London councils move families out of Aziz tower over AC ban
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- Wandsworth Council is making "immediate" plans to remove its tenants from Britannia Point in Colliers Wood after the Guardian exposed that temporary residents had been barred from using the tower's in-built air conditioning during heatwaves.
- Sutton Council said it had already stopped placing people in the block, while Croydon Council declined to remove residents, citing "very high demand" for temporary accommodation, though it is conducting welfare checks and has raised concerns with Criterion.
- Building management had told families the air conditioning "had not been offered as an amenity" for temporary tenants; after reporting, some residents received letters saying they could now use it at a cost of £35–£50 per month, a fee several described as unaffordable.
- Tenant Sabrina Walters said her one-year-old daughter was overheating and her 12-year-old had suffered cluster nosebleeds during a two-week AC outage, and that the family kept cool by going outside or crowding into one room with multiple fans because their third-floor windows don't fully extend.
- Criterion Capital, set up by billionaire Asif Aziz, was earlier this year accused of trying to mass evict tenants in the weeks before the ban on no-fault evictions, which it has denied; Labour Merton councillor Stuart Neaverson is demanding the company explain "how this could ever happen" while temperatures hit 35°C.
- Aura Assets Management, which manages the temporary tenancies, told the Guardian the AC was "fully operational," while Criterion Capital said as freeholder it "encourages" leaseholders to support tenants "in these unprecedented circumstances."
Why it matters: Wandsworth's "immediate" removal and Sutton's prior withdrawal create pressure on Croydon, which still has residents inside Britannia Point and faces "very high demand" for alternatives. For families who remain or move elsewhere, the deeper problem is financial: even when AC is allowed, the £35–£50 monthly fee is out of reach for tenants on temporary housing — a 35°C climate Britain has not been built for, being navigated by some of its poorest households inside a billionaire's building.
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