England: UN condemns major social landlord over substandard housing

Balakrishnan Rajagopal

In a letter to the UK government, the UN’s special rapporteur on adequate housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, alongside two other experts, highlighted the case of Sanjay Ramburn, a 55-year-old disabled tenant who lived with his family of five in an L&Q property in Forest Gate, east London.

Ramburn endured years without electricity, repeated ceiling collapses, and severe damp and mould that left his children suffering from breathing difficulties, tinnitus and skin problems. He also reported racial harassment and antisocial behaviour from a neighbour, which he said was never addressed by L&Q.

The UN experts wrote: “L&Q and several other residential developers and housing associations managing social housing in England appear to systematically fail to ensure or restore the habitability of their rentals… we wish to express our serious concern that the delayed, insufficient or lack of action by L&Q to address the issues raised by Mr S Ramburn and other tenants, as also documented by the housing ombudsman, may be having a significantly negative impact on the enjoyment of their human rights, particularly the right to an adequate standard of living, including housing.”

Describing the ordeal, Ramburn added: “I started to get water from my kitchen and half the ceiling collapsed. I was waiting nearly four years without half the ceiling in the kitchen and then in 2017 the other half collapsed.

“Then they came, they fixed the ceiling but when they fixed it at the same time the bathroom ceiling collapsed. I always have to send them emails, beg for them to do something. I’ve been through hell in this place with L&Q, I’ve had anxiety, hopefully now they will do something about it.”

In November 2023, the living room ceiling collapsed, injuring Ramburn, his son and youngest daughter. L&Q offered compensation of just over £2,000, which Ramburn rejected as “wholly inadequate.” The family was later moved into another L&Q property while repairs were carried out, but Ramburn said the temporary accommodation had “only one small bedroom for five persons” and suffered from similar flaws.

The housing ombudsman previously ordered L&Q to pay £142,000 to residents after finding a “prolonged period of decline” in its service.

Responding to the criticism, Matt Foreman, executive group director of customer services at L&Q, said: “We are working closely with him to resolve the situation and have made several offers of temporary accommodation in the area so we can complete the repairs needed. We have a dedicated antisocial behaviour team who investigated Mr Ramburn’s case, and will support him if any future incidents occur.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government added: “These claims are shocking and our sympathy goes out to Mr Ramburn and his family. We are clear housing providers must provide safe and decent homes for residents and that all forms of racism are inexcusable. Through Awaab’s law we are taking decisive action to crack down on unsafe conditions like damp and mould and make people’s homes safe.”