Behind the fatuousness and oafishly offensive comments made by Simon Dudley on Grenfell, lurked a dangerous idea which tells us something about Reform and the pushback against fire regulations in general: peteapps.substack.com/p/the-fall-o...

This is a quote about building safety, but I think it is reflective of how big industry-wide scandals often manifest, not just in construction and housing but across the board: peteapps.substack.com/p/nothing-ne...

Next week, rules come into effect for residents who live in high rise buildings and would struggle to evacuate in an emergency. Seven years since the Grenfell Inquiry recommended this change, I've dug into what it means and why it's still controversial: www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/resi...

'It's fundamentally unfair to expect leaseholders to pay for cladding remediation when their building has already burned down' Latest Substack looks into an eyebrow raising dispute between burned-out residents and the GLA: peteapps.substack.com/p/its-fundam...

Live in 25 mins ⏰ Follow me here to join in: substack.com/@peteapps

📆 This Friday at 12pm We’re joining journalist @peteapps.bsky.social for a live Substack chat on the building safety crisis. We’ll discuss what’s going wrong and how Labour could fix it. 🔗 Link and how to join in next post.

Today, an investigation featuring multiple interviews, dozens of leaked documents, several trips out to meet sources, multiple Right of Reply exhanges, a 1,000+ word write up (including edits taking in legal advice) will do you for about two weeks' rent on a single room

Hello! I'm chairing a session at the forthcoming London Housing Summit where we will be discussing the distribution and demand for housing in the capital. Lots of great speakers across the day - register to attend here: forms.office.com/pages/respon...

Submitting a 'safety case' proving a block is safe to occupy is a core part of the building safety regime. For resident directors, it is becoming a bureaucratic nightmare peteapps.substack.com/p/this-is-go...

We publish another important and detailed building safety story today from @peteapps.bsky.social, this time looking at cladding guidance and whether it is open to exploitation www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/pas-...

Is the government-backed standard on building remediation making people safe, or allowing developers to dodge responsibility for dangerous buildings? Long read for Inside Housing here: www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insi...

A lot of people would naturally associate damp and mould with older, poorly maintained homes. But actually the way we build and retrofit can create these problems or make them worse: peteapps.substack.com/p/sick-build...

As climate change makes Britain's weather wetter and wilder, the number of people living in 'flood poverty' will rise. Bit by me for The Developer: thedeveloper.live/reportage/if...

Really enjoyed getting the chance to write this for The FT. House price growth is lower than it was 10 years ago - but properly considered, isn't this a sign of economic health? www.ft.com/content/1d5d...

Another extremely important story by @peteapps.bsky.social, this time about a positive ventilation system gone wrong because it was installed in a mouldy loft. An extremely shocking story, which put at risk a very young baby www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/indo...

A nice thing this. The GP in this article who has written Gloria Don't Speak a "challenging but tender" book about a young woman with learning difficulties is... my sister! So pleased to see her amazing writing getting the recognition it deserves observer.co.uk/culture/book...

When it comes to damp and mould - beware quick fixes and remember, it is what is in the air that is truly dangerous. This story about a family whose health was seriously harmed by an inappropriate fix should be a big warning: www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/indo...

London - a city of record homelessness, £134k mortgage deposits and collapsing levels of social home building. Hard to see how you'd look at these numbers and think the strategy is "cut minimum affordable housing levels for new projects" peteapps.substack.com/p/134k-depos...

Since he's in the news, I've taken the paywall off my old bit on Robert Jenrick's record as housing secretary: peteapps.substack.com/p/robert-jen...

A national remediation programme that neither makes buildings safe or reduces costs for residents might as well not happen at all peteapps.substack.com/p/pas-wars-h...

There are far, far too many deaths in bar and club fires caused by pyrotechnics. These incidents are utterly horrifying, far too frequent and should be prevented. To this list (from Ed Galea) you can now add Switzerland and Goa:

Are underperformed heat networks poised to become the next cladding crisis for leaseholders? New govt rules will require upgrades to tens of thousands of systems... but residents will pay: www.thetimes.com/article/d81f...

We have a majorly important piece by @peteapps.bsky.social today about the risk of scaffolding fires in the UK, with fresh revelations about the Spectrum fire in Dagenham last year >> www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/from...

New: following events in Hong Kong, I've been looking again at the Spectrum fire in Dagenham in 2024. The LFB's investigation report, fire risk assessments to the building and its EWS1 assessment produce some concerning conclusions

Something we need to talk more about: the risk to basement flats in London from the growing threat of surface water flooding. Long read here for The Developer: www.thedeveloper.live/reportage/wh...

Question and answer special in the Substack today, where I tackle the following questions from readers: peteapps.substack.com/p/question-a...

Hong Kong's horror fire: peteapps.substack.com/p/hong-kongs...

Amid the disturbing images from Hong Kong, I'd draw attention to this report from the anonymous reporting service for the construction sector which raises concern about the use of combustible scaffolding systems on buildings with a 'stay put' strategy www.cross-safety.org/uk/safety-in...

"I would make those people stand in front of the tower. I would make them stand and look at it" Building Safety Regulator chair, Andy Roe, asked to respond to commentators who call for the regulator to be axed:

There's no-one I trust more on contemporary housing policy than @peteapps.bsky.social. This is an important read: 'The new social housing programme looks more and more like a genuine step forward'. open.substack.com/pub/peteapps...

Latest Substack, looks into plans to let builders sell 'affordable' homes on the open market - and asks whether there is an 'idolatory to victimhood' in UK politics: peteapps.substack.com/p/sweeties-f...

Lovely to see Homesick picked as one of the politics 'books of the year' by Waterstones: "[Apps] delivers a blistering analysis of the capital's housing market over the last four decades through the mixed experiences of a diverse group of Londoners." www.waterstones.com/blog/the-bes...

October including a fantastic book by a brilliant colleague, @peteapps.bsky.social I also very much recommend the Sun King by Nancy Mitford, in case anyone wants to talk about Louis XIV I am ready now

I've tried to argue why I think the cut to affordable housing targets in London is a really terrible idea in a considered, rather than shouty, way here. A clumsy patching up of a broken status quo: open.substack.com/pub/peteapps...

In Zurich, Switzerland, one in every five citizens live in a housing co-operative, meaning they own the company that owns their home. The result is a different kind of housing market: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Substack on the Building Safety Regulator - and the impact the Gateway process is having on maintenace work to existing buildings: peteapps.substack.com/p/the-buildi...

"If you don't get access tomorrow, just put it up on a plain bit of wall, take a picture, it's done... I'm trying to help you hit your targets" Deeply disturbing audio recorded by a Clarion employee and leaked to Sky News: news.sky.com/story/dont-t...

Of the projects awaiting Building Safety Regulator approval, 159 are new builds and 869 relate to works to existing buildings. Delays are pushing safety projects back by up to a year. What is going on, and how could it be fixed? A long-read for IH: www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/why-...

Bit by me in the Big Issue: Municipalisation of private housing would be a fast, direct route out of the homelessness crisis. The government should support it www.bigissue.com/news/housing...

Something we do not talk about enough with regard to London's housing crisis is climate change The combination of a hotter, wetter world and housing insecurity should be a very serious concern: www.thedeveloper.live/opinion/hot-...

Really good to chat about how the housing crisis has reshaped the London of my childhood on the A is for Architecture podcast: youtu.be/rFTYmmhbrZc

New Substack: Why the housing secretary's Alan Partridge populism is not the answer we need - especially with regard to affordable and social housing in London: peteapps.substack.com/p/build-baby...

Build baby build is not a housing strategy Bit by me for the Spectator: www.spectator.co.uk/article/buil...

Manchester's building boom is sometimes called a miracle. Instead, it's created a city of renters and a huge building safety crisis. The last instalment of my high rise trilogy looks at one block emptied two years ago where residents are yet to return: peteapps.substack.com/p/a-modern-h...

Can't think of many better illustrations of how badly we have botched housing policy than the fact that our bill for housing homeless families (£2.8bn pa) is now higher than the money we spend each year on new affordable housing (£2.3bn) www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/english...

Since the Grenfell Tower, 419 purpose-built blocks of flats have been emptied of residents after a prohibition notice from the fire service. Often this process is traumatic (and expensive) for those involved. Could we do it better? www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/deca...

Lovely to see @rowanmoore.bsky.social giving space and thought to the ideas in Homesick, alongside the excellent Eviction by Jess Field: observer.co.uk/culture/book...

Labour is pitching the New Towns announcement today as a return to the "transformative post-war housing boom under Clement Attlee". Actually it looks much more like housing policy under Blair, or even Thatcher and Boris Johnson (thread)

Essential reading. Probably not cheerful but definitely necessary.