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L&Q to evict private tenants in east London block due to building safety faults
A group of private tenants set to be evicted from an L&Q block in east London due to faults with the building have accused the G15 landlord of treating them like “easy targets”.
Last month, the 95,000-home landlord wrote to 29 households in the Goodwood apartment block in Chingford to say it would be issuing Section 21 eviction notices terminating their tenancies by the end of the year.
The eviction was later delayed until after Christmas in “recognition of residents’ concerns”, but the controversial “no-fault” eviction notices will now be handed to tenants in January.
The seven-storey Goodwood building is the tallest on the 290-home Walthamstow Stadium development, built on a former greyhound race track. Soon after its completion in 2017, the scheme was caught up in the cladding crisis after ACM was identified on its buildings.
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The ACM cladding was removed in 2019, but the buildings still require "extensive" remediation works. Goodwood needs a year-long works programme and has had a waking watch since 2017, though L&Q says this is now a "precautionary" measure due to a new alarm system not yet being up and running.
L&Q intends to fix the Goodwood building first, and then wants to use the block as temporary accommodation for the remaining 200-odd residents in the development while it completes works to their homes.
Goodwood tenants, which include 20 children and residents who are critically ill and disabled, claim they were originally told last year they would also be rehoused while their building was fixed, before being moved back to their homes.
But in September, the private tenants received phone calls and letters to say their tenancies would be terminated. “For them to do a 180 degree turn on what they agreed is shocking,” said tenant Ellis Devonish, who moved into the block in 2016 with his family.
Moving will be “massively disruptive”, said Mr Devonish, especially because his five-year-old son started school this year and after a “long process” has secured an educational health plan for speech and language delay. His wife has a health condition which means she requires a property with level access, and the couple also have a 10-month old daughter.
"We were told to attend a meeting for more information on available support. When we went they gave us a printout of local estate agents and advice on redirecting post. That’s not support,” he said.
Residents were offered a “goodwill gesture” of £5,000, but Mr Devonish said this had “strings attached”. L&Q confirmed tenants would be paid £2,500 once they sign a Tenancy Termination Form and a further £2,500 once they hand back the keys by the date specified within the legal notice.
Christina Ball, another tenant in the block, said she was struggling to sleep due to anxiety over the upcoming evictions and that she felt the private tenants were being treated like “easy targets”.
Ms Ball said: "I’m 63, I had moved to a part time job but I’m going to have to look for another full-time job now to be able to afford somewhere else. I want them to honour their original proposal that we can move back into our homes.”
In a statement, L&Q said: “We understand how upsetting this situation will be for the privately rented tenants at Goodwood Apartments and are very sorry for this.
"Ending their private tenancies was a very difficult decision which was taken to minimise disruption for the majority of residents at Stadium Place while we undertake works to ensure their safety."
The situation at Walthamstow Stadium comes amid a national surge in Section 21 notices, which allow landlords to evict residents with just two months notice without giving a reason. The notices have come under signficiant criticism in recent years and the Conservative party pledged to ban them in its 2019 manifesto.
The Renters Reform Bill, which would see Section 21 notices abolished, has not yet been introduced to Parliament.
Walthamstow Stadium was once a greyhound racing track which closed in 2008 and was later sold to L&Q. Under the redevelopment, which faced huge opposition, the stadium buildings were demolished but the Grade II listed Art Deco front facade was retained and refurbished.
Walthamstow Stadium has four blocks of flats and three blocks of townhouses, with 99 shared ownership flats, 100 private rent homes, and 95 affordable rent homes. Residents in another private rented block, Lingfield, are not being evicted.
The reason some private tenants are being evicted and others aren’t is because the Goodwood Apartments is over 18 metres and the tallest block in the development and requires work first for building safety reasons. Once this work is completed it will then be used to temporarily house tenants in other blocks, while their blocks are fixed. Inside Housing understands that this will allow L&Q to move the least number of tenants away from thee development.
An L&Q spokesperson added: “We have also organised a series of one-to-one meetings to understand each of our residents’ circumstances, and will be offering additional support to more vulnerable tenants.
"The safety and security of our residents is our top priority and L&Q has committed to bringing the development up to the high standards residents deserve, including covering the costs of remedial and upgrade works. We are working closely with residents, the local authority and other partners to address these issues and will support them throughout and beyond our programme of works.”
