According to data uncovered in a Freedom of Information Request, 644 housing applications have been on Oldham’s register for between 5 and 10 years, and eight applications have waited for over 10 years.

One of those currently on the list, though only since last year, is Shah Sattar and his family.

A taxi driver by trade, the 46-year-old, who was born in Oldham, has four children with his wife Shahanara, 44, who works in food.

Their privately-rented Werneth home has only three bedrooms, meaning they don’t have enough space for all their children to live with them.

Currently, he and his wife live with their 23-year-old daughter, who works as a nurse, while their 21-year-old son stays on the sofa at his girlfriend’s house. 

Sah Sattar, a heart patient, is worried about the stress his housing situation is causing.

Shah and Shahanara’s 16-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son live with their uncle because of the limited space.

Shah and Shahanara say the council have told them that their application has been accepted but are a lower priority case.

Shah explained: “We were told that we’ve got a three-bedroom house, we want to be on social housing but don’t need to be in social housing – so our name is going to be on the list but not a priority."

They have been on the waiting list since August last year.

He said: “Two of my children are not staying with us because there’s no room in the house.”

The three-bedroom house is too cramped for the six-person family.

While there is enough room for one of the two siblings to stay, Shah doesn’t want to split the siblings up, saying: “One of them can stay, because there are three bedrooms.

"It’s a Catch-22 situation.

“If they stayed in this house, it means we make the living room into a bedroom, the dining room into a bedroom.

“If every single room becomes a bedroom, where’s the living area? Where’s the standard of living? There’s three of us that work.”

Shah and Shanara don’t want to be forced to turn their living room in to a bedroom.

Cllr Hannah Roberts, the cabinet member for housing, responding to the FOI figures, said: “Everyone deserves to have a home and a roof over their head.

“However, we are in the middle of a social housing crisis.

"Demand for housing in Oldham increases weekly, while the number of homes to let every week is really low so we must sadly prioritise housing applicants who are most in need – particularly people with children or a disability.

“Unfortunately, this means some residents are on our housing list longer than others, but this situation isn’t unique to Oldham, and it is a problem faced by many other local authorities across the country.

She continued: “Additionally, our Housing Options service is a choice-based system, so residents bid on properties they would like to live in.

"Some residents may only bid on a property in a certain area which means they wait longer to find a home.

“In the meantime, our housing team work tirelessly to help anyone who needs support, including advice on all housing options such as private rented accommodation.

“Due to our low wage economy though, the reality of our situation is that a home at a social rent is the only affordable option for many Oldham residents.

“Despite that, we struggle to provide more social homes.

"Many of the schemes labelled ‘affordable’ are just not within the reach of many Oldham households in housing need and Right to Buy continues to reduce our social homes stock.

“The impetus provided by Places for Everyone will help us to build the different kinds of homes Oldham needs, including homes for social rent.

“Our Housing Strategy sets out clearly the high unmet need in Oldham and our Flexible Housing Fund will help us to deliver the decent homes our residents deserve.”

Health concerns

Shah said he is also dealing with added stress from a looming rent rise and is concerned as he previously suffered a heart attack.

He says his landlord is set to increase his monthly rent by nearly 30 per cent – from £550 every four weeks to £700.

He said: “Me being in stress is not good.

“Having stress is not a good combination for a heart patient.

“I’m on medication for it, but as far as private landlords go, it’s not their concern.”

Shah is worried that with the rent increase, they will be unable to pay and will end up forced out of the house – making it harder to get a mortgage in the future.

He said: “We’re building our credit score.

“If he serves us with an eviction and takes us to court then that’s a big mark on our credit file.

“If we want to buy our own place in the next few years, we won’t have that opportunity.”