Hackney (Parliament Politics Magazine) – A disabled man in Hackney trapped in his flat for months blasts his landlord over prolonged rehousing delays, calling his living conditions a “nightmare.”
Malcolm Cripps, a wheelchair user, requested a relocation from his third-floor housing association apartment after becoming stuck inside frequently because of a malfunctioning communal elevator that he used to get in and out of the building.
Malcolm, who has extremely limited movement, has been stranded both within and outside his housing block multiple times. Last year, he had a “traumatizing” three to four-month period during which he was completely unable to leave the building.
He informed the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that although his landlord, Sanctuary Housing Association, offered him several apartments and expressed regret for the “intermittent lift issues,” “none have been suitable.”
Malcolm, 64, was asked by Sanctuary whether he would relocate into an assisted living facility.
This was “more like a care home,” according to his NHS wellbeing practitioner.
Malcolm promised to take this into consideration after his visit. He declined after seeing it because he was worried about how it would affect his sensory problems and how he would lose his independence.
Being in there was too much for me to bear. He remarked,
“It felt like a psych ward.”
Following this, “nothing happened” for a few months, Malcolm continued.
Sanctuary then gave him two alternative housing options, including the Kingsmead estate in Homerton, but both had stairs and none had wheelchair access.
“Ironically, the person leaving one of these properties also needed a wheelchair”,
he said.
But Malcolm said his “nightmare” has gone beyond finding the right flat.
“I’ve had to fight for years just to be heard,” he told the LDRS.
“They don’t treat me as a person – just a problem.”
Later, Malcolm pushed to be moved to Gascoyne House, one of Sanctuary’s estates, since he felt safer there with two elevators instead of only one.
“At first they said it was unsuitable because it was still in void, and then it was due to work needed. Then it was because the layout was the same as the Kingsmead ground-floor property,”
he said.
“But the layout was ideal. I know, because I’d seen it. It’s been like smoke and mirrors.”
He requested an occupational therapist (OT) to determine what modifications the property would require and stated that he would accept this transfer.
“Even though I had previously viewed one of their properties with an OT present,”
he added, Sanctuary denied that they offered these.
Sanctuary was then called by a journalist from Inside Housing and local MP Meg Hillier.
After that, the housing association decided to cover the cost of hiring a private occupational therapist (OT) to examine the apartment and determine what modifications would be necessary.
The OT submitted a report to the landlord in December last year, but Cripps was chasing for a reply for weeks, he said.
His wellbeing practitioner said:
“I’ve been working with Malcolm for two years, I don’t know how many emails I’ve written or phone calls placed to Sanctuary.”
“He has also been doing a hell of a lot of them himself”,
he added.
Throughout the process, local council members Claudia Turbet-Delof (Independent), Penny Wrout (Independent), and Clare Joseph (Labour) have also stepped in.
The OT report stated that the Gascoyne House apartment, which had been set aside for a year, would not be able to accommodate Malcolm’s long-term needs in the event that his condition deteriorated, thus Sanctuary withdrew its offer in March.
Malcolm, however, criticizes some of these “ideal” suggestions that he was “not consulted about” and is persuaded that he could now live there on his own.
His wellbeing practitioner said:
“The landlord is making out that the property is just too difficult to adapt, but they haven’t really explained why.
This has happened before with Sanctuary, to other people I work with. They offer someone a flat, pay for an OT assessment and then decide they can’t make the adjustments.”
Malcolm went on to say that ever since Sanctuary retracted the offer, he and his practitioner had been requesting a meeting to talk about the issue, but they had not replied.
The landlord informed him in May that the apartment had been put back on its allocations list and that they could not override an overtime report.
He had to “ram his legs into the wheelchair” in order to utilize the elevator where he currently resides, and he is still anxious about getting in.
According to the Equality Act of 2010, housing providers are legally obligated to make reasonable accommodations and are prohibited from discriminating against disabled individuals.
Cllr Turbet-Delof told the LDRS she was
“shocked and appalled by Mr Cripps’ disgraceful treatment, by a housing association that has both the means and the responsibility to do better”.
“The distress, delays and systemic failures he has experienced is simply unacceptable. No one should have to endure prolonged isolation,”
she said.
Sanctuary Housing—and all housing associations—must be held to account. They can afford to spare residents from this level of distress, and they must never forget that their duty is to support and uphold the dignity of every individual they house.
Cllr Turbet-Delof also raised the work done by her “dedicated” colleague Cllr Joseph, before she went on maternity leave, and added:
“I am dismayed that the efforts to support him appear to have been disregarded entirely”.
A spokesperson for Sanctuary said Hackney was “heavily oversubscribed” with residents seeking transfers, which meant all housing bands had long waitlists.
They told the LDRS that Mr Cripps’ specific needs mean the search for a new home is not straightforward, and unfortunately a recent property was deemed unsuitable following a review of the occupational therapist’s report.
However, they remain committed to supporting him and finding a property that is right for his short and long-term requirements.
What specific issues did the resident face with his landlord during the search?
The renter claimed that the staff was unprofessional and uncaring, failed to express empathy or offer clear direction, which forced him to look for other housing. At first, he was not swiftly provided with the required succession application form or told about the appeals process.
Decisions took a long time, especially when it came to whether he could inherit the tenancy. After the stage two complaint response, it took the landlord’s exceptional circumstances panel around nine months to reach a decision, which left the resident in the dark for a long time.
Based on factors like period of residence, the landlord denied a discretionary tenancy, arguing that the resident lacked a legislative right to succeed the tenancy.