The 59-year-old Bangladeshi migrant, who is fighting eviction from his retirement flat for bringing in his 28-year-old wife and three children, has revealed he wants to live in a larger taxpayer-funded property in exchange for leaving his current accommodation.
Shahidul Haque, who has lived in the UK since 1997 and claims benefits for sleep apnea and depression, moved into the single-room flat in David Smith Court, Reading, in July. He was previously homeless in east London.
Five months after moving in, he invited his 28-year-old wife Jakia Sultana Monni and their three-year-old daughters into the property to live with him – despite the complex being for over-55s.
Mr Haque claimed that he did not know that he couldn’t move his young family into the flat, because he did not speak enough English to understand his tenancy agreement.
Then, after complaints about “excess noise levels and anti-social behaviour”, the owners of the retirement home began legal proceedings to remove Mr Haque.
But lawyers for the disabled dad claimed that removing him and his family would contravene Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which upholds the right to a family life.
Judge Simon Lindsey at Reading County Court denied Southern Housing’s possession order, saying: “Fundamentally, I think the defendant probably should not be in this property with his wife and two children, but the question of how he came to be in this place appears to be unresolved and we have to get to that another time.”
Now, speaking to the Daily Mail, Mr Haque says his family needs a larger place to live in. He said: “When I filled out the tenancy agreement, I was on my own and I moved into the flat alone. I didn’t know that I couldn’t move my wife and children in months later. My English is not so good and nothing was explained to me in any detail.
“Southern Housing cannot just throw us out. We have to stay here, because we have nowhere else to go. What we really need is a bigger home. This property isn’t suitable for a family. It’s too small, it’s only for a single person.”
Isobel Ballsdon, a Conservative councillor on Reading Borough Council, branded the whole situation “outrageous”.
“It seems this person is gaming the system,” she told the outlet. “Accommodation for people who are retired is not going to be suitable for children. It’s also a question of fairness – we have veterans who are homeless.”