High Wycombe hotel under fire for 'disgusting' temporary housing

The Buckingham Hotel on West Wycombe Road in High Wycombe has come under fire from temporary housing tenants for a flea infestation that has not been dealt with and unhygienic living conditions. 

One tenant, who asked to remain anonymous, has been living at the Buckingham Hotel as part of Buckinghamshire Council’s temporary housing scheme since May and said they were worried about their health due to the ‘disgusting’ kitchen area and flea-infested bedrooms.

They said: “Over the past two weeks, I’ve been bitten from head to toe by fleas. The manager won’t look you directly in the face and will just laugh at you if you try to complain.

“The shared kitchen is also disgusting. There are flies in the sink, children are being bitten by insects and the fridge smells like there’s a dead body in there.

“The hygiene has just gotten worse during the time that I’ve been here. I’ve spoken to the council and the housing officer, and they just tell me to stay here because it’s temporary, but I’m worried about my health and the health of the children that are also living here.”

Another tenant, who also wanted to remain anonymous since they are still living at the Buckingham Hotel, said they had seen large insects “running around” their bedroom and mould build up in their room and in the shared kitchen area.

“It’s very hot in my room and there’s mould all over the lampshade – it’s not good for my mental or my physical health because I have asthma.

“We’ve tried speaking to management, but they’re not interested. They only seem to care about the B&B part of the building, not the temporary housing people.

“There’s a lot of vulnerable people here – I don’t feel safe in the building, especially because other people I know have been forced to leave. It feels like the system has let us down.”

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A third tenant, who also wished to remain anonymous, described the hotel as “slum housing” operating on a “system of fear” and evicting tenants without notice for menial reasons including burning food in the kitchen.

Councillor Mark Winn, Cabinet Member for Homelessness and Regulatory Services, confirmed that the Buckingham Hotel is used by the council to meet its obligation to provide emergency accommodation under the Housing Act.

He said: "The Buckingham Hotel is a private hotel business and therefore has customers other than those placed there by Buckinghamshire Council.

“Any notice issued by the council to those it has placed in temporary accommodation is completed in line with the relevant homelessness legislation and we will keep residents informed throughout the process.

“Regular visits are also carried out by the temporary accommodation team who work closely with providers to ensure the accommodation is appropriate.

“As a local authority, we would not evict due to burnt food in a kitchen. However, if the provider asks a tenant to leave, as a local authority we may then have a duty to secure alternative temporary accommodation elsewhere.

“We were made aware of the flea issue in the last couple of days and are dealing with this.

“If any of our tenants are concerned about their accommodation, we would urge them to contact us by emailing their Housing Advisor in the first instance. The email address is housingneeds.av@buckinghamshire.gov.uk. We can then investigate their concerns and act upon them promptly.”

The Buckingham Hotel has been contacted for comment.