Demi is a single parent with two daughters, one of whom has a disability. Her daughter's disability causes her pain and she regularly wakes in the night, disturbing Demi's youngest child. So now Demi sleeps on the floor of her room while the youngest has the bed. But this is not the worst of it.… Continue reading L&Q: Rats, Roaches, but No Toilet
Over the last few weeks, ITV has broadcast a series of articles highlighting terrible social housing conditions from a cluster of tragic cases in both council and housing association properties. ITV's series of Housing Stories has charted disrepairs in many forms. Using the format of a longer documentary, ITV brought many of these stories together… Continue reading Surviving Squalor: ITV’s Conversation Starter
By Carl Davis L&Q chief executive Fiona Fletcher-Smith must be hoping that the long bank holiday weekend has induced collective amnesia over the damning report in Sunday's Observer (here) on the persistence of appalling living conditions in L&Q homes originally exposed by the paper in 2018. The ongoing scandal of disrepair continues, despite L&Q commissioning… Continue reading Not One Resident’s Voice
Oh, the irony. Or is it hypocrisy? An announcement has hit the headlines. Peter Denton, former CEO of Hyde, has been appointed to lead Homes England, the government body responsible for housing investment. Denton quipped: The government has an ambitious agenda of not just more homes but decent, affordable, safe, energy-efficient ones that sit well… Continue reading Hyde: A Very Bad Apple in a Very Rotten Barrell
Tenants and residents from a wide variety of housing associations have agreed to hold a coordinated service charge 'strike' under SHAC's banner. Action is being taken by residents frustrated at their landlords' failings in relation to extortionate or erroneous service charges, disrepairs, shoddy maintenance, and cladding. No Other Choice Residents described how their problems are… Continue reading Tenants and Residents Hit Back
London & Quadrant, one of the largest landlords in London, has been publicly shamed into abject apology after ITV featured the case Junior Jimoh on its news broadcast. SHAC has been running the 'L&Q Fix Our Broken Homes' campaign since early May. The importance of our campaign was tragically reinforced in an ITV news item… Continue reading L&Q Exposed
... And the Social Housing Myth By guest writer David Renton In March, I was in court representing Blessing Musona, a housing association tenant who had lived in her home for thirty years. There was mould growing on the walls and a boiler which for eighteen months had been decommissioned, with a sticker on its… Continue reading The Scales of Injustice …
Poor repairs are regularly highlighted to SHAC, with tenants and residents feeling helpless when they try to get their housing association landlords to address them. This week, a group of tenants have successfully compelled their local council, the London Borough of Lambeth, to take three housing associations to court for the condition of their properties.… Continue reading Lambeth Council Sues HA Landlords
Look out for sneezing, a runny nose, inflamed eyes, skin rashes, asthma (breathing difficulties which can be fatal), and allergic reactions. All these symptoms can occur from contact with mould spores which develop in damp and poorly ventilated conditions, so could point to a problem in your home. These symptoms will most severely affect younger… Continue reading Sanctuary Shamed Over Unfit Homes
