Council apologises after admitting elderly tenant's damp and mould should have been fixed 'much sooner'

90-year-old man from Wood Green left to live with numerous problems in his council house for years, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Some of the problems at Mr Smith's home include damp, mould, exposed pipes and damaged walls and floors — Problems at Mr Smith’s home include damp, mould, exposed pipes and damaged walls and floors

A 90-year-old Haringey Council tenant with dementia has been left to live in “Dickensian” conditions in Wood Green for over four years as complaints of disrepair went ignored.

Speaking on behalf of elderly resident Mr Smith, daughter Georgina Smith said ever since her father moved into the home in Gladstone Avenue almost five years ago there’s been a “really bad” damp problem so serious her father was “slipping and sliding” due to wet floors.

She said that although some repair work was done last winter there are still persisting issues.

“My dad’s house stinks of damp and he’s coughing up phlegm every day which is getting worse,” she said.

She said she’d been trying for years to draw the council’s attention to the conditions her dad was living in but after three years of “unanswered calls” she raised a complaint with the ombudsman – and apologies were then made by the council.

Although a surveyor came to advise on the work to be done, Georgina said they’ve been left “lingering again” with unresolved issues.

The work which took place last winter involved replacing pipes along the passageway, which had the most severe case of damp. However Georgina said this caused further issues as walls and flooring torn up to do the repairs had been “left open” with “pipes exposed”.

She added that currently there is still damp in the bedroom and dining room. Georgina said: “They’ve put the new pipes in and left them all exposed, they’ve said they’re going to box them back up, but they haven’t.”

A Haringey Council cabinet member this week admitted the “unacceptable” situation had gone on “far too long” and pledged to resolve the outstanding issues “as soon as possible”.

Georgina is now seeking compensation for the damage as she said her father spent thousands of pounds on flooring when he moved in. “They’ve just left pipe work all over, my dad’s spent £2,500 for his flooring when he moved in there and it’s completely ruined all down the passageway, all his wallpaper is ruined and there’s more damp coming in other places.”

After chasing the housing officer connected to her father’s case for around a year Georgina was instructed by a local watchdog to make a claim through the council’s insurers, but this led nowhere.

Crying as she described the impact of seeing her father live in these conditions, Georgina said: “My dad is a part of the Windrush generation, he came over in the 1950s with my mum […] he’s worked his socks off, he worked for British Railways when he first came over, he’s a builder by trade.

“To see my dad in his living room crying, because he’s so confused and he doesn’t know what’s going on, it really breaks my heart. He’s worked his socks off, he’s never been one to sit around.”

Responding to the issues raised, Sarah Williams, the council’s cabinet member for housing services, private renters and planning, said: “I want to apologise for the ongoing distress and inconvenience this is causing Mr Smith. This is simply not acceptable.

“Whilst our teams have undertaken various repairs since 2021, the work to fix the main leak earlier this year took far too long and issues such as damp and mould and floorboards should have been resolved much sooner.

“An inspection will take place next week and we will ensure any outstanding work is completed urgently and the family kept updated throughout.

“Rest assured we are working hard to improve our housing services and know we must get this right as soon as possible.”

Local news needs your support

We are proud that we were at the forefront of reporting on the recent local elections. We can’t do this without the support of our readers.

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.