Temp accommodation unsafe - baby overheating - what can I do

[yoghurttops]

I’ve been renting for years, but after my landlord decided to sell a year ago, I was evicted and just can’t afford anything on the private market.

We have a baby, and so received help from the council. Me and my partner do work, but we have been looking for better paying jobs for almost 2 years now.

The council have put us in temp housing, it’s on the 20th floor and the heat is absolutely awful! The aircon/heating system is controlled centrally and so I have zero control over it. The flat feels like an oven and the windows all have a plastic barrier with about 3mm gaps which let air in, but it’s just not enough. We get zero fresh air.

My baby has overheated about 3 times in this hot weather - once he was sick and threw everything up - the other times he is drowsy. In the past we have had to take him to A&E for not waking up without a prick from the nurse.

I don’t know what to do - who to complain to. My housing officer won’t help and doesn’t answer my emails and I am on stage 2 of a formal complaint via the housing ombudsman but the responses take weeks!

The building has negative reviews on Google and Housing websites - the lifts never work, it’s too hot and I am so so scared for my babies health. I can’t believe people are housed here.

Why can I do - I so wish I could afford to privately rent.

I saw that it is illegal to not live in the council flat - I want to stay with a friend for a while, at least until the weather cools down.

AIBU to leave the flat for a while - what do I need to do? Get council permission first? Can I ask them to move me on health grounds?

Have you got a hot water bottle you could fill with cold water.

Could you afford a portable air con unit?

I’m so sorry that you’re going through. I’m sorry, I don’t know what to do in these situations but could you maybe ask your GP for a letter regarding the impact on your baby’s health. Also, maybe email your local mp….

Well what is the actual temperature in the flat and what are you doing to keep baby cool? Wet cloths, fan (not straight in baby's face obviously), wet face.

People live in roasting heat all around the world.

Where in the country are you?

You could go and stay with a friend, they're not going to know if you spend time in the flat as well

There's probably nothing you can do about it. They don't enjoy housing people in hellish conditions it's just they don't have anywhere else to put them. You can tell your housing officer, it might help get you moved or bumped up the list for permanent accommodation. Take the baby to doctors or A&E as appropriate, for the evidence of it happening, even if there's nothing medics can do. Although they probably can do something to bring the temperature down.

On a practical front, cool baths/showers, ice packs in the fridge as a sort of reverse hot water bottle, go out more, keep curtains closed during the day to stop sunlight heating the place up further (I found thin curtains that let the light through still do a good job of keeping heat out, windows open at night. Standing fans used to point at you, others to propel the inside air outside. Make full use of any extractor fans in the place.

You can visit friends just don't stay for weeks on end. A week here and there is equivalent to going on holiday which is allowed. As long as you return to sleep at the accomodation when not "on holiday", you keep your stuff there, do your laundry there (if facilities allow) and buy food for the fridge - all the usual "daily living" type things - you can spend all day, every day, elsewhere if you want. Whether that's a mate's house, the park, the library, baby groups, church, eating out, swimming etc. or just sat in your car (if you have one) in the carpark (if there is one) with the engine on and the Aircon on (if the car has it) for a while.

In the UK - London.

My family are from a hot country but you sit outside, and at least have access to air. You open the windows as widely as you want.

We do have the humidifier which does help. But the circulation of fresh air is awful.

The previous flat I was in was so hot, but I could open windows, also had the same humidifier and we could easily go outside if we needed to.

The baby (well toddler now) walks around with his nappy, we only have a shower (no bath) so he is in there twice a day. Drinks plenty of water. I wash his face with cool water often as he gets hot.

I think I’ll try my local MP as I’m not the only one complaining. Plus climbing 20 flights of stairs with a baby on my back in hot weather is also a problem as the lifts are always broken.

Your partner could also stay in the accomodation whilst you visit a friend if you're worried about going for even a week or you stay and he goes. So long as whoever is out takes the baby with them. And you switch it up so it's not "single person and the other + child is permanently absent" which could lead to a demotion in accomodation to a single person hostel or something, if it's noticed.

Your tenancy agreement should specify exactly what's allowed or prohibited.

is the plastic on the windows the shrink wrap that is used to keep out drafts and warm up the place in the winter? If it is, it is meant to be temporary. I would just remove it. It’s not meant to be on in the summer.

hard evidence also helps. Take temperature readings daily. If you can, do them at the same time every day, but don’t stay in just to get a reading. Write them down, but also take a photo with your phone set to allow time and location metadata capture so they can’t accuse you of making up the log

@soupyspoon Those countries would not have windows cracking open 3mm, and blocks of flats like ovens due to being built for warmth not cool. There would also be infrastructure with proper aircon - on public transport etc. Makes living in "roasting heat" a bit different.

OP go and stay with your friend as a holiday while it's hot like this.

Lots of people in London end up housed elsewhere in the country. If you'd be happy with that, make it known, you might end up housed permanently quicker.

Mainly though, you have to find some way of living with this situation because housing both temporary and permanent in London is in exceptionally short supply. You could be in temporary accommodation for decades if you're unlucky. A few years only, if you're very lucky. Unless you take fate into your own hands and move out into private rental, that is.

Can you buy a portable air con? Or a cooler? Even crowdfund for one if you need? Or even a fan that sprays a mist out the front?

Old water bottles can be filled 2/3 with water and frozen and then wrapped in a towel (you can get a cold burn from placing this directly against the skin) but this would provide some relief from intense heat. You can also drink the ice water when this starts to melt. Also one of these rubber washing/gardening tubs under the shower and pop the baby in for a bath. Longer term I would be looking to get the hell out of there though, sounds like dreadful living conditions I'm so sorry - what's keeping you in London, are your jobs transferable at all?

How are the windows limited? Is it something you could temporarily undo, i.e. unscrewing a window limiter?

Obviously you'd have to take care as you're so high up but even if you could just open the windows temporarily while you and baby go out one evening or something it might help.

I think you also need to get a thermometer to actually evidence the temperature of the flat.

Get a letter from your GP or the hospital saying the place is not safe for your toddler.

Talk to your local councillor and you MP.

Do you have to stay in London? Could you look for work outside London in an area with more available accommodation.?

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/council_housing_association/tenancy_transfers

A humidifier will mostly make things worse in hot weather - and will increase the potential for mold. So be careful about that. Generally a Dehumidier helps with cooling the air because it removes moisture from it.

Get yourself some fans to move the air around - they are cheap and the temps will feel less than they are.

Portable Air conditioners are now cheaper than ever - at the very least get one for wherever baby sleeps so you can properly control the temperature in their room. That would be what I would do immediately. Air conditioners also remove water from the air. Please make sure you clean the unit regularly.

Other than that you can make sure you are refrigerating liquids, using cooled towels, adding ice to drinks, and making sure that the baby is drinking enough - which is incredibly important in this kind of weather - we all have to drink more liquids. You can also help with cooler showers - though be careful with babies as of course they will get cold quickly (as well as hot).

You can also purchase cooling mats (they are popular with people who have dogs).

Make sure you keep the curtains closed - and if you don't have curtains then put up something like a curtain so that the hot sunlight isn't getting into the house.

If you are worried about the quality of the air then get some airfilters- though many fans and portable air-conditioners these days will have them already.

On days where the temps are very hot during the day then make the most of places that have AC: public libraries for example. You appear to have the internet so you should be able to figure out various options for places that have AC and are open to the public.

Please DO NOT do this! The window limiters are there for very good reason! Especially if there is a mobile baby/little child in the house! They can also cause people to break their lease agreements etc - this is not good advice. If the flat is that unbearable then go straight to A&E and stay there - they won't let a baby leave if their living situation is not safe.

In the meantime make sure to document temperature readings in the house- get a cheap thermometer (though you likely already have one if you have a child) and keep taking photos/videos of you taking the temperature in the house.

Have you got black out curtains or similar? You need as other have said to find a way to open the windows. Once you can do that, you need to open all the windows as wide as possible overnight and until it starts to get warmer outside. As soon as it is, you should close all of the windows and curtains to keep the direct sunligh, humidity and heat out. Then again, as soon as the direct sunlight is off you can open the curtains again and only open the windows once the outside temperature is cooler than inside. Lived in a very warm country and was taught this by a professional, and it makes a huge difference. And the constant application of cloths rinsed in cold water makes such a difference too. I did this recently on a trip for the 1st time and it made such a huge difference. Plus fan. Good luck.

It seems housing officers job consist of ignoring calls and emails. They are so good at it!

its a long wait for social housing in London and no guarantees it won’t be a flat like the one you’re in - a flat is better than the usual temp offering of bnbs etc. Is there any way you can relocate further north - it’s cheaper and cooler (in several ways) and if you’re in low paid roles anyway and your family is in another country, then what is really keeping you in London? Many parents move out of the city when they have a baby, it’s one of those points in life where living in London can become not viable for many reasons even with bigger budgets.

On the topic of relocating.

The people who moved from London to my estate had a financial incentive and they also got at least the same number of bedrooms so if you are in a 2 bed flat you would get a 2 or 3 bed house with a garden.

I don't think you can ask to be moved because it's hot. Get a couple of portable coolers, go stay with friends on really hot days. Don't sit inside if it's like 'an oven'. Manage the situation until you can be moved 🤷‍♀️

I live in a flat and it’s boiling, so I feel for you. I bought a portable air con unit. It was £250 I think, and it’s not cheap to run, but if you can stretch to that then i’d definitely consider it.

Yes you are supposed to stay in your temp accomodation, but given there’s a heatwave i’m sure it will be fine for you to stay elsewhere for a few days.

You can stay with a friend as a guest without it changing where you live.

Can you unscrew the safety catches that prevent the window from opening? And speak to whoever manages the building about the air con?

Fans or portable coolers?

If you have low paying jobs in London you’re going to struggle. The housing situation in London isn’t good and you could be in temporary accommodation for years. Could you move somewhere cheaper in the country, even if the two of you were both in minimum wage jobs you would be able to afford to rent in cheaper areas. This would be a much better for your DC then being stuck in temporary accommodation in an area you can’t afford.

Try blackout cloth or reflective blankets over the windows, if you can get hold of any.