Romanian family of 17 who 'lied' to get a house live in a three-bedroom London semi... and take home £55,000 a year in benefits

A Romanian migrant family of 17 said to have lied to get a three bedroom house but take home £55,000 a year in benefits say they put up with the overcrowding because life is better in Britain.
The Toma family arrived in Britain in 2012, according to a newspaper report, but after struggling to find a letting agency prepared to house all 15 of their children they told a landlord there were just six of them to get a home.
Although electrician father Mihai Toma, 47, earns £1,800 a month which covers the rent at the house in Harrow, north-west London, because of the number of children the family get £55,000 a year in tax credits and benefits.

Place to live: Parents Mihai and Veronica Toma (pictured standing with youngest child Elizabeth) reportedly 'lied' to get a three bedroom house in Harrow, north-west London. Pictured from the left, back row, are: Andreia, 17, Ionut, 16, Daniela, 19. Middle row: Cristina, 11, Beniamin, four, Ana Maria, 15, Filip Elisei, two, Miriam, eight, and Iona, 13. Front row: Magdalena, 10, holding David, one, Iosif, six, Naomi, five. Mara, 19, is not in the picture

According to the Daily Express newspaper the family want to move into a larger council house, and although they have been told by they are not eligible to be placed on
the housing register they could receive more housing benefit if they find a bigger place to live.
The Tomas, who are devout Christians, moved into their semi-detached home in September last year - sparking concerns from neighbours.
Housing inspectors were informed of the Tomas' living situation, and after visiting the property described it as one of the worst cases of overcrowding they had ever seen.
Environmental health officers say the property is statutorily overcrowded, according to the Housing Act, but the Tomas' landlord is not at fault as the Tomas have intentionally over-filled their home.

Packed: Housing inspectors were informed of the Tomas' living situation, and after visiting the property described it as one of the worst cases of overcrowding they had ever seen, but added the family had intentionally over-filled their home

'This is probably the largest numbers in a single household that we have come across,' said a Harrow Council spokesman.
Mother Veronica Toma, 37, said through her 19-year-old daughter college student Daniela - who speaks fluent English - that the family had come to Britain so there children could enjoy more opportunities and a higher standard of education than back in Romania.
'The council is worried about us. We hope to have more space. We don't expect 10 bedrooms, but more than three. People will judge us but we have not done bad because we have come here to get a better life,' she told the Daily Express.

MEET THE TOMAS: FAMILY OF 17 CRAMMED INTO THREE BED HOUSE

Father:  Mihai Toma, 47 
Mother: Veronica Toma, 37
Children: Daniela, 19
Mara, 19
Andreia, 17
Ionut, 16
Ana Maria, 15
Iona, 13
Cristina, 11
Magdalena, 10
Miriam, eight
Iosif, six
Naomi, five
Beniamin, four
Filip Elisei, two
David, one
Elizabeth, four months

'Two agencies didn't accept us because we were too big. We lied to the landlord, saying there were six of us. Lying was the only way we could get a house. It's not good to do it.'
Every month the family receive £2,500 in tax credit, £1,400 in housing benefit and £700 in child benefit – £4,600 a month - and when this is added to Mr Toma's salery the family reportedly say they have an income of £76,800 a year.
In order to earn this without benefits, a worker would require a before tax salary of roughly £125,000, and checks are now being made to see if their income breaches the cap of £500-a-week, or £26,000-a-year.
The cap was introduced in April last year by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, who said he was determined to end the ‘ludicrous situation’ where people on benefits had a higher income than the average wage of someone who goes out to work.
The 15 children, aged between four months and 19 - eight of whom attend a local state school - have to share beds inside the house, and the Tomas have two other adult children who live overseas.
Harrow Council says it will help the family look for a larger home, and could assist them through housing benefit with a deposit and rent in advance, but that they are not eligible for a council house as they have not lived in the area for five years.
According to the council, the Tomas were due to attend a meeting with officials in June, but had not shown up.

The council spokesman said that until officers speak to the family and assess their needs, we will not be looking for alternative housing for them - although officers plan to visit the family today.
Glen Hearnden, Harrow Council’s portfolio holder for housing, told MailOnline: 'We are talking to the landlord to try and resolve this informally, but in all cases there needs to be an element of personal responsibility, if you choose to take your very large family overseas for work, you have a duty to ensure you can afford to house them properly.

Warning: Harrow's housing chief Glen Hearden said that people who choose to take their large families overseas for work had a duty to ensure they could afford to house them properly

'Over the years, we have lost over half of our housing stock, sold by the government into private ownership, so we have huge pressure on our extremely limited housing stock. We just don’t have five and six bedroom houses available to hand out. Our housing stock has to be utilised for Harrow residents most in need, some of which have been on the housing waiting list for years and years.
'The good news is that for the first time since the 80s, Harrow is starting to build council houses again, but London’s unregulated housing market is overheating, and people coming here from overseas for work need to have realistic expectations about what housing is available, which in truth is very little.'
Figures released at the end of last year showed that England has become the most overcrowded major country in Europe and population growth is so rapid that four times as many people will soon be crammed in as France and twice as many as Germany.
England has overtaken the Netherlands to become second only to tiny Malta as the most densely populated nation in the EU.
The House of Commons figures – based on data from the UK and EU statistical agencies – predicted that by 2046, an estimated 494 people will be squeezed into every square kilometre of England compared with 411 now and only 374 when Tony Blair took power in 1997.
The equivalent figure for France will be just 115, for Germany 204 and the Netherlands 421.
The research raised concerns about how the UK’s infrastructure can cope with the increased pressure on schools, hospitals and roads, and the large numbers could also affect water and power supplies, as well as increase the need to build over green spaces.
David Cameron, under pressure to confront the electoral threat posed by UKIP, has changed the law to prevent EU migrants claiming any benefits in the first three months following arrival, with officials saying they want to reduce the ‘pull factor’ to the UK.
The Office for National Statistics has previously warned that Britain must make room for almost 10million more people over the next 25 years – the equivalent of building a city even larger than London.
The increase, mainly a result of immigration and high migrant birthrates, will push numbers to 73.3million by 2037.

Left behind: The Tomas left Romania for Britain in 2012 to give their children a better life in Britain, where they say they will have a better education and more opportunities. Pictured is the Romanian capital of Bucharest

DM