Homeless family left in 'unsafe' Havering house for a year

Ella – not her real name – is still in the waterlogged property more than a year after it was formally recognised as “unsuitable”.

In April, the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) awarded the family thousands of pounds in compensation after being left to live with the “significant disrepair” – but when the Recorder visited in late June, Ella's circumstances remained unchanged.

A leak in her upstairs shower room was spilling out into other areas, saturating the carpet.

The ceiling of her downstairs living area was soaking wet, with large holes in it.

Ella said she had sent her children to live with her mother because she was so frightened for their safety in the property. She said she was often scared to even switch her lights on because the house is so waterlogge (Image: Supplied.)

“If you touch it, your finger just goes through it,” said Ella – who is not being identified due to a risk posed by an ex-partner.

“All our stuff is ruined.

"We've had no shower room for over a year. We have been using buckets to wash.

"My sofa was covered in mould. I had to put it in the garden."

There was mould growing on the ground floor and she said her electrics frequently cut out.

Ella said she was so concerned for her children, one of whom had developed a respiratory condition, that she had sent them to live with her mother.

After paying her compensation, council officers struck Ella off the housing list, saying she had refused an alternative property.

She now has no idea how much longer she will be left in the sodden house, or what will happen next.

Mould was growing on the ground floor of the family's temporary accommodation. Ella said one of her children had developed a respiratory condition (Image: Charles Thomson)

Domestic abuse

Ella – who suffers from physical and mental health problems – was declared homeless and placed in the supposed “temporary accommodation” in 2016 by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC).

In 2019, her violent ex-partner discovered the address and tried to abduct one of her children.

In 2020 and 2021, as the man’s restraining order neared its expiry date, she repeatedly contacted RBKC.

Ella asked not to be identified because she and her children are at risk from her violent ex-partner (Image: Charles Thomson)

But, found the LGO, “the council took no action to help [her] move or to seek further information from the police.”

RBKC told the Recorder: “We take our responsibilities to residents who are at risk of homelessness or domestic violence very seriously.

“We have since further trained our staff in dealing with domestic abuse cases and have employed a new domestic abuse coordinator who is constantly improving our processes.”

Mould was growing in Ella's bedroom. She said she regularly painted over it, but it kept coming back. (Image: Charles Thomson)

Catch up on the Romford Recorder's exclusive Havering's Hidden Homelessness series:

• 'Disgusting': Single mum says being homeless costs more than renting a house
• Havering Council left homeless families stranded in motorway Travelodge
• 'I lived in a bin shed for eight months. Why can't I get on the housing list?'
• Havering spends £560k on hotels as homelessness cases soar
• 'Doctors think the stress of living in hotels may have killed my baby'

“Safety risk”

In spring 2022, the property’s managing agent told RBKC that a leak in the wet room was spilling into the living room and the bathroom floor was so rotted that it was “unsafe” for the family to use.

The agent said the family needed “an urgent transfer” because the property was a “safety risk”.

RBKC accepted that the accommodation was “unsuitable” in April 2022 – but then left the family there anyway.

The wet room in the family's temporary accommodation has been leaking since spring 2022, according to the Local Government Ombudsman's report. When the Recorder visited in late June, the upstairs carpets were soaking wet (Image: Charles Thomson)

 “[RBKC] failed to meet its statutory duty to provide suitable temporary accommodation,” the LGO found.

It ordered RBKC to pay the family £6,600 and improve its services.

RBKC told the Recorder: “We sincerely apologise for failing to meet the high standards we set ourselves in this case and have fully accepted and complied with the ombudsman’s agreed actions.”

When the Romford Recorder visited Ella's house last week, the living room ceiling was soaking wet, dripping water and full of holes (Image: Charles Thomson)

Struck off

Since the LGO judgment, Ella has been left in the dilapidated property and struck off RBKC’s housing list.

RBKC said it offered Ella a three-bedroom flat elsewhere in Havering and she refused it.

But Ella said there was a gang at a school in the proposed new area which had a long-held rivalry with her son’s current school.

Her son had been threatened by boys from that school that they would stab him with a sword.

She supplied the Recorder with a crime reference and the Met Police confirmed it had a record of the incident, reported to police by the boy's school.

The ceiling of the family's wet room was not secure during the Recorder's visit last week (Image: Charles Thomson)

“I just don’t understand why I’m being treated this way,” Ella wept.

“Why should I put my child’s life in danger just because it’s easier for them? I’m totally confused. I don’t know the laws. I just feel like I’m being messed about. I don’t know what else to do.”

Paul McGeary, Havering’s Labour cabinet member for housing, said the council was offering support.

“Havering Council will carry out our assessment to establish if we have a duty to house her and this will be completed before she has to leave her current property,” he said.

“The country-wide housing crisis means demand for homes outweighs availability and frustratingly, [Ella] is another example of that. We sympathise with [her].”