Three weeks after the Grenfell Tower fire, nearly all the residents evacuated from the west London estate remain in hotels despite Theresa May’s promises to find them permanent accommodation.
Many survivors are too traumatised to move into high-rise accommodation, and some have been warned they will be making themselves intentionally homeless if they do not accept housing offers, according to the director of North Kensington Law Centre.
Victoria Vasey said hundreds of residents who had lost their homes were still in temporary hotels and did not have adequate information about the terms of their resettlement.
“Central government gave undertakings about what type of housing would be provided and some are quite positive,” Vasey said. “Now it’s a matter of trying to get it implemented.
“No one has moved into the Kensington high street [private development]. A lot of people might not want to go there. It’s too far away, they have schools and community here [in North Kensington]. Some people really don’t want to go back and live in any type of tower block.
“My understanding is that homes in this development have been offered [for] one year rent-free and that it will be at a social rent from then on. But will that be the same cost as before? That has not been clarified. It would be so much more workable and less stressful if the terms of the flats they are being offered were made clear from the beginning.”
Vasey said lack of clear communication was a serious problem. “Promises made by the government don’t seem to be filtering down to the housing officers dealing with people.
“We had a client who was told that if they didn’t take the accommodation offered, which they considered to be inappropriate, they would be making themselves intentionally homeless. As soon as we complained, that was retracted. People should not have to be going through this additional stress on top of everything else.”
Immediately after the fire, May, pledged that the survivors would be rehoused within three weeks at the latest.
Last week the housing minister, Alok Sharma, told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire radio show: “We are guaranteeing that those people who have lost their homes will be offered housing by next Wednesday in the local area either in Kensington and Chelsea or in a neighbouring borough.”
Vasey, whose law centre has provided free advice to more than 150 people since the fire, said: “There are some people who want to get away from the area, because they don’t want a daily reminder [of the tragedy] by seeing the tower.” Others did not want to leave the area, she said.
Many residents are still to return to their homes in the low-rise blocks around Grenfell Tower. “Some haven’t got gas or hot water,” Vasey said. “Some people just want to go home. Some are incredibly traumatised. They lost friends and family, they saw and witnessed what happened that night. It will be a challenge once the hot water and electricity is restored.”
Sorting out benefits on behalf of survivors had been relatively straightforward, Vasey added. “Most of the employers we have spoken to have been fantastic but people are concerned about how quickly they need to go back to work. While they are living in a hotel with their kids, it’s a difficult thing to think about.”
She said the process of obtaining replacement documents for residents who lost everything in the fire was slow to get started but had proved to be “pretty easy and smooth” once the Home Office concentrated on the task.
The law centre has heard from a large number of lawyers offering their services for free. But there have also been others eager to secure potentially profitable compensation claims and legal business.
“There have been quite a few ambulance chasers in the area,” Vasey said. “We are encouraging people to use [our free services] because there are quite a lot of unscrupulous lawyers around. They are pushing for representation in compensation cases at this stage. Some are scare-mongering, saying people need to sign up with a lawyer.”
Asked whether locals would eventually want to see Grenfell Tower demolished, Vasey said: “One would hope that there is conversation about what happens to that space. We hope the council do a good job of speaking to the residents and finding out what their wishes are.”
The Grenfell response team, coordinating the government’s and London authorities’ combined operation on behalf of Kensington and Chelsea council, said that by Monday eight residents had moved out of hotels into longer-term accommodation.
A spokeswoman said: “We are telling residents that don’t have to take any offer of housing. We are working with them to make sure they get something they want. A lot of people are not ready yet. They are still dealing with terrible grief.”
The Grenfell response team later confirmed that 139 offers of accommodation have been made to families left homeless. Nine have so far accepted. A further 19 families have signalled through liaison officers that they do not wish to be contacted or are out of the country.
No one has moved into the Kensington High Street residential block, the response team said, because it is not yet ready for occupation. No one, a spokesman insisted, has been told they will be making themselves intentionally homeless if they do not take up an offer of accommodation.
