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Families to no longer be housed in billionaire-owned tower after suffering without air con

The Guardian reports that homeless families in London's Britannia Point were told air conditioning was not an amenity, leading to two child hospitalizations. Councils including Wandsworth and Sutton have now agreed to stop housing families in the building, while some residents continue to face issues.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 27–30, 2026 Published Aug 14

Lead

Homeless families placed by London councils in temporary accommodation at a Colliers Wood tower were reportedly told they could not use the in-built air conditioning because it had not been offered as an amenity for them. Two children were hospitalized during recent heatwaves, and residents and councils have raised concerns about the conditions inside the 19-storey glass-fronted block, according to the Guardian.

Britannia Point, in the south of London, is owned by Criterion Capital, a company founded by property magnate Asif Aziz. The families were placed there through temporary accommodation tenancies, which allow councils to house otherwise homeless households for periods that can last from weeks to years. These tenancies are managed separately by lettings agencies, including London-based Aura Assets Management.

Following a tenant complaint, an email reportedly sent to the family provided that air conditioning had been switched off for households in emergency accommodation. The email said that the system had been turned off because the units were not offered as an amenity, and that residents were welcome to use portable fans or air conditioning units instead. After this became public, the company managing tenancies told the Guardian that households in temporary accommodation had now been allowed to use the air conditioning. However, some residents said they had been informed that using the system would incur a charge, and that bills could be significant.

In the meantime, Wandsworth council, which places residents in the building, is now making plans to remove its tenants. A council spokesperson told the Guardian: "As ever, the welfare of residents is our priority and we are working at pace to ensure suitable alternative accommodation is available." Sutton council has stopped placing new families and said it was working with existing residents to move them to other accommodation. Croydon council, which has lodgers in the block, said it faced a high demand for temporary accommodation and had not removed anyone, but had raised concerns with the owners and conducted welfare checks.

Coverage comparison

The Guardian has twice reported on the situation. The first account, published earlier, drew attention to the fact that families were initially told no air conditioning, leading to unhealthy heat and a family demanding action.

The second piece focused on the responses of councils and the change in policy. It also quoted a resident, Benice Bodah, who confirmed that the only built-in air conditioning had not worked reliably for almost three years. That article reported that several boroughs have now agreed to stop placing families in the tower.

Key Claims

Families in temporary accommodation at the tower were told they could not use the air conditioning, because it was "not offered as an amenity", and were instructed to rely on portable fans.
Two children were hospitalised due to heatwaves, as reported by the Guardian.
The building is owned by Criterion Capital, set up by property magnate Asif Aziz.
Some of the tenancies are managed by Aura Assets Management.
Several councils have agreed to stop placing households, specifically Wandsworth and Sutton; Croydon has not agreed to remove but has raised concerns.
Residents are still experiencing issues with air conditioning.

Perspectives

Wandsworth: A spokesperson said the welfare of residents was priority, noting it was "working at pace to ensure suitable alternative accommodation is available."

Sutton council: confirmed it would no longer place people in the building and was helping all remaining residents from the tower to move elsewhere.

Croydon council: In circumstances of high housing demand, it said it was not removing people but had raised issues with Criterion and had carried out welfare concern checks for those in the block.

Managing agent (Aura Assets Management): Initially, families were told that air conditioning was not part of their tenancy and that they could use portable fans. After the complaint, the company told the Guardian that households in temporary accommodation could now use the air conditioning.

Resident Benice Bodah: She told the Guardian that the air conditioning in her flat had worked only intermittently over the almost three years she had lived there, and that the heat had been difficult to endure.

How this outlet told it

The Guardian — World as of Jul 27, 2026, 4:31 PM UTC

Framing: Homeless families denied access to air conditioning — Critical

Facts Included:

Homeless families in London were told they could not use air conditioning in temporary accommodation
Two children were hospitalised due to heatwaves
The building is owned by Criterion Capital
Aura Assets Management manages some of the tenancies
Residents were told to use portable fans instead of air conditioning

Read the source article →

The Guardian — World as of Jul 30, 2026, 1:15 PM UTC

Framing: Councils respond to air conditioning controversy — Objective

Facts Included:

Councils have agreed to stop housing families in the building
Wandsworth council is making plans to remove their tenants
Sutton council has stopped placing people in the building
Residents are still experiencing issues with air conditioning
Some tenants are being charged to use the air conditioning

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimHomeless families in London were told they could not use air conditioning in temporary accommodation. The air conditioning was not offered as an amenity for them.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 27, 2026, 4:31 PM UTC
ClaimTwo children were hospitalised due to heatwaves.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 27, 2026, 4:31 PM UTC
ClaimThe building is owned by Criterion Capital.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 27, 2026, 4:31 PM UTC
ClaimAura Assets Management manages some of the tenancies.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 27, 2026, 4:31 PM UTC
ClaimResidents were told to use portable fans instead of air conditioning.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 27, 2026, 4:31 PM UTC
ClaimCouncils have agreed to stop housing families in the building.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 30, 2026, 1:15 PM UTC
ClaimWandsworth council is making plans to remove their tenants from the building.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 30, 2026, 1:15 PM UTC
ClaimSutton council has stopped placing people in the building.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 30, 2026, 1:15 PM UTC
ClaimResidents are still experiencing issues with air conditioning.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 30, 2026, 1:15 PM UTC
ClaimSome tenants are being charged to use the air conditioning.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 30, 2026, 1:15 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: The Guardian — World 10 claims extracted 1 editorial revision Version 1 Written 2026-08-14