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?

What a horrible thing to say. Does it make you feel better about yourself? The OP had a private rental that she could afford but the LL sold up. Rental costs in even the crappiest parts of London are ridiculous now. It’s not the OPs fault that we’ve ended up in a situation where two working adults cannot afford to even rent a home.

They’ve provided accommodation you need to try fans and water …this is unusual weather and won’t last….they won’t move you based on heat ….many people are in same boat and doing what they can.

You are an adult and can’t expect to be babied by the council …the reality is London is very expensive to live and you’d be better trying to move somewhere cheaper or rent privately….where you can pick and choose the accommodation.

None of which is relevant to the OP.

You're talking about fairly wealthy countries/families, there are lots of countries around the world where there is no air con and even in countries with air con there is a drive to not use it/cut down its use

Most people from hot countries dont actually open the windows as this lets hot air in however they do have other structures like shutters which helps, plus the buildings are built differently

However in OPs case this is not going to last in the way it does in those countries and all she can do is employ direct methods to herself and the child and as I already said no one is going to know or care that she stays with her friend a while

this is true …you can’t then just expect to be housed at the drop of a hat in one of the most expensive cities on the planet…take responsibility it’s not the council’s fault…blaming the council …nope it’s on you, you made choices that led to your situation ….you’ve been given lots of ideas of how to cool your flat …

Many are doing this at moment in far worse conditions …multiple people in a room etc

and before someone says it’s not helping OP facts are facts …decisions have consequences and take some responsibility too much opting out nowadays oh the council owe me …doesn’t work like that.

Are you pulling down black out blinds and curtains across on any south face windows during the day?

We live southern Europe and it’s the only way to keep rooms about 10 degrees cooler than outside.
outside shutter and awnings help also but you obviously can’t add those at 20 floors up

This makes a huge difference. The one that is silver on the back and black on the front. I was shocked by how much it helped in my attic.

Off point but I am staggered at the number of posts suggesting OP remove the limiters on the windows of a 20th floor flat with a toddler living in it!
Dear god, I hope she has enough sense not to do this, I can imagine the headlines now....'toddler falls to death from 20th floor due to parents negligence'.
Back on point, the obvious thing to do is buy an air con unit (get one on credit somewhere like Curry's or Argos if needs must!) keeping the baby cool for the next few days/weeks is the priority. Even if the council did agree to re house you it wouldn't be an instant fix. You would still have to keep the flat cool in the short term.

As others have said, try to blackout your windows. When the weather is like it is where we live at moment, I keep windows (they just let the heat in, it's not fresh air) and curtains closed and have a portable Aircon unit.

For blackout options. I think there’s a blackout baby/ toddler blind that’s designed to be portable and just goes on with suction type stick and can be removed. So nothing permanent and you can take it with you. And just put up over main rooms in sun for the days needed

OP does work. She has a partner who also works.

I was just coming on to post this! How are people telling OP to take off the window restrictors in a 20th floor flat with a toddler!?

DO NOT REMOVE THE WINDOW RESTRICTORS

@AffableApple 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

Not sure which countries you are talking about?

I’m in Australia and we have an interesting history with this. When colonisation began, buildings were made out of huge sandstone blocks. So, pretty naturally insulated, and when you go to historic buildings on roasting days they are not too bad. Then that stopped, building materials got mass artificially produced/cheap and places built lacked insulation in any way, and were not built for heat, so they are indeed like furnaces in summer. Also, cold in winter. I’ve known Scandinavian exchange kids to come here and cry of cold in houses in winter as zero insulation, no central heating and not set up to heat anything other than a small immediate area.

All the stuff you are talking about, with air con on public transport, and regulations for insulation and design for natural cooling in new build houses did not come into effect until 80’s here in metro areas only, so still majority of metro housing stock pre-dates that. Air con did not become widespread in housing until I was an adult! But guess what, we all survived just fine until then🤷‍♀️.

Your mind would also probably be blown at the fact that very few houses in outback situations have air con. I did long outback stints for work where the temp didn’t go below 40degC and 45 was not unusual, def no air con, public transport does not exist, people walk around, and the thought that housing there is designed for heat is laughable, plus they are overcrowded! People cope. I just used to step into a shower (there is no hot/cold, it’s just the temp it comes out the pipes), fully dressed, every 30 mins and whack a fan on and that would do the trick to get through my working day as a non-local who, while acclimatised to heat generally, not so over 40degC. The kids seemed to manage okay but we used wet towels over chairs and fans (no portable coolers in accom provided and in middle of nowhere so you can’t order such things to be delivered).

Not sure about all these other countries where all the housing (not just modern under modern build codes), is all set up for hot weather, no probs. Which ones are they?

Everyone's hot, at home, at work, outside. You're lucky to have somewhere to live provided to you that isn't costing you.

It's nobody else's fault you had a baby but can't afford to rent privately, and the weather doesn't know who owns each building and heat it up accordingly to punish those on a lower income.

Well said @Bisadino !

it’s the sheer sense of entitlement I must be moved …eh?! Nope

it’s everything that’s wrong with society nowadays…I want… I deserve… I don’t want to pay ….

OP's family is from a hot country where they are able to open windows so she finds it better than her flat in London.
I doubt reading about how everyone is fine in 45C heat in Australia is going to help OP's baby with the following issue.

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.

Should OP not be concerned because Australian babies are superior at coping with hot flats where you can't fling windows open?

Lots of people are suggesting portable air conditioning units, but they need somewhere to vent hot air to. The exhaust hose from an ac unit won't fit through a 3mm gap and the OP absolutely shouldn't remove window restrictors.

The function of a/c is just to move heat from one place to another. It uses energy - and generates heat - in the process. If you run a portable air conditioner in an enclosed space there may be some local cooling but overall you'll inevitably increase the temperature.

A 3mm gap isn't enough for meaningful ventilation to lower the temperature in an overheated flat though. Surely it should be possible for the council/housing association to fit restrictors that are a bit less, well, restrictive?

Do not use an humidifier - heat in the UK is generally humid heat, you'll just make things worse.

Open all the curtains and windows very early in the morning (i've been getting up at 4am to do this) then close the curtains and windows at about 9am and leave them shut until the sun starts to go down and then open them again.

Keep a spray bottle of water in the fridge and spray it on to your skin and allow it to evaporate.

Use a cold wet flannel on the back of your neck and on your wrists.

Hang wet sheets over the windows.

London has a cool spaces plan activated and there us a map of places with air conditioning in your local area that will welcome people to come and sit in there during the day.

https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/environment-and-climate-change/climate-change/climate-adaptation/cool-spaces#:~:text=Cool%20spaces%20are%20indoor%20spaces,someone%20is%20unwell%20from%20overheating.

OP: if you were able to post a photo of one of these windows, maybe someone might be able to suggest how they could be opened more, or at least recommend action your landlord should take to improve the situation.

Also I understand this may be a challenge if you are currently on a low income (but charity shops or places like Vinted may have some) proper quality 100% Egyptian cotton sheets really make a difference at night in this weather.

GPs don't do these letters, we're not there to police housing.

I have a rechargeable hand held fan from John Lewis (£12) the handle also folds so it can be stood up. It’s a life saver during the night in this weather. It’s worth giving it a try.

Long term at least I’d explore moving away from London. Unless you are in well paid work you will always struggle. I moved away at 25 and have never wanted to return

yep ! these are brill we have a couple and rechargeable so no need for batteries…they have been fantastic and you can prop them up as handle bends …we bought one last year and another this year worth every penny

I wonder if the OP is just assuming that it is her flat that is the problem. It is unbearably hot everywhere in the south of the UK at the moment. It doesn’t help to open the windows when it is 30 degrees outside anyway. What is the temperature inside your flat OP and is your toddler actually medically overheating or just bloody hot like the rest of us?