Romford's MP says it is "deeply troubling" that a hotel in the town has reportedly been booked out to house people from another borough facing homelessness.
Harefield Manor Hotel is at the centre of a row after Havering Council's deputy leader Cllr Gillian Ford suggested on Facebook that Waltham Forest Council had "block booked" it for residents at risk of homelessness.
Waltham Forest Council confirmed that it has "temporarily" placed a number of households in on a "case-by-case basis" but told the Recorder it had not made a block booking.
The hotel in Main Road, Romford, currently shows no availability on TripAdvisor until December 31, and returns an error message when you try to book through its own website.
Booking.com says it is "currently not possible to make reservations for this hotel on our site".
Romford MP Andrew Rosindell says he is conducting an investigation after also hearing the block booking claim.
In a letter to Havering Council leader Cllr Ray Morgon on July 18, Mr Rosindell said the idea that another local authority is using Romford resources to house its residents is "deeply troubling".
Harefield Manor appears to be fully booked until January 2025 (Image: Google Maps)
He said: "As you are undoubtedly aware, Havering is already facing considerable challenges in providing adequate housing and support for our own residents.
"The prospect of another local authority utilising our community resources to accommodate their residents is deeply troubling.
"Such an arrangement, if proven true, would not only strain our already limited resources but also place an undue burden on the residents and services of Havering."
Mr Rosindell added that the implications of the situation are "severe" and said the issue should be addressed with "urgency".
The MP asked Cllr Morgon to provide any information he may have on the matter for the residents of Havering.
It is not known how much money it would have cost Waltham Forest Council to place its residents in Harefield Manor even temporarily, but Cllr Gillian Ford said on Facebook that the local authority have "cash to splash on what is a high cost hotel".
Andrew Rosindell said the situation is 'deeply troubling' (Image: Charles Thomson)
Cllr Ford added that Havering Council is itself housing residents "in other localities".
READ MORE: Havering spends £560,000 on hotels as homelessness cases soar
The Recorder previously found that Havering Council had spent more than £500,000 on emergency hotels and B&Bs for homeless families in one year - sometimes placing residents in hotels seven miles from where their children go to school.
A spokesperson for Havering Council confirmed that it is not placing any of its own residents at Harefield Manor.
They said: "Havering Council has very little control over the placement of homeless households by other boroughs in temporary accommodation in our borough.
"Under section 208 of the Housing Act 1996, Councils are required to notify the borough they are looking to place households in and we did receive this information from Waltham Forest."
The Havering Council spokesperson added that they are in contact with Waltham Forest to ensure they are meeting the "required standards of health and safety" under the "Setting the Standards", which monitors the quality of hotel and bedsit accommodation across the capital.
Cllr Ahsan Khan, deputy leader of Waltham Forest Council and cabinet member for housing and regeneration, said: “London is the epicentre of the homelessness crisis, caused by decades of insufficient home building and exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis. All local authorities in London place people in temporary accommodation outside of their own borough boundaries.
“Waltham Forest Council has temporarily placed a number of households at risk of being made homeless in the hotel. No block booking has been made.
“We went through the normal procedures in these cases, which includes notifying the local authority in which they are placed beforehand.
“We continue to support families in their time of need, including help to move on to more settled accommodation.
“All boroughs need to work with the new government to find a long-term solution to the increased demand in temporary accommodation London is seeing.”
Harefield Manor Hotel has not responded to a request for comment.
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