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We're treated like peasants, say tenants in fight over mouldy homes

Meghan Owen
Work and Money Correspondent, BBC London
BBC Lorraine Branch, a woman with long light-coloured hair, standing on a balcony on the estate wearing a black and white checked shirt and white topBBC
Lorraine Branch is one of the tenants battling the Peabody housing association

"We're treated like peasants. Like we're not good enough to live in decent homes," says Lorraine Branch, a tenant on the Nags Head Estate in east London.

She is part of a group of tenants who have resorted to enlisting lawyers and health workers from the charity Medact, to fight against Peabody after complaining for years of damp and mould in their homes.

The tenants said the Bethnal Green estate has had long-standing problems which they blame for health issues including respiratory illnesses, and claim previous repairs have only been a "quick fix" which have not resolved them.

Peabody, one of England's largest housing associations, said it had "invested over £1m on improvements" in 2024 but "unfortunately, it will take time to resolve all the issues".

Lorraine has been living on the Nags Head Estate for 14 years with her four children.

She said: "We've tried to gather all the tenants, door knocking, handing out leaflets, gatherings just to get people involved.

"We've hired lawyers, we've had medical professionals run by a charity to help us."

'They're quick fixes'

Lorraine showed me a wall of one of the flats which was painted last summer.

The wall was clearly still damp and the paint came off on her hand when she touched it.

"They're quick fixes," she said.

"They're not properly insulating the walls. Nothing is getting resolved," she said.

"In the long term you'd think they'd put in the money to fix the problems rather than keep coming back, keep coming back. It's costing more money."

Lorraine holds her hand up to the camera. It is coated in a layer of wet white paint from a wall she said was painted by the housing association's contractors last year
One wall in a flat, painted last summer, is so damp the paint comes off when touched

The BBC filmed in another flat with black mould in the hallway, kitchen and on the shower curtains.

The carpet was wet and the flat smelt damp.

The tenant, who did not want to be named, said they had reported the problems to Peabody but claimed it did not act for eight weeks.

After the housing association organised washing the mould off, the problems "quickly returned", they added.

An image showing black mould spores on a white wall near a door and on the threshold
The BBC filmed at one flat on the estate which had black mould

Fatima Tejani has lived on the estate for 16 years with her family and said her respiratory problems started after she moved in.

"I started to have COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease], lung problems," she said.

"I blame the house.

"When you have health problems, you have mental health problems. Peabody has made us sick."

'When I'm out I'm fine, but when I'm inside [the flat] I start to cough. It's not normal for me."

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