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peteapps.bsky.social
Pete Apps
@peteapps.bsky.social
3.4K followers 28 following 190 posts
Inside Housing + freelance elsewhere. Author of Orwell Prize winning Show Me The Bodies - How We Let Grenfell Happen. https://peteapps.substack.com
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peteapps.bsky.social
Pete Apps @peteapps.bsky.social · May 29
I was born into a city where housing was affordable. But I've grown up into one where it was not. What has gone wrong in London over the last 35 years? And where is it going in the future?

My new book, Homesick, tells that story. Out Sept 25

www.amazon.co.uk/Homesick-How...
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
Sick buildings - new builds, retrofits and the damp and mould crisis
Many people would naturally associate damp and mould with older homes. But new homes and retrofits can also be seriously impacted.
peteapps.substack.com
February 12, 2026 at 11:41 AM
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
“If you’ve never flooded, you don’t realise that the water is filthy”
The average flood damage in the UK is 0.3m, barely up to the shins in terms of water, but that can still mean thousands of pounds in damage. Peter Apps reports on the growing issue of flood poverty
thedeveloper.live
February 10, 2026 at 4:51 PM
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
Could the UK’s low house price growth be a good thing?
Agents are ‘gloomy’ about ‘downbeat’ figures from 2025. Projections for 2026 are ‘boring’. But there is some cause for optimism
www.ft.com
January 23, 2026 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by Pete Apps
jessmccabe.bsky.social
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...
The damp and mould quick fix with dangerous consequences
Positive input ventilation units are marketed as an easy solution to damp and mould. But if improperly installed, they can have dangerous health impacts.
www.insidehousing.co.uk
January 23, 2026 at 2:12 PM
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
January 23, 2026 at 10:53 AM
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
The damp and mould quick fix with dangerous consequences
Positive input ventilation units are marketed as an easy solution to damp and mould. But if improperly installed, they can have dangerous health impacts.
www.insidehousing.co.uk
January 23, 2026 at 10:43 AM
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
£134k deposits and record homelessness: London's housing crisis in numbers
Plus: who is Build to Rent actually for, and why James Cleverly is wrong about Grenfell
peteapps.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 12:39 PM
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
Robert Jenrick was the worst housing secretary I can remember. He would be a dangerous leader of the opposition
Jenrick was almost comically bad as housing secretary, but the prospect of him taking control of the Conservatives is seriously frightening
peteapps.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 11:33 AM
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
PAS wars, heat networks as the new cladding crisis and nightclub fires
A post-Christmas triple-hander considers PAS 9980, a looming problem of heat network repair and the tragic predictability of nightclub disasters
peteapps.substack.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:57 PM
peteapps.bsky.social
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:
January 2, 2026 at 12:38 PM
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
The flat-owners facing £60k bills to upgrade communal boilers
Nearly a million leaseholders may be forced to pay thousands to improve heat networks, which are often unreliable and wasteful
www.thetimes.com
December 22, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Reposted by Pete Apps
jessmccabe.bsky.social
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...
Should we be more worried about scaffolding fires in occupied buildings?
In the aftermath of the deadly Wang Fuk fire in Hong Kong, focus turned to bamboo scaffolding. But scaffolding in the UK can pose a fire risk as well.
www.insidehousing.co.uk
December 19, 2025 at 9:47 AM
peteapps.bsky.social
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
December 19, 2025 at 10:14 AM
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
When London floods: “If you have vulnerable people living in basement flats, there's a huge risk”
No one knows exactly how many basement flats there are in London, or where they are located. And surface water flooding, like rain, can happen anywhere. It’s unpredictable, fast and a threat to life. ...
www.thedeveloper.live
December 17, 2025 at 5:05 PM
peteapps.bsky.social
Question and answer special in the Substack today, where I tackle the following questions from readers:

peteapps.substack.com/p/question-a...
December 15, 2025 at 3:54 PM
peteapps.bsky.social
Hong Kong's horror fire:

peteapps.substack.com/p/hong-kongs...
peteapps.substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:33 AM
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
The potential impact of scaffolding on fire safety
An issue has been raised with CROSS regarding the risk assessment process when scaffolding is present around an in-use building. It is considered that combustible scaffolding elements can potentially ...
www.cross-safety.org
November 26, 2025 at 4:24 PM
peteapps.bsky.social
"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:
“It is really straightforward,” he says. “I would make those people stand in front of the tower. I would make them stand and look at it, because it is the most profound manifestation of system failure. We can’t repeat that, and that is something people are too quick to forget. “I think one of the great advantages of our background is that it’s not hypothetical for us. I have stood next to Charlie in too many awful spaces over the years, on too many streets in London thinking, ‘How do we get to this?’ ‘How did people end up living like this?’ “And while the Building Safety Regulator wasn’t working as it should, that should not be a reason in the short term to just step away and abandon it. The moral imperative is too great.” This afternoon, he says, he is going to a boxing club with his son. Mr Roe has boxed and coached boxing his whole life. When he attended Grenfell, he knew where he was immediately because of the Dale Youth Boxing Club at the base of the tower – a gem in Britain’s feted amateur boxing circuit that has produced multiple world champions from the streets of west London. “When I go into that space this afternoon, I’m going to be with people in an environment I’ve known since I was a kid,” says Mr Roe. “The warmth, the humour, the banter, the energy. And I know there’s estates and blocks all over this country that are exactly the same. And when I think about what motivates me, it’s that, it’s those spaces. It’s protecting them, and making sure they are safe.”
November 21, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Reposted by Pete Apps
municipaldreams.bsky.social
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...
The new social housing programme looks more and more like a genuine step forwards
New government funding will support the development of tens of thousands of socially rented homes a year. Plus, the descent of Assent
open.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:17 PM
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
November 4, 2025 at 2:04 PM
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
The Best Politics Books of 2025 | Waterstones.com Blog | Waterstones
From Nicola Sturgeon to Bernie Sanders, here are the politics books we've loved this year.
www.waterstones.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Reposted by Pete Apps
jessmccabe.bsky.social
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
October 30, 2025 at 8:14 PM
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
A clumsy patching up of a broken system: Khan and Reed cut London's affordable housing targets
PLUS: leaked audio reveals a Clarion manager encouraging colleagues to produce fake evidence of displaying fire safety notices
open.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:35 PM
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
Could Zurich’s housing cooperatives be the solution to the rest of Europe’s housing crisis? | Peter Apps
One in every five citizens in the city has bought a share in the company that built and owns their apartment block, says Inside Housing’s Peter Apps
www.theguardian.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:32 PM
peteapps.bsky.social
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...
The Building Safety Regulator and delays to fixing existing buildings. What's gone wrong and how to fix it?
Routine repairs to blocks of flats are taking years to be approved. Fixing this requires structural changes as well tweaks to the new regulatory system.
peteapps.substack.com
October 22, 2025 at 11:11 AM