‘Clarion has a duty of care’

Hazel Humphrey-Gaskin has lived in the same one bedroom flat in Tottenham for 13 years. During that time, her brood has grown from one to four and the space has become evermore cramped, damp and dangerous.

HCP met Hazel in a coffee shop in Tottenham’s Hale Village, a mixed-use development on which a new, 32-storey housing block was completed earlier this year.

She said: “It’s ridiculous. I look around at all these new builds and think, you can’t even give me a little space for my kids? I’m not asking for a mansion or a castle.”

Now pregnant with her fifth child, Hazel sleeps on a sofa bed in the living room with her youngest, Felyx*. The room is piled high with books, toys and clothes, the walls and ceiling are mottled with damp and the window frames are black with mould. Her oldest, Kira, shares the single bedroom with her two sisters, Lena and Zara. She recently started year eight, and Hazel is worried about the impact that overcrowding will have on her education: “The poor girl sits on the stairs and leans on the top step to do her homework.

“She used to do an hour’s reading before bed every night, but now we have to turn the lights off because the little ones need to go to sleep.

“She’s becoming withdrawn. We put it down to teenage attitude, but it’s not that. She’s just overwhelmed.”

At 33, Hazel suffers with a catalogue of long-term health issues more commonly associated with people twice her age. Chronic pancreatitis and third degree heart block – to name only two – have prevented her from working in recent years. She spends prolonged periods of time in hospital and said that the state of the property, as well as the stress caused by going back and forth with various authorities, has only worsened her health. At the time of writing, she is in North Middlesex Hospital after a bout of ill health. Her partner, Jordan, is taking care of the children. Due to the sporadic and ongoing nature of Hazel’s illnesses, he is unable to hold down consistent work himself. Meanwhile the damp and black mould are having a worrying impact on Lena, who “coughs every single night without fail”.

A spokesperson for Clarion said: “When Ms Humphrey-Gaskin moved into the property in 2009 it met the needs of her family, but as her family has grown the property has become overcrowded which has contributed to the issues she is experiencing with condensation and mould.”

Hazel feels she is being punished for choosing to have children: “I’ve always wanted a large family and having children has been a blessing to me, because it’s given me a purpose to keep going on the hardest of days.

“At the end of the day, [Clarion] still has a duty of care to provide adequate accommodation, regardless of how many children I have.”

She added that the property was well below standard from day one. Aged 21, Hazel was living in a hostel and pregnant with Kira. As a result, she was “rushed” into her current home.

“When I moved in there was a mouse infestation, a ladybird infestation and a cockroach infestation. I was told that the kitchen cupboards and units were brand new, but there were bits of food still in there, stuff from the girl that used to live there before, like pictures and baby clothes.”

Hazel has been on Haringey’s council housing waiting list since 2017, and is one of 12,199 people in the queue for accomodation. She has bid on countless properties over the years. But she has been allocated to priority band C – the lowest of three bands – so her circumstances are not regarded as urgent.

The fight for adequate accommodation requires time and energy, of which Hazel is in short supply. In recent months, she has been allocated a local authority-employed support worker, who advocates to the council on her behalf. A “sustainment manager” from Clarion fulfils a similar function, and is currently gathering a pack of evidence to bolster her chances of getting moved.

Clarion is the biggest social housing provider in Europe, and manages over 125,000 homes in the UK. It made headlines this year after a series of media investigations exposed “squalid” conditions in many of its properties. In May, leveling up secretary Michael Gove criticised the association for not meeting “fundamental housing standards”. In addition to this, a cyberattack in June has left many residents unable to access key services.

With regards to Hazel’s property, the Clarion spokesperson said: “We will be completing a mould wash and repairs and will actively work with the resident to reduce condensation levels within her home. We are sorry for the problems Ms Humphrey-Gaskin has experienced and will continue to provide support whilst she waits for a larger home to become available through the local council.”

Hazel said she informed Haringey Council after her two most recent births. But, when HCP asked the local authority for comment, it said that only her “two eldest daughters” have been accounted for.

A spokesperson added: “In August, Ms Humphrey-Gaskin sent some details that we had requested as part of her health assessment. We will urgently review this as well as ask for any additional information to ensure that all her family details are included on her housing application. Her housing needs would then reflect that she is severely overcrowded, and this would place her in band B, requiring a three-bedroom property.

“The council strongly advise Ms Humphrey-Gaskin to contact her landlord, Clarion, to discuss her immediate housing situation. The council will also ensure that Clarion is aware of these issues.”

*The names of Hazel’s children have been changed