A One Housing Resident writes
Residents say that after two years of cladding meetings, there remains no foreseeable end in sight for One Stratford residents.
June 2024 will mark four years since we, as residents of the One Stratford estate in East London, were officially told that our homes were unsafe and in need of costly remediation. Since then, there has been little progress on rectifying what has been an agonising ordeal.
In June 2020, a survey of our block identified that both remedial and interim measures were required to make the buildings safe. In fact, when it is eventually fixed, the One Stratford estate will be the largest scale remedial work project in London.
The official declaration that our cladding is unsafe in the meantime, and our homes un-mortgageable, has created financial and emotional turmoil for residents.
Emily’s experiences graphically demonstrate the rollercoaster that cladding-hit residents ride. Initially, after the Grenfell tragedy, they feared that they too were in a building clad in flammable material. Then they were assured by their landlord (One Housing, now owned by Riverside Housing) that everything would be fine. Then they received confirmation that their cladding needed remediation. Emily says:
“Since then, everything to do with my mortgage has been a nightmare. I’ve been unable to change mortgage providers for fear I wouldn’t be covered. I was forced into a 3-year mortgage deal last October due to the mortgage rate crisis, as I was told officially that no other lender would offer me a mortgage due to the cladding.
“I’m stuck with a provider I didn’t want, I’m stuck on a rate for three years which is double what I was on before, and I am trapped in a flat I can’t sell due to extortionate and ever-increasing service charges and cladding with no remediation work in sight.”
Emily* One Stratford resident
The Battle for Remediation
An application to the government’s Building Safety Fund looked hopeful, but was years in the offing. Our building’s management company were one of the first in the country to apply. Nevertheless, whilst a decision on the application was pending, the landlords began to put a plan in place.
Two years ago, residents noticed that progress had stalled, and Haus Block Management and One Housing had little in the way of tangible updates.
A change in law however, meant that in May 2023 Telford Homes, the estate’s original constructor, signed the government pledge agreeing to fund remediation, effectively admitting that they had constructed unsafe buildings. Telford only did so after threats from the Secretary of State for Housing, Michael Gove.
The argument over cladding continues to rage: Gove threatens to put 11 housebuilders who have not signed cladding contract ‘out of business’
Whilst initially, we were hopeful that things would get moving, Telford have now taken the process right back to the start and we are left without any timeframe for remediation. In the words of resident Alan Blackmore:
“When the cladding crisis became public, Telford could have stepped up and taken responsibility to remediate the safety issues immediately, as any reputable developer should. Yet Telford were quite happy to leave us stuck in unsafe buildings with potentially financially crippling bills for the cladding. It was only when the government finally forced them, did they reluctantly come to the table.”
Meanwhile, we remain trapped in unsaleable homes while our lives change around us. One Housing Group hasn’t even attended cladding meetings since February.
Devastating Impact on Residents
The impact of the building safety crisis is proving devastating for us all. It is having an impact on family life and on our children, the most innocent victims in this crisis.
“I am facing having to make the decision not to extend my family, as the flat is draining my savings due to the sky high service charges. By the time it is finished it will probably be too late. I have spoken to other families with multiple children sharing rooms.”
Mary* One Stratford resident
“We desperately wanted to sell many years ago, to start a family, but we took the decision that we couldn’t afford to keep waiting for Telford to get moving, so we have had to live in a one-bed flat as a family of four. A family of four in a one-bed flat is extremely cramped and stressful. One Housing had very little to say on the matter, as if they couldn’t care less”.
Tom* One Stratford resident
The cost-of-living crisis and its subsequent impact on mortgage rates has compounded the crisis. Mortgage companies will not lend to householders in buildings needing cladding remediation.
Emily summed up the helplessness that residents feel. “Whilst I am trapped here, I’ve no choice but to make it work whilst we wait for more calls, where they always report no progress, and the most recent meeting feels like we’ve gone backwards. It feels utterly hopeless.”
There is one glimmer of hope on the horizon for One Stratford residents following a landmark ruling relating to a nearby development. The London Borough of Newham successfully took building owner Chaplair Ltd. to court for failing residents by delaying the removal of cladding from their homes. The publicity attached to this and other cases may prompt some movement.
Residents Strongly United
The One Housing residents continue their battle and are strongly united in making sure they hold the companies involved to account.
They have clear demands for their landlord and management company, including the establishment of service-level agreements between all the organisations involved in the work, and subject to resident agreement.
They are also intent on setting up tenants and residents association which is recognised by their landlord. The residents’ other demands include clear project plans, budget details, quality assurance systems, and other safeguards. They are being supported by SHAC to organise.
30 November 2023
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