Jessica Field & Peter Apps in conversation with Vicky Spratt

Eviction: A Social History of Rent by Jessica Field

In 2017, Jessica Field’s parents and 69 of their neighbours received warning of imminent eviction. Their corporate landlord sought to demolish their affordable private rented homes and replace them with middle-class houses for sale. Together, the women of the estate set up an anti-eviction campaign to save their tenant community.

The neighbourhood was the last surviving part of a National Coal Board estate, originally built in the 1950s to house local mineworkers. It was dubbed ‘Cardboard City’ because of its poor quality, prefabricated construction; houses were put up by unskilled workers in less than two weeks apiece. They were costly to build, costly to maintain and, by the 1980s, rendered defective. When the pits closed and the Coal Board needed to get rid of its housing stock, whole estates were then auctioned off to speculators – heralding the financialisation of social housing and putting low-income tenants at the mercy of global investors. Renters were swindled every step of the way. But time and again tenant activists – especially women – have fought back.

In telling the history of Cardboard City and the wider history of housebuilding-for-rent, EVICTION offers an alternative history of social housing as well as a celebration of women-led tenant activism fighting against profiteering landlords.

Homesick: How Housing Broke London and How to Fix It by Peter Apps

In London, only those with vast cash deposits can get on the property ladder, private rents have spiralled out of control and the wait for social housing is measured in decades. Once vibrant communities are being uprooted, schools are closing down and homelessness is rampant.

It was not always like this. In the 1980s, builders and nurses could afford family-sized homes, there was abundant social housing and long-term security for private renters.

Tracing the last forty years of housing policy, Peter Apps examines this transformation, following a diverse group of Londoners as their fortunes rise and fall across the decades amid the economic forces sweeping through the city. With clear-eyed urgency, he reveals what will happen when a generation of renters retires and climate change brings fire and flood to a city unprepared for extremes.

He also gives us reason to hope, exploring the ways London can transform again: from a market for private profit to a place that once more offers permanence, safety and opportunity for its citizens. A place to call home.

Accessibility

The Old School Rooms are located on the first floor of Clapton Park United Reformed Church. The room is accessible via steps from the street, with an alternate entrance via lift. Seating will be provided for all attendees.

The speakers will use microphones and a small PA system, and the event audio will be recorded and made available as a podcast.

While we await comprehensive venue accessibility information, please contact us with any specific questions or requests and we'll be very happy to help.