‘Do not buy these flats’: residents warn about unbearable heat inside new-builds

Experts say many new homes being built are not designed to withstand extreme summer temperatures

This is my flat... It's still like living in an oven even though this has been 'fixed'! Picture: @aidan_sheehan

The sweltering conditions inside Leaside Lock, a new-build development in east London, are hardly a secret. In June 2024 a warning written in big, capital letters was stuck to the window of one flat. “DO NOT BUY THESE FLATS. TOO HOT,” it read.

It was hard to miss for those walking past the looming high-rises and, after being snapped and posted on social media, the placard has garnered more than 500,000 views. More than a year on, during a summer when the UK recorded its second-warmest June and fifth-hottest July since 1884, residents say heat is still an issue.