Woman unable to use council house shower since March

A mother who had a front door that would not lock for eight months and a woman who has been unable to use her shower since March have called on a south-east London council to fix social housing "disrepair".

Fiona Branson said she uses the showers at her local swimming pool because she has not been able to use the shower in her home in Lewisham for five months.

It follows an announcement from the Housing Ombudsman that Lewisham Council will be investigated over "repeated failings" with in its housing services.

Will Cooper, from Lewisham Council, apologised to both households, adding that the council was "investigating what has gone wrong in these cases".

The Labour cabinet member for better homes, neighbourhoods and homelessness added: "I'm not going to pretend that the situation that those two households have been left in is acceptable.

"Our borough, alongside a lot of other London boroughs and across the country, are facing unprecedented housing crisis."

Last month, the ombudsman, which deals with complaints about social housing providers, said it had found failings in 85% of housing complaints about Lewisham Council in the last 12 months.

Ms Branson, who has been living in her council property for 24 years, said: "There's been ongoing damp and disrepair issues to the property ever since I moved in.

"Recently the council sent somebody round who said 'oh, well I think the damp problems are caused by the shower, so we need to take the shower out'.

"They didn't replace the shower tap... and the cubicle they've fitted, I can't access."

Ms Branson said as a result, she uses the showers at her local swimming pool.

"I haven't got a bath, and the shower is the only way I have of washing my whole body," she said.

"I haven't had a shower in my home since March, and it's really horrible."

She called on Lewisham Council to "respect" her medical needs and "deliver something I can actually use".

"I don't have anywhere else where I can go and live," she added.

Teigan, a mother of two, said her family had a front door that would not lock for eight months at the temporary accommodation they were allocated, and they had multiple invasions during that time.

She said her three-year-old son was "petrified".

"I've had to chase someone up the road before, when they managed to get in," said the 22-year-old.

"It's terrifying."

While waiting for the front door to be fixed, she said she fitted locks on internal doors for the "added security when people do get in".

"I feel like I've failed, because I can't provide them with the one thing I should be able to, which is a secure home," she said.

The door has been fixed but Teigan has said other external doors in the building do not lock, which has resulted in the council paying for 24-hour security.

"We all need to be moved, this is not a safe area for children, it's not a safe area for anyone," she said.

Simmone Ahiaku, organiser from the London Renters Union Lewisham, told BBC Radio London there were "thousands of renters in the borough" who were going through similar issues.

"I think the problem is so widespread in the borough, where people are living in heaps of disrepair, loads of mould, loads of damp," she said.

"They are complaining to the council, they are asking for these repairs to be done, and they're left for months on end without these being done and the house going into further disrepair."

She said Lewisham was "indicative of a wider issue".

"Councils aren't necessarily getting the funding that they need to provide safe, affordable housing to people," she added.

Mr Cooper told BBC London: "The first thing I want to say to those residents is sorry."

He said the council was investigating "what has gone wrong" and "striving to improve the standards" of all the housing it manages.

"After taking over direct management of our housing last year, we self-referred to the Social Housing Regulator outlining various failings in the service," he said.

"Since then improvements have been made, with repairs jobs waiting halved, repairs completed on time up and phone waiting times slashed.

"But there is a huge amount more to do and we will continue working with the Housing Ombudsman and Regulator of Social Housing until we have satisfied their requirements.”

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