Shadwell fatal flat fire: Survivors say they are at risk of homelessness

Tower Hamlets Council has been providing hotel accommodation for 17 survivors of the fire

Survivors of a fatal flat fire in east London say they are at risk of becoming homeless.

Tower Hamlets Council has been providing hotel accommodation for 17 survivors of the fire on Cornwall Street, Shadwell, on 5 March.

The accommodation is due to end on 24 April.

The council said it had spent "around £100,000" helping the men despite no "legal obligation to offer this continued accommodation and support".

None of the men have been able to find a new place to live since the fire in Maddocks House in March.

Ehsan Ahmed Chowdhury, who is living in the hotel, said: "We're still trying to get back on our feet."

Father-of-two Mizanur Rahman, 41, died after the fire. About 18 men of Bangladeshi origin were living in the three-roomed flat at the time.

• Criminal investigation launched after fatal fire

The cause of the fire remains under investigation and the landlord has denied any wrongdoing.

An LFB spokesperson said it was believed the fire was caused by "a lithium-ion battery" for an e-bike.

From left: Shahed Ahmed, Ehsan Ahmed Chowdhury, Dipon Chandra Nath, Nazmush Shahadat

The 17 men have received a "weekly allowance totalling £1,250 per person", a spokesperson for Tower Hamlets Council said.

Survivors of the fire said the council was working to find new accommodation but that they were at risk of becoming homeless on Monday.

'We don't fit in'

Dipon Chandra Nath, who is studying for a master's degree in management, said: "It is so difficult for us at the moment. Where will we go?"

Law student Nazmush Shahadat, who was the only person awake at the time of the fire, said it had been difficult to find anywhere to live in London.

"For some of us we are outcasts, we don't fit into certain places," he said.

A campaigner working with the men said they had been paying about £360 to £400 each in monthly rent while living at Maddocks House.

Many of them had struggled to find a new home due to difficulties in getting references, added Hussain Ismail of the Maddox House Support Group, set up in response to the fire.

There were several sets of bunk beds in each room of the flat, one resident said

Last month, Tower Hamlets Council said it was launching a criminal investigation into the fire through the Housing Act and called the illegal subletting of properties "abhorrent and dangerous".

A spokesperson for the council said: "We recognise the extremely difficult situation the survivors of the Maddocks House fire have been faced with, and have done our utmost to ensure they have been supported and their welfare provided for since the fire took place."

They said that all of the men were informed about the hotel arrangements and were given "as much notice as possible" to find their own accommodation.

They added the council had also assisted five survivors - who have recourse to public funds and can access benefits and housing assistance because they meet qualifying requirements - to find a long-term solution to their accommodation.

The landlord of the flat, who spoke to the BBC previously through a translator, denied responsibility for any alleged overcrowding and said the claims were false.

He said he was renting to three people only and was unaware that 18 people were living in the flat until the night of the fire.

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