‘I have been in temporary accommodation for the last 16 years. I have been moved 17 times’
After decades in temporary accommodation under regeneration, PEACH members are demanding: Permanent, Safe Homes Now for Custom House and Canning Town Residents.
Many of our members have been living in temporary accommodation for over a decade. What this shows is clear: temporary housing isn’t temporary. Last year, £1.7 billion was spent by councils on temporary accommodation – continuing the cycle of instability and uncertainty for more than 100,000 families. PEACH member Raya* says ‘‘If we were in a different situation and didn’t live in this housing, it wouldn’t affect us. They are playing with people like that and people are dying.”
PEACH members are fighting for Permanent Safe Homes NOW.
Safe: No more mould, damp, disrepair or overcrowding in our homes; conditions that too often are the difference between life and death.
Permanent: For Newham council to facilitate the transfer of all our temporary council tenancies to permanent, secure council tenancies. End the instability and fear of being kicked out of the community we know and love.
Now: We are demanding this happens now, we won’t wait any longer for regeneration that will push us out of our own community.
We call you to sign and share our petition. We call you to speak and post about our campaign.
We call you to share stories of unsafe housing and temporary tenancies on social media under the hashtag #PermanentSafeHomesNow and #SafeHomesNow. and #KeepOurCommunityTogether
We know our homes are making us sick due to the poor conditions. Our member Raya* says the conditions of her accommodation are the cause of her ill health – “After hours of being at home, I can’t breathe properly and I get rashes. When we get a cold or flu it gets worse, I have had to go to A&E because of polyps.”.
The Mayor of Newham has the power to make this difference. Mayor Fiaz promised PEACH members that they would be given permanent homes in the regeneration during negotiations in 2020. In 2023 members shared how staying in temporary tenancies is affecting them, Mayor Fiaz claimed ‘her hands were tied’ and this is an issue with central government. This is untrue as she has the power to exercise discretion in exceptional circumstances as per the housing allocations policy. Our children deserve security in the community that they have been growing up in, so we demand Permanent, Safe Homes Now for Custom Houses and Canning Town Residents.
Many among us, including our children, have been left disabled or chronically ill because of our homes. A 2023 Shelter report shows that over a third of children have missed more than a month of school after being placed in temporary accommodation. Kids can be placed miles from their schools. We face the threat of eviction if we refuse to move to the next temporary property suddenly offered to us by the council without explanation. These houses are often miles away from family, friends, school and work.
Our wins show us that Permanent, Safe Homes are a dream our community can achieve. We currently don’t know where we will be living next month: we know almost certainly that without this campaign we will all still be in temporary homes, likely miles away from our community. The good news is: that the tide is turning. The Mayor of London sees Temporary Accomodation as a problem and is increasing council housing stock by buying back homes, bringing them under council ownership. It’s no secret that the UK needs more council homes. Bringing more stability to families by making tenancies secure is an opportunity to give hundreds of families the security and roots they need to build great lives. Why not turn our existing homes into permanent ones?
Read our demands here.
If you would like to join the Organising Committee working on this, get in touch with Lorna (07512 309 560). For media requests, contact Amber, amber.perera@peach-e16.org.uk.
More about PEACH:
- Why are London’s housing estates choosing to be demolished? – The New Statesman, March 2023
- Future of London Rethinking Community Engagement Report – featuring a case study on Custom House Co-Production, February 2023
- Demolition or disrepair: the choice facing residents on one London estate – Open Democracy November 2022
- ‘We have been failed’: Newham families face eviction by council – Newham Recorder, November 2021
- ‘Gutted, a borough in siege’ Film by Oonagh Cousins, Semi Finalist @ Berlin Shorts Awards, July 2020
- Love Custom House Now: 2 Years In
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