“I was once told by a doctor I had ‘Peabody Asthma’”
“We’re not living… I can’t call it living, we’re just managing…”
“You don’t get anywhere unless you nag!”
– Quotes from the Nags Head report Launch
A new Medact report shows ‘unliveable’ conditions reported by tenants at the Nags Head Estate in east London, managed by Peabody, one of the UK’s largest housing associations.
Earlier this week Medact members gathered with residents and other campaigners, in a crowded room on the estate, to launch the report, Nags Head Estate: Tenants’ Experiences of Unhealthy Homes. The only notable empty chair was reserved for Peabody CEO Ian McDermott.
The work is the culmination of a two-year collaboration between Medact and the Nags Head Tenants Association, which included door knocking, conducting tenant assemblies, and linking with other groups such as London Renters Union and Disability Rights UK.
One in four of the estate’s social housing and key worker tenants were surveyed, supplemented by further in-depth interviews. Chronic health conditions were represented in just over half of households, disability in just over a quarter.
The report chronicles overcrowding on the estate, with an average of 3.6 people to 2.3 bedrooms. Over one in two households reported a member developing a respiratory condition since moving to the estate. Over four in five of reported worsening of symptoms, especially related to sleep and mental health, over the same period.
At the launch event, we heard powerful testimonies from Nags Head tenants, young residents revising for GCSEs on the floor in a shared bedroom after the family were decanted by Peabody and their desk was lost. Tales included water dripping down electric fittings, paint on walls remaining damp and mould returning after repeated washes: 19 in 20 of households reported visible mould and over four in five reported the presence of damp. Peabody has frequently shifted blame for mould and damp to tenants, away from chronic issues of disrepair and poor insulation.
Approximately three in four of all tenants said issues reported to Peabody remained unresolved. One household reported waiting four to five months without a working thermostat, and another reported having to wait six months for Peabody to fix a leak in their kitchen. Two in three of disabled residents report housing making their condition worse.
Despite all the challenges, the evening was an uplifting celebration of the power of coming together. Many tenants described only realising their problems were shared and common when residents started to organise. We all recognise this is one story, part of a nationwide housing crisis.
Whilst small improvements at the Nags Head have been won, lasting structural repairs are still outstanding. Our report recommends retrofitting the estate in consultation with residents, better routine maintenance, and adjustments for disabled tenants. Local authorities should inform tenants of their rights, and make better use of environmental health teams’ already-existing enforcement powers. The NHS should signpost tenants to resources and escalate when housing is observed to contribute to ill health.
Fired-up by the energy in the room, and trays of tasty samosas, we are all ready to keep fighting for safe, decent, affordable homes.
