The ‘unsellable’ Olympic Village homes

It was a neglected corner of East London for decades, suffering from deprivation and underfunding until being dramatically transformed for the 2012 Olympics.

Property buyers then flocked to Stratford for modern homes built for athletes in the Olympic Village where they could also enjoy world-class retail and sports facilities.

But despite the many selling points for E20, homeowners living in the area now known as the East Village are now struggling or even not allowed to sell their apartments.

One of the biggest obstacles came when combustible cladding was found in some buildings following investigations in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire.

On top of this, the Government implemented new fire safety regulations for buildings under the Building Safety Act 2022 following the tragedy, which has created a huge backlog of works that need to be done to bring the flats up to the new standards. 

High service charges and undesirable leasehold terms, which are affecting the wider London flat market, are also meaning some sellers are having to lower their prices.

The end of the Help to Buy scheme in 2021 has also had an impact after it artificially inflated new-build flat prices, while current buyers are facing higher mortgage rates.

Rates have increased since the US-Israel war on Iran began in late February, giving buyers less spending power and therefore making them readjust budgets.

The East Village in Stratford is the area where Olympic athletes were previously housed in 2012

Tim Jeurninck (pictured) and his partner were some of the first people to purchase a flat in the East Village in 2014 – buying 40 per cent under shared ownership. They were ready to buy more with an aim to eventually buy 100 per cent, but told how they ‘missed the boat’

While Stratford has an Elizabeth line station offering quick trains into Central London, the Covid shift towards working from home means this is less important to buyers.

The supply of flats has also become overwhelmed by buy-to-let landlords trying to sell their investment properties because of higher regulation and tax changes.

In the East Village, the situation is further complicated by the company which owns the freeholds of 2,800 properties on the site facing a £432million bill to fix 63 buildings after widespread defects in the internal walls were discovered last year.

Stratford property expert Zaid Patel, director of Highcastle Estates, said fire safety disputes were ‘a nightmare to deal with across East London’, adding that sellers faced ‘significant barriers’ because lenders are ‘extremely hesitant’ on such buildings.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘Beyond the fire safety issues, new builds in general haven’t appreciated as much as expected. In fact, some have actually dropped in value, which of course impact the equity a homeowner has left in the property.

‘While people love living in Olympic Village because of the amenities and the fact it’s much safer than other parts of Newham, we’ve noticed a trend.

‘Once buyers hit their 30s and want to start a family, they begin drifting towards areas like North Forest Gate and Maryland, which are thriving at the moment. They’re looking for good communities and established neighbourhoods.

‘This creates a real problem for those who want to move out but can’t sell. They become accidental landlords, and that’s like a newbie walking into a minefield especially with the new Renters’ Rights Act. Also, the service charges are super high so some landlords after paying expenses won’t be left with much.’

He said East Village owners therefore need to decide whether to rent their property out or sell it at a much lower price than they would have wanted and invest their funds elsewhere, where they can try to make money in property or something else.

Mr Patel added: ‘We’re now renting far more properties in the Olympic Park area rather than selling them, and this pattern has been consistent across the conversations we’ve had with clients.’

Freelance journalist Lynn Carratt, 38, and her now-husband James, 44, began renting at the Olympic Park in 2016, before buying a shared ownership one-bedroom flat there a year later which was valued at £424,000 at the time.

They married in 2019 and planned to sell up the following year when they had a baby and needed somewhere with more space – but still own it now.

Ms Carratt told the Daily Mail the opportunity to get on the London property market was ‘exciting’ at the time and a ‘big achievement’.

However after six years of ‘stress’ and waiting for works to be done so she can get an External Wall System Fire Review (EWS1) document which would allow her to put it on the market, she said: ‘I don’t have any more fight left in me.’

Freelance journalist Lynn Carratt and her now-husband James, 44, began renting at the Olympic Village in East London in 2016, before buying a shared ownership flat there a year later. They married in 2019 and planned to sell up the following year – but still own it now

After her father died, Ms Carratt inherited enough money to put a deposit down on a home about four miles away in South Woodford, which had more space.

She said she has been renting out her East Village flat to a long-term tenant since for a reasonable price, which just about covers the cost of her mortgage each month.

It is in one of the 25 blocks of the 65 in the East Village which was found to have the same combustible cladding as Grenfell.

The cladding was removed from these buildings in 2020 but new fire safety regulations introduced meant 63 of the blocks also need remediation work to meet the new standards after defects were found in the internal walls last year.

This included installation of more fire cavity walls and replacing the balconies which were made of wood and a combustible metal sheet.

Mrs Carratt said: ‘To be fair to them, the cladding did get removed, but the replacements and the building defects they found should have been ironed out when they changed them from athletes’ flats and put kitchens in them in 2014 and opened them to the public to buy and rent. You’d imagine a building like that would be safe.’

She said she had contacted a local councillor but they were unable to help.

The mother of one is in a WhatsApp group with 187 other East Village flat owners who are also waiting for works to be carried out so they can get their forms and sell up.

She said the process is taking so long because the works have not yet started for a lot of people as a contractor has not yet been chosen to carry it out.

‘Also, not all of the buildings have got funding for the works from the Building Safety Fund (BFS) from the Government,’ she said. ‘They’re all arguing at the moment over who is going to pay for the works on them.’

Last month, Mrs Carratt learned her flat qualified for the BFS, with works expected to begin this summer.

In theory, that should finally allow her to secure an EWS1 certificate and sell, but she does not think that will happen until 2027.

Mrs Carratt said she could sell her flat now for a cash price but it would likely mean it would be bought by ‘rich people at a cheap price’ who would go on to sell it for a huge profit.

The average sold price for a property in the East Village area over the last year is £605,032

‘Why should they profit from my misery? I’ve been through all this stress so I don’t want to lose money on it,’ she said.

She said people who have been able to put their flats on the market are ‘struggling’ to sell them, and if they do it is ‘for less than market value or for less than you would think’.

Mrs Carratt said the blame cannot be laid on any one person or company, but added: ‘I don’t think it’s been dealt with very well by the powers that be.’

Rental operator Get Living, which own the freeholds of 2,800 properties on the East Village, is facing huge remediation costs as a result of the defects.

East Village Management Limited (EVML), the company responsible for fire safety and managing the common areas, believes a £432million bill is required to fix all 63 buildings.

But Get Living is bringing legal action against Triathlon Homes, the housing association which runs 1,400 affordable homes in the area, to get back the costs of a ‘full’ remediation which it claims goes ‘beyond the standard required’.

Triathlon insists independent fire safety experts should determine the scope of work needed to make the buildings safe for the long term.

Separately, Get Living received permission in the Supreme Court to appeal a smaller £18million cladding bill for part of the East Village – after a 2024 tribunal ruling ordered it to pay towards fixing defective cladding on five blocks.

Some leaseholders do not currently want to sell their flats and move, but the issues have made them ‘anxious’ and ‘uncertain’ about their futures when they do eventually want to.

Tim Jeurninck and his partner were some of the first people to purchase a flat in the East Village in 2014 – buying 40 per cent under shared ownership with the promise they could use their equity to buy more shares.

They were ready to buy more, taking their ownership share up to 80 per cent, with an aim to eventually buy 100 per cent and make it their own completely, but they ‘missed the boat’.

‘All of a sudden they increased your mortgages at the bank because they all need this EWS1 form which we still don’t have to this day,’ he told the Daily Mail.

Residential buildings in Stratford’s East Village, where athletes lived during the 2012 Games

Mr Jeurninck, who works in property letting, said he is not ‘trapped’ like other owners who are not allowed to sell, but explained how it impacts him and his partner in a personal way.

He said: ‘Technically, there is a lot of equity in the flats and this is really personal to us because we were going to use the equity to pay for a surrogate because we can’t have kids naturally.’

As Mr Jeurninck watches his family and friends move into new homes and have children, he is left in limbo, worrying about how they have not been able to follow the plan they had for their lives and reach their goals.

For him to get his ESW1 certificate, they need the combustible balcony removed and replaced, but the process has been dragged out by the argument over who will pay.

On top of that, he claims EVML carried out works inside his flat which were done poorly and added more fire safety issues, despite the purpose being to investigate existing issues with the promise they would redecorate after.

Mr Jeurninck and his partner had to move all of their belongings into storage and stay in temporary accommodation paid for by EVML while the work was going on – and feel it was not up to the standard they were promised when they were made to move back in.

He has made several attempts to complain to EVML and even wrote a letter to all of the companies running East Village, his MP, the Building Safety Regulator, a list of councillors and six members of the Housing Committee.

‘No one but the MP got back to me. She hasn’t managed to do much yet but she did respond. I sent this email two-and-a-half months ago and no one has responded to me,’ he said.

Mr Jeurninck also told of his frustration over EVML’s interim remediation director who he claimed had not responded to emails.

Speaking about how the almost decade-long ordeal has impacted his mental health, he said: ‘I can’t tell you how anxious I am. I cannot sleep, I’m on sleeping medication. I just feel this massive sense of injustice.’

Some 36 per cent of one-bed flats are now selling for less than the owner paid – compared to just 7 per cent of houses, according to analytics firm Bricks&Logi.

Property market data from last year also revealed an astonishing 23 per cent of all flats in the UK were sold at a loss – rising to 38 per cent for studio apartments.

The East Village has 3,800 homes and more than 6,500 residents, and Zoopla says the average sold price for a property in the area over the last 12 months is £605,032.

A spokesman for Get Living said: ‘We completely understand the frustration and stress that East Village residents are experiencing, and we have the utmost sympathy for the situation facing Triathlon’s shared ownership residents. 

‘We’re now working urgently with the Government and Triathlon to seek a solution as quickly as possible so that the impacted residents can finally move forward with their lives.’

A spokesman for Triathlon Homes said: ‘We share our residents’ frustrations over the time it is taking to fix the safety defects at East Village. Understandably, people would like the necessary work done as soon as possible. It is particularly hard for leaseholders who want or need to sell their homes.

‘We are pleased that East Village Management Limited has been able to get support from the Building Safety Fund for work to 20 buildings. This is due to start shortly.

‘Collaborative discussions with the developer are underway and we hope this progress will deliver an agreed programme of work that will see all the affected buildings made safe for everyone living in East Village.’

EVML has also been contacted for comment.