Homeless family of four forced to live in one Luton hotel room

A family of four has been left living in a single hotel room after becoming homeless.

Rubel ali Chowdhury and Yasmin Akhtar, along with their two young children, were given temporary accommodation by Luton Council following an eviction from their previous home at the start of the month. The couple and their two children under the age of five have been housed in the Hampton by Hilton Hotel.

Rubel says being in the hotel is impacting his children, who have become ill – and he says being all in one room is affecting his five-year-old son – making him sleepy at school as his baby sister cries at night. Rubel said: "It is uncomfortable. It is fine for adults, but we need a house for the kids.”

A spokesperson for Luton Borough Council said: “We sympathise with the situation faced by this family and all those facing homelessness. We are working hard with our partners to find long-term accommodation for those that need it.” They explained that there is a desperate shortage of housing in the town, and the ongoing cost of living crisis and the continuing after-effects of the Covid pandemic have made the problems even worse.

The spokesperson continued: “We are working hard to increase the number of homes available, including building new homes such as those we recently opened at Lodden Mews, Morris Close, Melsetter Mews and Denham Close and we are working with all our suppliers to get as many new properties as possible for all those currently in bed and breakfast accommodation in the hotel.”

Being unable to cook food is becoming an issue as Rubel said: "We eat restaurant food. I'm getting sick. I need my home food.”

The council spokesperson added: “However, we still need more homes and we currently have no alternative than to use emergency accommodation such as bed and breakfast in hotels while we find families more suitable homes. This family has been in the hotel for three weeks and unfortunately, we have families who have been in the hotel for longer and our priority is to move them out as soon as possible. We hope to be able to offer them suitable accommodation soon.”