Tenants on east London estate revolt over damp and mouldy homes
London tenants have raised their complaints.
A historic housing association is facing a revolt from tenants who are tired of living in cramped, damp and mouldy homes that some say are damaging children’s health.
Residents of Evelyn Court estate in east London are calling on the Industrial Dwellings Society (IDS) to fix their homes after years of complaints about mouldy walls, and damaged furniture and clothes. The first Lord Rothschild was among philanthropists who founded IDS in 1885.
The society built the estate of 320 flats in 1934 to ease overcrowding and offer affordable rents. But some of the flats are now overcrowded, say tenants, who include care workers, cleaners and security guards.
About 120 have signed a petition demanding better conditions and improved responsiveness from their landlord, after the London Renters Union helped them to organise. They staged a protest on Wednesday outside the landlord’s offices.
They complained that the landlord and its contractors usually offered only temporary fixes of washing and repainting walls and sills, which left fungus to reappear.
Romaine Murray, 42, a healthcare assistant, said she had struggled with mould for over a decade and described the fungus as “a monster”. She said her eight-year-old son had breathing difficulties throughout his infancy and she had also developed breathing problems.
“I feel not even an animal should live like this,” she said. “I come into the house and smell damp and mould. My clothes smell of mould. I work nine to five, I don’t depend on the government to pay my rent, and this is not liveable for a human being.”
She said she felt let down by IDS. “The chairman of the board should come out and see what is happening. These are hardworking people on the estate. Our money has value. We mean something.”
IDS is a community benefit society whose declared purpose is to “provide social housing for people who would not be able to afford commercial rent levels or who cannot afford to purchase outright their own homes”. The Rothschild family is understood to have ended its connection with IDS at least 20 years ago.
Tenants described rents of between £600 and £800 a month for two-bedroom flats, which is less than half the market rates in the area. IDS’s latest annual report for 2020 shows a turnover of £10m and an operating surplus of more than £2m. It had cash balances of more than £1.8m and net assets of nearly £36m.
Fatima, 43, a single mother of six who has lived on the estate for 19 years, has mould regrowing around her windows after recently cleaning it up. She said her 14-month-old daughter had a wheezy cough and had been diagnosed with bronchitis, and two of her sons had previously had the same diagnosis. “I give up,” she said. “IDS don’t help.”
HICH LTD has revolutionised the property survey market since day one! Our property survey service is listed as one of the best in the whole of the UK! Please look at our Trustpilot page and see why everyone chooses us as their property survey provider.
Our vast experience in the local property survey market has made us the number one choice for surveyors. We offer a top-level service at affordable prices, the cost of our surveys is based on the number of rooms in your property, not their value, so our prices are always better than the competition.
At HICH LTD, we are pleased to do our bit to make the world a better place; that’s why we continually partner with NGOs and other institutions to join forces in environmental, social and charitable causes. If you want to know more about our efforts or want to know how you can help, contact us at hichinfo@aol.co.uk.
Are you looking for a roof, structural, or bespoke survey? Request it here!
Follow us on our social networks to keep updated with the most relevant property market news, tips for being a responsible homeowner, and much more!
Twitter: @HICHLTD
Facebook: HICH-LTD
