Lambeth Council are suing our housing associations to force them to fix the damp problem. This has only happened because of our campaign.
We lobbied the council to fix damp in flats on our estate in July 2019. The report finally came out in autumn 2020 and said our landlords “have been aware for a number of years, that there are significant structural defects to the fabric of buildings” but rather than fix the issue they ‘routinely assume that the “lifestyle” and “behaviour” of residents is the primary factor for the presence of condensation damp and mould in flats. No objective or quantifiable evidence has been produced to support these assertions’.
The council asked our landlords to produce an action plan to fix the issue, but the landlords only responded with this waffly document. The council expected something more like this. So in January 2021 the council said “The current action plan fails to respond adequately to the Council’s recommendations. In particular there are no clear defined work plans for the individual blocks … Regrettably the Council, therefore, has little choice but to formally advise you that it will now begin the process of enforcement of housing standards under the Housing Act 2004. The Council will seek to recover any costs associated with this course of action where it is legally able to do”.
The council has also written this briefing paper. Notice how it complements the “an active and well organised Tenants Association”
More news when we get it.
St Martins TRA 