A South London woman who has had to endure a water leak at the front of her council property for the last three years has finally had it fixed.
Marie McManus and her family had the leak fixed by Thames Water at their Lambeth Council property in Brixton on Friday (March 20) following years of urging the authorities to take action.
After the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) got in touch, Thames Water came out to investigate long-held concerns about the water leak spilling an estimated 326 litres an hour which was causing havoc for the family.
A Thames Water spokesperson has since confirmed the leak, which had been caused by a burst pipe, was repaired on Friday.
They told the LDRS: “We’ll now get another meter read to check that the usage has gone back down to non-leak usage and apply a leak allowance to the billing so the customer isn’t billed for water lost due to the leak.
“We’ll then complete a service review and apply goodwill. ”
Marie had accused the council of failing to take responsibility over the leak in her front garden, and claims a Section 75 notice which was issued last year and requires a landlord to carry out urgent repairs to a water leak, was ignored.
Marie told the LDRS: “I feel like my family is very undervalued and uncared for, our health should be a priority in this property.
“The fact this property at this point is not even viable for the problems that we have and now, [is] a death trap.”
Marie has alleged the property is not fit for human habitation, claiming there are several other outstanding disrepair issues, including a roof that is “ready to collapse”.
A Lambeth Council spokesperson said contractors had recently carried out work on the boiler at the property, and had already scheduled visits to assess the water leak and the roof.
Credit: Facundo Arrizabalaga
They added: “We will follow up other issues, including damp and mould inspections, as soon as possible. However, it is vital that the family allows us access to the property in order to carry out this work, and this has so far not been granted.”
When the LDRS visited the property prior to the water leak being fixed, Marie said: “At this moment in time, we have a 326 litres an hour leak coming through under the front of the house with a burst pipe, we have a bowing, ready to collapse ceiling, and the roof over the utility room is ready to collapse and flood out the utility room and the kitchen.
“We have a garden wall that is ready to collapse, we have rising damp, mould and various other issues unknown at this time because inspections haven’t taken place.”
Marie says the stress of decades of housing disrepair has taken a physical and mental toll on her and her family, who live with severe and complex health conditions.
Marie lives with a stomach ulcer that previously burst while her mother, Agnes Carruthers, is a triple stroke survivor. Marie says her brother also suffers from “deadly hypertension”.
Marie, her mother Agnes and her two brothers have lived at the property for the last 28 years, but for seven of these, they were decanted to temporary accommodation due to widespread disrepair issues in their home.
The family initially refused to move back, arguing the council had failed to fix the issues and accused the council of failing to resolve any of the underlying structural issues such as a rotten staircase.
Marie says the family had no choice but to ultimately move back, due to problems with flooding and mould at their temporary property in Brixton Hill.
When the family returned to their original home, Marie said it was like a “squalor” and was in “exactly the same [way] as we left it”. The recent water leak had made her feel as if she was living on a “ticking time bomb”.
Marie has stated that she does not want to move into temporary accommodation again due to the issues she encountered at the property in Brixton Hill and instead wants to be transferred into a safe, accessible home “to take care of my family in”.
She said: “We love our house. We do. We’ve stayed here for 28 years. Of course. But now we hate it.”
A Lambeth Council spokesperson said: “Lambeth is committed to ensuring all our council homes are kept safe and well-maintained and, when any problems arise, our priority is to resolve these as quickly and fairly as possible.
“We completed a large number of repairs at this family’s original home and their temporary property, and these were independently verified before they moved back into [their current property]. We have apologised to the family for any inconvenience or distress caused by the work required.”
They added: “If the family feels that they need a larger home or an adapted home, they would need to go on to the housing register and be assessed around those requirements.
“Any decisions would be based on these needs, rather than the disrepair issue, and their application would need to be considered against other households with the same needs/priority.”
