THE extent of the social housing shortage in Waltham Forest has been revealed by new figures showing a sharp increase in the numbers of people on the borough's waiting list for homes.

More than 13,000 households are now on the council housing register - a rise of more than a fifth in just 12 months.

Where applicants' need is deemed "urgent" in Waltham Forest, they may be given homes within a year, but in many cases, the wait may be much longer.

Those who are homeless and living in temporary accommodation can expect to wait between two-and-a-half and seven years for accommodation depending on the number of bedrooms they need.

For those on the general housing register, the wait for a studio or one-bedroom flat can be up to five-and-a-half years, while the wait for a house with four or more bedrooms is indefinite.

Adam Sampson, chief executive of the Shelter homeless charity, said: "These new figures are not just numbers - they are heartbreaking tales of real people in London, many who are forced to wait years for a decent affordable social home.”

Figures for the whole of London show that an extra 19,270 have joined the waiting list for social housing in the last 12 months in an apparent consequence of the global recession.

But the rise in the number of households on the register may not be linked to the current economic downturn, said Cllr Marie Pye, the council's cabinet member for housing.

Cllr Pye said: "We don't have any evidence that this is because of the credit crunch.

"Looking at previous years, numbers were around 13 or 14,000.

"We did a review of the allocation system and a lot of people dropped out - we wrote to them and they never responded, so we took them off the list.

"11,000 was a real dip and it's now coming back up to realistic levels - much, much too high but more realistic."