Imagine paying nothing for a luxury apartment on paper, but turning into a literal prisoner inside an oven because landlords decide cooling is a luxury you didn't pay for. That is the grim reality facing homeless families placed into emergency accommodation in London right now.
Let's cut straight to the core issue. During intense summer heatwaves, homeless families housed by local authorities in modern buildings—such as the 19-storey glass-fronted Britannia Point block in Colliers Wood, south-west London—were explicitly told they could not use the in-built air conditioning. Why? Because management claimed it was "not offered as an amenity" under emergency tenancy agreements.
The human toll was immediate. Stifling conditions inside these sealed glass towers resulted in young children becoming seriously ill, with at least two children hospitalized during recent scorching spells. When your windows only open a tiny crack, a glass-fronted high-rise turns into a greenhouse very quickly.
The Broken Reality of Emergency Housing
If you’ve never navigated the temporary accommodation system in the UK, you might assume a roof over your head is enough. It isn’t. Councils across London rely heavily on private lettings agencies and corporate landlords to stash homeless households.
Properties like Britannia Point—owned by firms connected to billionaire property magnate Asif Aziz—boast modern fittings. Yet residents placed there on emergency placements found themselves trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare. When tenants complained about units blowing hot air or failing completely, property managers sent emails stating that air conditioning systems had been deliberately switched off for emergency households.
Tenants were basically told to stick to portable fans or buy their own plug-in units. If you live in a tiny, high-floor glass box, a plastic fan just pushes around warm air like a convection oven.
The Shifting Corporate Stance
Public outrage changes minds fast. After mounting media pressure and intervention from local politicians like Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh and Merton councillor Stuart Neaverson, the narrative shifted rapidly.
Aura Assets Management, one of the agencies managing these tenancies, walked back the ban. They claimed the air conditioning was fully operational and that residents were welcome to use it.
Even so, a massive catch emerged.
Residents reported being warned that utilizing the system could land them with sky-high utility bills or standing charges reaching up to £500 for a single summer. Lettings agencies argued they wanted to prevent unexpected utility bills, but tenants saw it as another barrier preventing basic comfort and safety. Telling struggling families they can use cooling systems, only to threaten them with financially crippling utility costs, is a hollow victory.
The Broader UK Cooling Crisis
This isn’t an isolated incident. It highlights a massive blind spot in British housing policy. Research from the Energy Demand Research Centre at the University of Reading shows that the people most vulnerable to extreme heat are the absolute least likely to have access to air conditioning.
Across England, only a fraction of homes feature proper cooling systems. Lower-income households, renters, and emergency housing placements bear the brunt of rising temperatures. Meanwhile, policy frameworks like national building regulations and the London Plan have historically prioritized passive design measures—like open windows and strategic building orientation—to cut carbon emissions and avoid urban heat island effects.
Passive design is great on paper. It fails completely when a heatwave pushes temperatures past 32C and windows in high-rises are deliberately restricted for safety reasons.
What Needs to Change Right Now
Vulnerable children shouldn't be ending up in hospital because property management views basic climate adaptation as an optional extra.
Local authorities need to audit emergency housing contracts immediately. If a building has climate control built into its infrastructure, turning it off for low-income or homeless residents should be treated as a direct breach of basic habitability standards.
Landlords and letting agents cannot hide behind technicalities of emergency tenancy agreements while baking tenants alive in high-rise blocks. Climate change is here, summers are getting hotter, and safe housing must include the right to breathe cool air without facing financial ruin.
