10 per cent of families waiting for four bedroom accommodation in Tower Hamlets housed last year

The housing crisis engulfing Tower Hamlets saw fewer than 10 per cent of people on the waiting list for four bedroom social housing housed last year.

Only 134 of the 1,618 applicants for four bedroom social housing in the borough were catered for in 2012.

Just 16 of those families were placed in properties owned by Tower Hamlets Council directly - with other families being placed in homes run by housing associations.

Opposition councillors in Tower Hamlets criticised the borough’s Mayor Lutfur Rahman, claiming he is not doing enough to address the housing shortage - with the waiting list for new homes at 24,000.

Labour’s deputy for housing and planning Cllr John Pierce said: “The Mayor must do more to ensure that large families are being housed.

“He is always telling people how his number one priority is housing, but time and time again the facts just do not back up his claims.”

The figures come just weeks after Mayor Rahman performed a ‘U-turn’ over plans to sell off 12 council-owned houses, despite the continuing demand for homes for large families.

But a Council spokesperson insisted addressing the housing crisis remains a “top priority”.

“Delivering affordable family housing is a top priority for the council and we have consistently built more affordable homes per year than anywhere else in the country”, she said.

“Unlike other parts of the country, housing development did not stall in Tower Hamlets during the recession and we are committed to meeting our London Plan target of delivering 43,000 new homes between 2010 and 2025.”