire.
The council said mayor Rahman was unavailable to speak to, but he had recently hired a Somali-heritage aide.
Ayaan, a mother-of-five a carer for her elderly mother, told The Voice she also cares for her 12-year-old son who has special needs while living in an unfit home.
“I’ve got a lot of issues. I’ve got mould, I’ve got damp [in the house] and ceilings leaking from my bedroom to the sitting room.
“We’re on the fourth floor with no lift, with special needs children and my other two children have health conditions. One has got skin disease, another’s got asthma.
“Every night she’s coughing constantly. I have to give her asthma pumps because of the damp and mould.”
Ayaan says she has now spent almost four years in temporary accommodation which has left her “emotionally, physically and socially broken down”.
Somalis, who make up two percent of the borough’s population, are being supported by local campaign group Coffee Afrique, who have held a series of meetings with council officials.
Abdirahim Hussain, a campaigner with the group, said: “Black citizens are being treated like second class citizens over the Bengali community in Tower Hamlets.”
“We’ve got a good core of women that are still really angry and fighting, and we’ve got some who are really exhausted and mentally broken,” he said.
“That really saddens me. The reality is this is what the system has been designed to do; to frustrate, for people to give up, but we are still going strong, but the question is for how long?”
Tower Hamlets said they had not received complaints over housing discrimination but would investigate any they received.
A council spokesperson said: “We have over 23,000 households on our housing register, and it is very important that our allocations process is fair to all residents.
“Housing allocations are prioritised based on those in most urgent housing need which never considers ethnic background as a factor, and applicants are placed into relevant bands in date order.
“There is an acute shortage of council homes in Tower Hamlets, particularly family-sized homes, and families in genuine housing need face long waits for suitable properties.
“Around one in six households in our borough are classed as overcrowded, which is three times the national average, and above the inner London average where overcrowding levels are typically high.
“Government policies like right-to-buy and restrictions on how much we can borrow to build means we face dwindling social housing stock.
“We have our own housebuilding programme and together with developers and housing associations are committed to building 4,000 social homes for rent, with a focus on three to four-bedroom homes.”
*Names have been changed to protect identity