St Mary’s Path estate: ‘Even refurbishment could be a risk for residents’

• AS a resident of St Mary’s Path estate in Islington, I am shocked at the way we are being treated by our landlord, Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association (ISHA) (Tenants fear estate will be bulldozed – to beat damp, October 13).

It is hiding a lot of information from us and putting us under unnecessary time pressure over a decision that could have a huge impact on our lives.

In July, it initially told us plans were being designed to eradicate damp on the estate. But when plans were finally revealed in October, we found they were more to do with redeveloping the estate so they can charge higher rents and cash in on private sales rather than for our benefit.

The plans were only revealed on October 3 for a consultation due to start on October 9 and planned to last just a month. The drop-in events have been arranged on weekdays between 3pm and 6pm, which makes it very hard for anyone who works to attend.

Amazingly, we were not even sent a paper copy of the plans, just an invitation with a link to view it online. This excludes residents who may not have computer skills.

Most importantly, they are not giving us the relevant information. We have little or no information on the impact of each of the options contained in the plans on our housing situations. We don’t know if we may have to move out of our flats, temporarily or permanently, and what the impact would be on our rents or tenancies.

This consultation is a sham. And the problem is not just that it is trying to use damp as an excuse to redevelop the estate. Even its refurbishment option, which wouldn’t do much more than make all properties fit the Decent Homes Standard, could be a risk for residents.

It may involve us being moved from our flats, with consequences unknown to us and it would most probably mean unaffordable rent rises.

The housing association did not admit it as such though. But it told one resident it would aim to let refurbished homes at the “affordable rent” defined by the Mayor of London, and that this was the new term for social rent.

Put like this, most people would think their rent would remain the same. Well, you’d be wrong, because if you manage to find the relevant information by yourself, you will learn that the Mayor’s so-called affordable rents are on average 30 per cent to 50 per cent higher than current social rents.

So at the very least, we would get massive and disguised rent hikes in exchange for ISHA doing what it’s supposed to do as a landlord: maintain our properties in good condition. Many of us on the estate feel this is social cleansing and they just want us out.

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