‘We’re in despair’: London resident’s anger at no heating or hot water in affordable housing

National World - LocalTV

Residents have complained about no heating or hot water in their affordable housing accommodation.   Works to renovate Iveagh House in Brixton have left residents living in damp and mouldy conditions.   The housing company has apologised for the living conditions it’s tenants are experiencing.

Transcript

00:00 We're at pits end, we're in despair right now and it's very depressing.

00:04 So since last December the issues that we've been facing is the fact that the heating system

00:09 hasn't been working, we've been out of hot water for days on end, we're not notified

00:14 when anything's going to happen either when the hot water's going to be turned off.

00:18 We've currently got residents living in mould, with mould.

00:22 We're just quite fed up at the minute in regards to not having the right care as residents

00:29 who have been complaining about these issues for the last year.

00:33 Now a spokesman for the Guinness Partnership, the company that runs the building, has said

00:37 it is aware of the repairs taking place at the building, including cases of damp and

00:42 mould and it is for that reason that a £12 million renovation is underway to make Iverhouse

00:48 a better place to live.

00:51 However parts of this work does include removing a communal heater and installing individual

00:56 heaters meaning residents will now have to pay their own bills and in the meantime there

01:01 is no heating in the building.

01:05 The spokesman also claimed this is down to new legislation and additional temporary heaters

01:10 are available for anyone who needs them.

01:13 They've currently given us all heaters, it doesn't even heat the room so it's like you

01:19 have to be close to the heater to feel some sort of heat for it to be penetrated around

01:24 the property so we're quite fed up yet again we're angry residents that we're having to

01:31 pay full rent as well in these living conditions and the building work don't stop until about

01:37 5pm and it starts at 7, 8 o'clock in the morning.

01:42 The spokesman for Guinness Partnership claimed that those whose homes are continually affected

01:47 by damp and mould have been offered alternative accommodation and that Guinness apologises

01:53 profusely for the poor living conditions experienced by residents and that they apologise for any

01:58 inconvenience whilst the company carries out its works on the building.

02:04 So each month we meet with the Guinness management team to discuss how they're shaping the block

02:12 and see the residents feedback.

02:15 Currently it's falling on deaf ears, it's like we go into these meetings month in month

02:19 out and nothing's getting done, the agenda's getting bigger and at the minute the agenda

02:25 of the residents doesn't seem to be a priority for Guinness, it's more the fact that they're

02:30 expecting us to wait around to live in luxury but right now this isn't luxury, we're at

02:38 our despair.

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