THE council’s housing waiting list could take 15 years to clear, a housing charity has warned.

According to figures released by Shelter today, residents could be waiting until 2024 for suitable accommodation.

The charity has said the local waiting list contains about 14,300 households, but only 934 homes let by the local authority last year.

It has also hit out at the “severe” shortage of affordable homes in the area and has called on MPs to make housing are an election priority.

The figure is above the average wait of 10 years in London and the national average of about seven years.

Waltham Forest is among more than 50 per cent of boroughs in the capital where residents can expect to wait more than 10 years.

Caroline Davey, Shelter’s deputy director of policy and campaigns, said: “The figures clearly show the desperate lack of affordable housing in Waltham Forest and how we are simply not building enough homes to meet the growing demand.

“The news will be a major blow to thousands of people who may have to spend this Christmas, and many more to come, in run down or unaffordable housing, or possibly trapped in temporary or overcrowded accommodation.

“The message is, even if you’re a priority you could still be waiting years to secure a council home.”

Shelter has also launched a new Christmas campaign called the ‘Big Build Up’ to raise awareness of what the charity is doing to help people in need of housing.

The campaign will include the message that ‘not everyone is going home for Christmas’ to highlight the problem.

Cllr Marie Pye, cabinet member for communities and housing, said: "In Waltham Forest we have over 5,000 people living in over crowded rented accommodation.

"We are working tirelessly with housing providers, particularly our Housing Association partners, to make sure we get residents off the housing list and into good quality housing as quickly as possible.

"We have recently put a bid to government for money for the Council to build Council Houses for the first time in 20 years ".