Housing
Embedded Files
Journalism from the corridors of the UK housing crisis.
Exc: Disabled woman stuck in flat for two years
Exc: Disabled woman stuck in flat for two years
A disabled woman has been stranded in her Borough flat for two years because her wheelchair cannot get down fourteen steps.
Diane White, aged in her sixties, has spent a year begging Southwark Council to increase her housing priority but has encountered delay after delay.
Ms White said: “It makes me feel very sad a lot of the time and frustrated and just hopeless really.”
Exc: Woman left dead in 'swamp' flat for roughly ten months
Exc: Woman left dead in 'swamp' flat for roughly ten months
This was a series of exclusive articles about a woman who lay dead in her flat for ten months.
Caroline McCrossan's tragic story highlighted the impact of loneliness, and raised questions about housing providers' responsibilities to their tenants.
Every UK daily newspaper picked up the story. It was also featured on numerous radio stations, including BBC Radio London.
Read the original article
MP challenges council
Caroline McCrossan's identity revealed
Exc: Black mould nightmare leaves family with 'nose bleeds and £4k bill'
Exc: Black mould nightmare leaves family with 'nose bleeds and £4k bill'
A single mum claimed eight years living in a mouldy Bermondsey flat had left her children suffering nosebleeds, even hospitalising her eight-year-old daughter.
Glory Uhunarabona, 45, said she spent around £4,000 on new furniture after workers destroyed her home while carrying out failed mould repairs.
Exc: Huge student halls empty for four years amid accommodation crisis
Exc: Huge student halls empty for four years amid accommodation crisis
Over 500 student bedrooms lay empty in Camberwell – over three-and-a-half years after they were evacuated over fire safety concerns.
King’s College London university said it was searching for a contractor to conduct repairs but gave no timescale.
The delay came as student housing charity Unipol warned that a lack of affordable student housing meant the UK risked “losing a pool of future talent”.
Exc: Mum 'left to rot' in vermin-infested flat
Exc: Mum 'left to rot' in vermin-infested flat
A Bermondsey mum had spent two years in a damp Aylesbury Estate flat, infested with cockroaches and vermin.
Mother-of-two Georgie Howell, 22, said her children’s clothes are covered in mould and were terrified of the “beasties” crawling around her home.
Both her children had developed asthma since living there and her three-year-old daughter had been hospitalised with respiratory problems.
Georgie's story later featured on ITV's Tonight programme.
Exc: Brand new building hit with 'concerning' fire safety warning
Exc: Brand new building hit with 'concerning' fire safety warning
The owner of a luxury Elephant & Castle block has been warned over its inadequate fire safety measures – just four years after construction.
Developer Lendlease built ‘Hurlock Heights’ on Elephant Park in 2019 and it has already been slapped with an improvement notice because it does not meet fire regulations.
Southwark Council has admitted the revelation “will be concerning for residents”.
Exc: 'Endemic mould, collapsed ceiling, and leaks' in block built 14 years ago
Exc: 'Endemic mould, collapsed ceiling, and leaks' in block built 14 years ago
A ceiling had collapsed, leaks were “constant” and mould was endemic in an apartment block built just fourteen years ago, residents claimed.
One single mum-of-two said flooding meant heaps of rubble collapsed on her yet housing association L&Q “did nothing” to repair it for months.
Meanwhile, a father-of-two said his family went without hot water for almost three years – forcing them to wash using kettles and shower at his workplace.
Exc: Peckham regeneration affordable housing offer drops to 12%
Exc: Peckham regeneration affordable housing offer drops to 12%
Berkeley Homes lowered the affordable housing offer for Peckham's landmark regeneration to 12%.
The proposed reduction of affordable homes, from 270 to 77, falls well short of the Labour council’s minimum target of 35 per cent affordable housing target.
The Labour-run council has hit back at Berkeley Homes, describing its proposal for the crucial Peckham development site as “very disappointing”.
Exc: Walworth building still has unsafe cladding three years after removal sign-off
Exc: Walworth building still has unsafe cladding three years after removal sign-off
A Walworth residential building still had unsafe cladding over three years after getting planning permission for its replacement.
22 Amelia Street Management Ltd, claimed the delay was because central government did not provide the first phase of funding until January 2024 - over three years after it began its funding application.
A disagreement has now broken out between the landlord and government departments responsible for processing and administering funding over who is responsible for the delay.
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