A mother and her two young children living in temporary accommodation say they have been left with water dangerously dripping onto their fuse box, despite raising the issue with the letting agent seven days before.
Lily Gohatsbah, who has lived in Southwark for twelve years, first alerted Letting International that water was pouring out of their ceiling onto the electrical fuse box on 17 January.
She was worried about the possibility of a fire and the risks to her four-year-old daughter Eshkol and ten-year-old son Myles.
That evening a repair person was sent to Lily’s flat, who placed a black bag underneath the fuse box – only after she threatened to call the fire brigade.
“As ridiculous as it sounds, this is what truly happened and shows how I am not being treated seriously in such a hazardous situation,” said Lily. “I am crying to you out of desperation and the sense of dehumanization I feel.”
A week later an engineer came to the house and fixed a broken pipe, which was behind the leak, although Lily says it is still dripping.
Lily says that after seeing the bag over the fuse box her son became very distressed, crying “mum I don’t want to die by fire like Grenfell tower. I don’t want us to burn by fire.”
“Being late in the evening and out of working hours, the engineer resorted to covering the cables with a bag, with the intention that someone will be returning first thing in the morning, which is what happened,” said a Letting International spokesperson.
They also stressed that “small drips [of water] were just skimming the side of the fuse box housing.”
Whenever she complained to the letting agent, Lily claims she was met with indifference, at times remaining on hold for hours.
You have to chase or threaten just to get anything done,” she said.
In a statement, Letting International said: “Our resident’s health and safety is of paramount importance.
“The building in question was constructed in the 1950s and there are no plans or drawings illustrating the communal drainage system and services. Unfortunately, tracing the leak to its source took longer than we envisaged.”
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Lily raised a number of other concerns with her temporary accommodation, including large holes in the wall, heating that does not work for prolonged periods and a lack of space for her children to play and study.
A pervasive mould problem in the house is affecting her son Myles’s health as he is asthmatic.
Lily complained to the council on numerous occasions about the state of her temporary accommodation.
“It feels as if no one cares, even if something horrific were to happen to us in this hazardous situation,”’ Lily added. “It seems to me that the landlord does not want to pay out for the repairs.”
Cllr Stephanie Cryan, cabinet member for council homes and homelessness at Southwark Council, said: “It’s fair to say that occasionally, some properties do not meet our current Good Homes Standard, which aims to work with tenants and private sector landlords to drive up standards, because they were let before it was introduced, but we hope that going forward, our standard of TA and satisfaction from residents will continue to improve.
“We continue to increase the supply and refuse to ignore our moral obligation to provide high-quality homes residents deserve. Our council homes building programme is one of the biggest in London, which will see 2,500 new homes by May 2022.”
“We hope with all of this to ensure families move to a place of safety, warmth and comfort while waiting to find a permanent home,” she added.
Lilly and her children were placed in temporary accommodation at 14 Balsam House in east London by Southwark Council one year ago, after she separated from her husband.
Since the leak started Lily has stayed in a friend’s one-room studio in Southwark, having to travel back and forth between her home.
“I am grateful for what Southwark has done for us,” says Lily. “But I need them to find a permanent home for me and my family.” We need a properly dedicated safe and secure home that we can call our own, without fearing for our lives,” she added.