Hackney Bath House facing closure amid rent dispute

The Bath House in Hackney Wick. Photograph: Matte Cat Media

A community space in Hackney is facing an uncertain future after a quarrel between its managers and the council over the lease went public this week.

On Monday, the team operating at The Bath House in Hackney Wick launched an e-petition urging the borough’s mayor, Caroline Woodley, and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to stop the council terminating their lease.

The public call-out comes after the local authority ordered the contract holders, Civic State Ltd, to surrender their lease a year early.

“This is despite our transformation of this once-derelict building into a vibrant, self-sustaining centre for culture, care, and connection,” the petition stated.

Repurposed from a Victorian-era communal baths, for years the space has been host to various “grassroots-led initiatives”, including workshops, music events, community saunas and a café.

However, Hackney Council said it had been “clear and transparent” with the leaseholders that large rent arrears and other contract breaches meant they could no longer manage the building.

Speaking to the Citizen, finance chief Cllr Robert Chapman said: “Civic State’s lack of engagement on these issues left us no choice but to serve a notice in July 2024.”

This would bring the current lease to an end on 10 September 2025.

Chapman added that the council’s original decision to repurpose the premises at 80 Eastway were made to support the local creative community.

“We are discussing early proposals that could see the Community Sauna Baths – a social enterprise already based there – take on the building to continue that work, with a view to maintaining the majority of the building’s current operations and businesses,” Chapman said.

In a statement, the Saunas said they were not in a position to comment on the validity of either side, but heaped praise on Neil McDonald, the founding director of Civic State, for “nurturing and sustaining the one-of-a-kind creative space”.

“If it were up to us, we would continue our partnership with Civic State in its current form,” the team said.

“However, circumstances have changed. That said, we are ready and willing to step up as custodians of this incredible space for the next chapter – new challenges, new horizons.”

The Town Hall stressed that although it cannot guarantee the premises would stay open past September, it was looking for a viable solution to maintain most of the Bath House’s current operations and businesses.

The council added that it had remained open to dialogue after triggering the break notice last year, but the leaseholder had not responded to a slew of outstanding issues and breaches it had set out.

In December 2024, the local authority wrote to Civic State to confirm the only way forward would be for another party to take on the lease.

But in a statement given to the Citizen, McDonald argued it was being charged rent despite there being a lack of heating, “inaccessible and unusable spaces”, no public funding and major works.

He added that Civic State had floated clearing the “minor” rent arrears, offered a new community lease, and had even secured an investor willing to purchase the building to retain it in community hands, but the council had either “dismissed or ignored” these options.

“After years of council obstruction, we have no remaining trust that Hackney Council will act in good faith or honour any transitional agreement that protects our team or public value.

“This is why we’re calling for full transparency and public oversight. We have nothing to hide – we want the truth to speak for itself.”

Civic State Ltd formally took over the lease in January 2023, having managed the premises since October 2021.

Alongside hosting the saunas, the Bath House regularly hosts DJ-led music events ‘Giant Steps’, and is home to the freeform dance sessions, ‘Beauty and the Beat’ and ‘Ecstatic Dance’.