A family of ten claim they are being ‘neglected’ despite being offered a new five-bed home and receiving more than £100,000 a year in benefits.
Arnold Mballe Sube, his wife Jeanne, both 33, and their children live in a three-bedroom, end-of-terrace home in Luton, Bedfordshire – which they describe as ‘the worst place they’ve ever lived’.
The couple turned down two homes thought to be worth between £250,000-£270,000 – and are demanding a property with at least six double bedrooms.
While they waited to move into their current home, Luton Borough Council housed the family for almost four months at the town’s £160-per-night Hampton by Hilton hotel, costing £38,400.
The family say they are being neglected by the local authority despite turning down a five-bed home. Pictured, one of the homes offered to the family
They claim the conditions of their current home are ‘terrible’, but turned down the chance to live somewhere roomier , including this house (pictured), over a lack of storage space
During their stay at the hotel, the family ran up £21,000 in room service which they refused to pay, leaving the council to foot the bill.
The family have received annual hand-outs worth £44,000 since they arrived in the UK – made up of housing and child benefits, as well as child tax credits and NHS course payments.
Their hotel stay has pushed that total to more than £103,000 in the last 12 months.
Describing the family’s all-expenses-paid stay in the Hilton hotel, Mr Sube told the Sun: ‘We couldn’t cook. Children were eating on the carpet.
‘We were ordering room service, chicken and chips, Chinese food.
‘We had to order it twice per day for all the kids and all the family. The council said I had to pay a bill for living in the hotel. That was very traumatising because we didn’t ask for them to put us there.’
Mr Sube moved his family to Britain from France in 2012 so that he could study mental health nursing at the University of Bedfordshire.
The NHS agreed to fund the £27,000 degree for Mr Sube and he uses one of the bedrooms in the home as a gym/office, the Sun reported.
The family complains that they are living in overcrowded conditions with a lack of storage
The council offered the family a five bedroom home, but it was not suitable according to the family because the larger house did not have a dining room and was not large enough
Luton Borough Council housed the family in a hotel for four months before they moved inot their current home. Mr Sube moved from France to Britain in 2012 to study nursing
They claim the conditions of their current home are ‘terrible’, but turned down the chance to live somewhere roomier over a lack of storage space.
Mr Sube, 33, said: ‘Me and my family have been neglected, we are living in a three bedroom house and there’s not enough room for us to live – there’s ten of us.
‘It’s so cramped and the conditions are terrible, my children are starting school and we can’t stay here any longer – we need a bigger house.
‘The council is trying to make things hard for us, my wife is a full time mother and I am a student.
‘They’re just making excuses, we need a five or six bedroom house with double rooms to comfortably fit our family in.’
The family claim the conditions of their current home in Luton, Bedfordshire (pictured) are ‘terrible’, but turned down the chance to live somewhere roomier over a lack of storage space
Mr Sube said there are ten people in his family and they need sufficient space to live
Due to the size of their family, there is very little floor space left in the Suba family home
Their youngest daughter is just three-months old but even after viewing a new, five bedroom house, the family refused this property because of the lack of storage space.
Mr Sube added: ‘There wasn’t space for the things of ten people, it didn’t even have a dining room.’
A spokesman from Luton Borough Council said: ‘Housing stock in Luton, is under constant pressure and on occasions we may have to locate families temporarily outside of Luton.
‘Despite difficulties we managed to find Mr and Mrs Sube affordable housing in Luton that is large enough to house them and their eight children.
‘After a generous offer on our part, we have done our bit and if housing is offered and declined without, what we judge, good reason, then we will offer the property to another family.’
The couple insist they require at least six double bedrooms for them to live comfortably
Luton Borough Council said they were able to find a suitable house for the Sube family in the area within the budget, but they declined it ‘without good reason’
Mr Sube said he was a student and his wife was a full time mother for their eight children
Despite their cramped conditions, the Subes rejected the larger house due to its lack of space
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Source: Daily Mail