Contesting dispossession by damp: Life experiences and media representations in London Housing Association estates

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Household damp and mould are problems of growing prominence inBritain, often with severe and life limiting implications for those whoendure them. Treating those whose health has been impacted by poorhousing conditions is estimated to cost the NHS £1.4 billion annually(Garret et al, 2021). In November 2022 it became public knowledgethat Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old living in social housing provided byhousing association Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, had died in 2020due to the poor conditions he lived in. Against a present backdrop ofrising energy prices and levels of fuel poverty, the issue of household dampness isunlikely to be resolved.This research proposes a dual examination of the phenomena ofdampness in Housing Association (HA) estates in London - that is,both into the material conditions in damp housing, and the mediarepresentation of those conditions - in order to critically question howdamp housing conditions dispossess the urban poor. Using a mixedmethods approach with an embodied focus, this research aims toprovide new insights into household damp in Housing Associationstock undergoing regeneration, and a critical assessment of therelationship media coverage has to tenants' experiences of(contesting) these conditions. It envisions a public life for its findingsand outputs, both developing tools for use 'on the ground' withinaffected communities through participatory methods, and producingpolicy recommendations and briefings.