London council let me live in a soaking, mouldy flat for a year

The Guardian

3 days ago

I am a 91-year-old leaseholder in a block of flats owned by Wandsworth council. I'm living with saturated walls, dripping water and falling plaster because the council has failed to address a leak that began elsewhere in the block a year ago.
When I first reported it, contractors made a large opening in my kitchen wall to inspect a service duct that contains plumbing for 10 flats. The hole has never been made good and is now crawling with insects.
The council's plumbers have, over time, identified the possible source in various flats, stuck cards through the door asking the resident to get in touch, stuck more cards through when they got no response, and then decided the leak was coming from a different floor.
I've been diagnosed with bladder cancer, and given the deteriorating condition of my home and the impact on my mental and physical health, I asked for the leak to be redesignated as an emergency, but this was refused.
CA, London
The photo you sent of your kitchen is horrifying. A substantial section of wall around the inspection hole made by the contractors is soaked, discoloured and crumbling. Mouldy debris is scattered along its base. These are hazardous conditions for anyone to endure, let alone a 91-year-old recovering from cancer treatment.
It was January when you first contacted me. I first asked Giles Peaker, a partner at Anthony Gold Solicitors, to clarify where a council's responsibilities to leaseholders begin and end.
He confirmed that Wandsworth council should be responsible for communal areas and structures, including plumbing, and for all tenanted flats, and that it should have a right of access to tenanted and leasehold flats to carry out repairs to these parts.
If the leak were in a leasehold flat, the council would most likely have powers to oblige the occupier to repair it, or else revoke the lease. Repairs should be carried out within a reasonable time.
Despite this, the council blamed the delay on 'access difficulties' when I questioned its inertia. It told me it had since discovered the leak in a leasehold flat but had to await an asbestos test before it could be tackled. Yet it had told you, seven weeks previously, that an asbestos test had been completed.
It ignored my questions about the discrepancy but told you its earlier assertion about the test being carried out was mistaken. Three weeks after my contact, you were then told the leak was not where it was supposed to be after all, and so the waiting game continued.
The council declined to explain why an exploratory camera could not be inserted into the communal duct through the opening in your kitchen, which has already been declared asbestos free. For the next three months, you and I repeatedly chased the council for updates.
By May the leak had finally been identified in a tenanted flat and repaired. At this point Wandsworth offered to repair the damage to your flat and installed a dehumidifier but you, understandably suspicious of its timescales, decided to do the repairs through your insurer. You are still waiting for the area to dry out before repairs can begin.
The council says: 'We have spoken to the resident to apologise for the delay and he has accepted an offer of £400 compensation for the stress and inconvenience caused. We will be reviewing our processes to ensure this does not happen again.' You say: 'I think that the council employees with whom I have dealt have tried to help under a system that simply doesn't work, having no built-in imperative to get anything done.'
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