It's like a brick oven' Flat-dwellers feel the heat in hotter summers

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

- Sammy Gecsoyler Michael Goodier

It was hard to miss for those walking past the looming high-rises and, after it was snapped and put on social media, the warning has had 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.

"When I'm trying to fall asleep at night, it gets quite unbearable," said Lucian Ho, 21, a student who lives near the top of a 28-storey building in the development. Options to cool off in his south-facing flat are limited. "All I can do is open the window," he said.

The development is situated in Tower Hamlets, which is the most densely populated borough in the UK. More than 80% of households live in purpose-built flats, the second-highest proportion in England and Wales and double the London-wide rate. The borough has seen a massive sky-rise boom, with 71 buildings with 20 or more floors being built from 2014 to 2024. To top it off, it ranks poorly for green space. All these factors come together to make living in the borough a hot box for many.

Experts have warned that many of the new homes being built in the UK are not designed to withstand the more extreme summer temperatures being seen due to the climate crisis. They have called on the government to update its upcoming future homes standard to include provisions for overheating homes.

The regulations are due to be published this autumn and to come into force from 2027, but the focus has been mainly on how to keep homes warm in winter rather than to keep them cool in summer.