Fellows Courts residents urge Mayor Garbett to act over ‘atrocious’ conditions in ‘dehumanising’ estate block
Frustrated social housing residents in Hackney have called on the new Mayor to address longstanding leaks, filth, and disrepair in their estate block.
Since 2023, the occupants of Fellows Court in Hoxton have repeatedly raised the “atrocious” conditions of their building, including staging protests at the Town Hall over hot water outages, leaks, and security failures.
In March this year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reported that severe flooding had left four flats waterlogged and uninhabitable. Then in May, the building, which occupants have nicknamed ‘Faulty Towers’, was struck by another round of leaks and a boiler breakdown, leaving residents without hot water or heating for most hours of the day.
The latest failures have prompted a group of residents to issue a fresh plea to the borough’s new Mayor Zoë Garbett to act over their “dehumanising” living conditions. In an open letter, the Fellow Residents Action Group (FRAG) said: “We have lived without hot water, without heating, without working lifts, without functioning fire safety, without security, and in too many cases in mouldy and severely damaged homes.
“Residents speak of being too ashamed to invite visitors into a block disfigured by leak staining and general filth, despite paying for cleaning services that have plainly not been delivered,” they added.
On Wednesday 3 June, the LDRS visited Fellows Court and spoke to residents who were concerned for their safety and that of others, and were outraged by what they called the council’s “indefensible” failure to act or communicate with them properly. Several declined to provide their full names due to fear of reprisals.
“Half our time shouldn’t be employed in phoning the council, waiting on the line. We have a life to live,” said 82-year-old retiree Cathy, who has lived at Fellows Court for over three decades, and often has to climb the stairs to her 13th-floor flat due to lift failures. “But living here is a full-time job.”
“Everybody has a right to security, to a dry home, you know? It’s just unbelievable,” she added.
Another resident, Max, said a 70-year-old occupant with asthma had been trapped in the lift at one point, and only “luckily” managed to get out because the lift had stopped between floors.
“This building needs serious infrastructure work. Most people who bought their flats now can’t sell them. They’re stuck,” she said. The residents added that a deep clean of the building promised by senior officers years ago had never been carried out.
“The cleaners must be absolutely fed up with this block,” Max added.
Adding to the list of hazards are fire risks stemming from unfinished works. After stripping away communal cladding several years ago, the council is yet to replace internal panelling in corridors, leaving degraded common parts and gaps between the floors and around pipework in the wall cavities.
The group’s letter says the council’s failure to address the ongoing issues breaches numerous laws, including the Landlord and Tenant Act, Awaab’s Law, and the Housing Act. It also lambasted what they considered the council’s “de facto policy of obstruction” by not treating the issues seriously enough.
“Every time someone phones on the weekend to report loss of water, heating, leaks, they say, ‘you are the only person that’s called up’,” said FRAG’s Chair, David Coleman. “This is our sixth boiler in three years. The brown stains from the burst pipes have gone into people’s houses, but you don’t see any compensation. People are using electric heaters to warm their flats up, and then still pay the service charges,” he said.
The residents have given the council an ultimatum: publish a full schedule of major works to the building, refund them for service charges, and have the mayor and her deputy, Dylan Law, the borough’s new housing chief, inspect the site.
Otherwise, the group says they will escalate their concerns to multiple watchdogs, including the housing ombudsman and the regulator of social housing.
More than a week after hand-delivering the letter to the Town Hall on 3 June, Mr. Coleman said matters were “getting worse by the day” and he was disappointed with the lack of actions taken so far.
“It’s getting ridiculous. There’s been no communication whatsoever. What have we done voting Green? The party canvassed here a week before the elections; they fully knew about the serious systemic failures. At least Labour had some sort of control over the repairs,” he said.
Mr Coleman added that residents’ anger over the problems had reached the point that they were now considering withholding rent and service charges.
In its response to the LDRS, the council declined to address all the claims cited in the residents’ letter and stated that it would respond to the occupants’ letter directly.
Speaking to the LDRS, statutory deputy mayor and cabinet member for safer homes and housing services Cllr Dylan Law said the conditions at Fellows Court were “unacceptable”.
“Improvements will be made at Fellows Court and there will be a reply to the residents’ open letter detailing our plans – this includes replacing the communal heating system and carrying out an extensive clean and redecoration of the block.
“The works on the block are complex, but once we have agreement on costs, timelines, and have legal approval from the building safety regulator, we will bring in approved contractors to take it forward.
“There has been a massive delay to the works on Fellows Court, but as I am now the new cabinet member for this area, I will do my best to make sure works are fulfilled as quickly as possible.”