Don't make us move in a pandemic, plead tenants in 'dire' council housing

Families living in temporary accommodation in a dilapidated former care home in south London – some for several years – are fighting moves to rehouse them miles away to make way for a new development which doesn’t yet have planning permission.

Despite government guidelines urging social landlords not to put pressure on residents to move during lockdown, the families say they have been under constant stress since last summer when they discovered that plans had been drawn up for the new development.

Mother of two Davida is one of the residents campaigning against the move, which she says is traumatic for families in highly precarious circumstances. “None of us wants to stay in the poor conditions we are living in,” she said, “but we want to be treated like people who have rights, not just moved on again, during a pandemic, to more temporary accommodation miles away from our schools and support networks.”

In early January, as the country was being told to stay at home, a letter warned the residents that plans had “progressed quicker than expected” and they would be rehoused “within a few months”.

The new development is a council-led housing project including 42 homes for council tenants. There is a long waiting list for these new homes.

Davida and her neighbours say they want to resist the cycle of temporary residents being constantly pushed on to further insecure homes.

“We want secure tenancies,” she said. “We are not temporary. I’ve been here three years, in the area longer. We have built a community here and our children are in school. We need permanent homes rooted in our own communities so we can reduce the deprivation that feeds inequality.”

Around 40 families, some of them extremely vulnerable, live in Denby Court, in Lambeth. Some are survivors of domestic violence; others became homeless because of mental health problems or job losses. They pay rent and service charges but say they are living in poor conditions, with broken lights hanging from wires in the hall, leaks and infestations of bed bugs and mice.

Emma (not her real name) and her seven-year-old daughter became homeless after escaping domestic abuse. She can’t give her real name because she is terrified her ex-partner will find them. She is very anxious about being moved to another part of London, away from her support network, even though the conditions there are, she says, dire. An infestation of bed bugs left her so badly bitten she had to get treatment from her GP. Now she sleeps with her daughter in the living room, though the council has sent in pest control.

“There’s the virus outside and creatures inside – it is terrible,” she says. “My daughter cries about our situation. She sees that children at school have a normal home and life. All we want is security, but my fear is we’ll be moved somewhere worse than this.”

There is enormous pressure on social housing across the UK. Latest figures for England show 127,240 children living in temporary accommodation. In Lambeth alone, 2,700 families need a permanent home. Falling numbers of council properties make it harder for even the most vulnerable to stay in areas they know.

Since January last year Rachel, 25, has been moved with her baby three times: from a hostel in Brixton to a flat in Surrey, then to Denby Court. She was offered a flat in Ashford, Kent, but suffers birth injuries and depression and wants to be near her family. “I was born just over there,” she says. “My mum lives nearby.”

She is worried about the impact of the moves on her two-year-old. “He’s stopped sleeping and eating: he hardly eats anything even though I try all the time with fresh fruit and vegetables for him.”

In a strongly worded speech to the council this week, Davida demanded that the families be treated as full council residents, with greater rights to apply for permanent homes. “We have looked after these homes,” she said. “We have paid rent and service charges despite living in terrible conditions. We have built a community.”

The next day a councillor told them he was hopeful that ‘‘children who have been at local schools for a long time will not be disturbed until the summer term has finished”. For the families, this feels like the pressure government guidelines warn against.

Amo used to be a manager at Gordon Ramsay’s Chelsea restaurant. Now he is one of thousands of hospitality industry casualties.

“We understand the site needs to be developed, but this pandemic is a difficult time. My son is in school: we know them well there. Why can’t we wait here until we can be given appropriate housing?”

Lambeth council cabinet member Matthew Bennett said the plight of homeless families was a key priority. He apologised recently for not communicating better with them and said the council had tried to improve its dialogue with the residents.

In a statement the council said: “There is a severe shortage of permanent homes. The proposals for Denby Court are a key part of our efforts to tackle this housing crisis. We are committed to working with these residents… to make a suitable offer of alternative temporary accommodation and to offer additional support. This work will not be rushed, and nobody will be asked to move immediately.”