The shocking report comes as another group of tenants in east London start a service charge strike in response to Hackney Council’s failings.

Tomorrow – Tuesday April 15^th – health justice group Medact will release an alarming report that documents the “unliveable” conditions reported by tenants at the Nags Head estate in east London, with devastating consequences for tenants’ health.

Among the key findings:

• 95% of households interviewed report visible mould in their homes.
• 86% of residents have developed new health issues since moving in – including respiratory problems, anxiety, and sleep loss.
• Of the 27% of households surveyed with disabled members, 67% of disabled tenants say their condition has worsened.
• 73% say reported issues remain unresolved.

The report, Nags Head Estate: Tenants’ Experiences of Unhealthy Homes, produced by Medact and the Nags Head Tenants Association, presents survey research of a quarter of social housing tenants Alongside interviews with social housing tenants, it explores the health impacts of conditions at the estate, which is run by the Peabody housing association.

“We are treated like peasants,” complained one tenant in a BBC London report this evening. A wall painted last year was still wet, due to underlying damp. Elsewhere widespread mould was clearly visible.

The report found “systemic failures” leading to “wholly preventable” serious health conditions in both adult and child residents. Over half of the households surveyed reported that someone in their home had developed a respiratory condition since moving to Nags Head, likely related to widespread mould and damp.

The report notes that housing conditions and the landlord’s negligence had a disproportionate impact on disabled residents, who reported a long waiting time and refusal to carry out simple adjustments to make their homes more accessible and liveable.

Other residents reported similar inaction. One household reported waiting six months for Peabody to fix a leak in their kitchen.

After years of feeling “ignored”, residents began to organise to demand change in 2020. They formed the Nags Head Tenants Association and arranged protests at the London headquarters of Peabody – one of the largest housing associations in Britain.

The tenants association says their campaign has forced improvements, including twice-weekly visits from a Peabody repairs team and independent surveys of affected homes. However, residents say that it is vital that Peabody commits to broader structural work, including much-needed immediate repairs and quality insulation of tenants’ homes as part of a full retrofit of the Nags Head Estate.

A representative of the tenants association and resident at Haig House said: “The very housing association entrusted with our well-being has instead abandoned us to live in unliveable conditions. Our homes are plagued by mould and damp. Homes are poorly insulated, making winters unbearable. Bin areas are not fit for purpose, and common spaces are left in a state of disrepair. Peabody’s idea of ‘maintenance’ is either a quick, unskilled patch-up or outright ignoring our concerns. What adds insult to injury is the lack of respect and collaboration. When we raise complaints, we are dismissed, gaslit, or sent in circles.

“This neglect has real consequences. Our health is deteriorating – residents, including children and the elderly, suffer from respiratory issues due to mould. The stress and trauma of living in such conditions take a psychological and emotional toll. It feels like we are fighting a system designed to silence and marginalise us rather than support us.”

Calum Barnes, Medact campaigner and former NHS health worker said: “Our health doesn’t begin in hospitals or clinics — it begins in our homes. This report shows alarmingly high rates of ill health of tenants.

“This is not an issue isolated to this estate but a systemic one. The policies of the last decades have created a situation where housing providers can operate with less regulation, less funding and fewer obligations to tenants. In turn this has resulted in worse health outcomes. Our health is driven by these political choices, but just as these decisions were made they can be unmade. We must urgently reclaim our homes for our health.”

While the Medact report focuses on this single estate, it states that the findings reflect a “national housing emergency” disproportionately affecting low-income and racialised communities across the country.

The health-worker campaigners make recommendations in the report that echo demands made over years by the tenants association. These include a comprehensive retrofitting programme to ensure safe, warm homes, including improved ventilation and insulation to prevent condensation build-up and mould-growth; prompt on-site repairs and better estate management — including improved waste management and pest control, more caretaking capacity, and regular upkeep of roofs, gutters, drains, and communal spaces; and support for disabled residents, including supporting tenants to access occupational therapy, council needs assessments and the adjustments and adaptations they need, while training staff in the social model of disability.

The report was launched this evening at a meeting in east London.

Meanwhile, in Hackney…

Meanwhile in an unrelated dispute, Hackney Council residents have begun a service charge strike.

Thirty-two residents of Pitcairn House in east London have written to their landlord, Hackney Council, to advise them that they will be withholding 50% of their service charge from 1st May until urgently needed repairs are carried out on their block of flats.

The residents have taken this action with support from the housing campaign group, SHAC, after repeated and protracted attempts to engage with the council failed to get repairs done.

In their notice to the council, residents describe “decades of underinvestment” in Pitcairn House, and say that they want “to feel proud and safe in our homes, and we expect Hackney Council to take its responsibilities as our landlord seriously and to fulfil its responsibilities as required by law.”

The problems reported by residents include malfunctioning lifts, leaks and mould in communal areas and individual flats, a build-up of condensation on the stairwell, which is their only fire exit, fly-tipping, and infestations of ants, rats, mice and cockroaches resulting from a build-up of waste.

Suzanne Muna, SHAC Secretary and Co-founder said: “It is scandalous to see the managed decline of council housing estates even after the tragic death of Awaab Ishak, and the spotlight it shone on catastrophic disrepairs. Pitcairn residents are paying service charges that inflate every year, yet simultaneously watch their homes falling into disrepair.”

The action of Pitcairn residents in deciding to withhold payment reflects a significant increase in tenant and resident groups seeking SHAC’s support with non-payment of service charges. It is an extreme action and a last resort, but appears to be the only way to force landlords to address service charge abuse, disrepairs, or antisocial behaviour.

Image: https://www.cc4c.imperial.nhs.uk/our-experience/blog/damp-and-mould-advice Creator: Sébastian Dahl | Credit: © Sébastian Dahl (www.sebastiandahl.com) Copyright: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA