Brent Housing Partnership (BHP) has taken innovative steps to deal with the issue of overcrowding in Brent.

Fifty BHP homes from across the borough are being extended through loft or single storey extensions. The extra living space has already made a real difference to the lives of tenants and their children.

Thanks to BHP 44 year old mother of three Nayna Patel recently had a large and spacious loft conversion added to increase the size of her house from three to a four bedrooms.

Sleeping arrangements at Mrs Patel's home were a little cramped due to the size of the bedrooms. As is typical of most three bedroom homes, there was one double, a single and a box room.

Her two sons shared the single and her daughter had the box room which was not large enough for a wardrobe and meant regular trips to mum's room to collect her clothes.

Mrs Patel explained;" Before getting this house I was living in temporary accommodation and this was the third move we had made.

"I was really happy to be offered this house especially as it was so close to my kid's school and it meant we could finally settle down.

"The only thing that concerned me was the size of the children's rooms. The box room was a bit of a tight squeeze so I was very happy when we were told we could have a loft conversion.

"BHP's builders were great. All the mess was kept to a minimum as most of the work was done to the outside of the building and all the internal work was sealed off from the rest of my home.

"Having the extension has made such a difference to all our lives. It means that we don't have to move from a place we are very happy in - but having it enlarged has given us the size of home we need.

"My eldest son has the most to be happy about as he has the loft room which is now the biggest bedroom in the house - even bigger than mine!

"It means he can now bring his friends up to see him without feeling cramped in the small room which he shared with his younger brother.

"Best of all, everyone now has their own room, and their own space, including me."

Managing director Helen Evans said: "It's pleasing to know that we are making a real difference to the lives of our residents. By extending existing homes like Nayna's we are taking some of the pressure off the overcrowding housing register and creating larger housing to better suit the needs of our residents in the 21st century."