🔓 Free Deepa: Call on Peabody to Buy Back Her Shared-Ownership Flat and End the Leasehold Trap

To: Peabody Housing Association

From: Supporters of Deepa Mistry (also known as Deepa Mistry-Longley)

Petition: We ask Peabody to offer a fair market valuation buy-back of Deepa’s shared-ownership flat — or commit to one if the building’s EWS1 form is not delivered by the date stated in their correspondence ("end of Summer 2025")

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🧱 The Trap

In 2010, Deepa Mistry Longley entered a shared-ownership agreement with Peabody in good faith — believing it to be a secure, affordable route to homeownership.

Fifteen years later, she’s stuck.

 • Her flat is unsellable due to the lack of a valid EWS1 (fire safety) form

 • She is legally responsible for 100% of costs — despite owning only a portion

 • She has been forced to move out due to personal circumstances — but can’t escape the legal and financial grip of her original flat

 • She is now paying for two properties and still has no clear path to freedom because she's still paying the flat's mortgage, service charges, rent and all utilities whilst she's renting a family home in Leicester as the flat is not fit for purpose or affordable. 

Even though Peabody rightly covered the cost of cladding removal after Grenfell, the flat remains in limbo. The building still lacks a complete and available EWS1 form — and Deepa is still trapped by a scheme marketed as supportive.

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💔 The Reality

Deepa’s story is about more than fire safety paperwork. It’s about how shared ownership can become a one-way street — with all of the responsibility, and none of the control.

She has:

 • No ability to staircase to full ownership

 • No way to sell until EWS1 is complete

 • No protection from escalating costs

 • No option to move on without financial penalty

She’s doing everything right — and still losing.

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🎙 A Public Voice — But Still No Private Justice

Deepa has spoken out nationally, appearing on BBC Panorama, in newspapers, and housing forums. She co-founded the Building Safety Crisis campaign to give voice to thousands in similar positions.

But still, she’s trapped in a property that she can’t live in, sell, or escape — all while continuing to pay full service charges and mortgage repayments.

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🔧 Our Clear Request

We, the undersigned, ask Peabody Housing Association to:

 1. Engage directly with Deepa about a fair and compassionate buy-back of her shared-ownership flat at market valuation;

 2. Publicly commit to buying back her share if the EWS1 form is not delivered and available by the date stated in Peabody’s own written communication;

 3. Recognise that no one should be paying for two homes because of institutional delays and flawed lease structures.

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🏘 Why This Matters

This isn’t just about Deepa.

It’s about thousands like her — responsible leaseholders caught in an ownership model that offers no route out. Deepa has become a symbol of how good people can be cornered by a broken system.

By buying back her flat, Peabody has the opportunity to lead by example — showing what real housing ethics look like.

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✍️ Add Your Voice

Help us show Peabody that Deepa deserves a way out. She deserves freedom, fairness, and financial stability — not lifelong debt on an empty home.

Sign this petition to Free Deepa.

#FreeDeepa

#TrappedBySharedOwnership

#PeabodyDoBetter

#BuyBackHerFlat #FixHousingNow

Photo credit: Graeme Robertson