The local authority claims it always remained “sensitive” to the family’s needs, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

The propped-up ceiling inside Sarah's flat — The propped-up ceiling inside Sarah’s flat

A social housing tenant with cancer has complained of negligence at the hands of Enfield Council following months of disruptive building works.

Sarah (not her real name) moved into a terraced property in Enfield Town with her mother last May and said her upstairs neighbour began repairing his floors in early October after finding dry rot.

The council, which owns the building but not the upstairs flat, installed support props to sustain the weight of the ceiling in Sarah’s flat. Intermittent access was needed via the flat to complete the works, the council said, and scaffolding was placed outside.

However, Sarah said that since the work began, drilling and hammering has been taking place during antisocial hours.

Around mid-October, not long after the work began, Sarah’s mother suffered a heart attack. She then appealed to the council to pause maintenance works on health grounds.

“They just didn’t care,” Sarah said. “They gave their duty of care to him [the upstairs neighbour] but not to us, despite our illnesses.”

Sarah discovered she had breast cancer around the time she moved into the property, six months before work began, and consequently had to make regular visits to hospital for treatment.

A council spokesperson has said in response that it always remained “sensitive” to the family’s needs but that the works were essential and had to be carried out as fast as possible.

Sarah claimed the council’s housing repair workers did not arrange with her when they needed access to her property to carry out works.

Scaffolding on the outside of Sarah's home — Scaffolding on the outside of Sarah’s home

In January, the council was granted an injunction to access Sarah’s property, stating she had refused them, but Sarah said poor communication on top health issues had made granting access difficult.

As of February, the beams and partition wall placed inside Sarah’s flat have been removed, and the damage done to the ceiling covered, however the scaffolding outside is still in place and noise from works in the upstairs flat still continue.

Following the culmination of the building works and injunction, Sarah decided to place her mother in a care home.

Sarah said the council had requested herself and her mother move into temporary accommodation, ahead of the works, in the form of a cheap hotel or similar, but Sarah refused due to having recently moved and her recent operation.

“It’s not meant to affect you having peaceful enjoyment of your home,” Sarah said of the works. “This is affecting our quality of life, if you can’t use the living room or the kitchen because of this, then the council should have to do something about it, but of course they haven’t.”

Documents from the injunction show that a statutory consultation period of six months was required before starting such work, however the council decided to forgo this on the basis of “good faith”.

When asked about this irregularity, the council responded: “All procedures were correctly followed by the council.”

Following enquiries, a council spokesperson corroborated the timeline of events but claimed it had been “sensitive” to Sarah and her mother’s vulnerabilities.

The spokesperson said: “The resident above [Sarah]’s flat purchased his flat and subsequently found dry rot in his floor. The council planned to make repairs from below his flat and through [Sarah]’s flat.

“The council installed props in her flat with her permission prior to the works to secure her ceiling. But she then refused the council further access, so alternative arrangements had to be made to make the necessary repairs from above in the leaseholder’s [upstairs] flat.

“To safely continue, the council needed access to [Sarah]’s flat for three hours to install more props, but again she refused access.

“The council had no choice other than to apply for an injunction that came at a significant cost.

“The injunction was granted in court but initially [Sarah] still refused access, but then decided to allow entry to her flat for three hours. The council subsequently completed the works from the leaseholders flat and then removed the props and made good and cleaned the flat.

“Temporary accommodation was offered to the resident before the work began but she refused.

“Throughout the process the council has been sensitive to [Sarah] and her mother’s vulnerabilities, but works were essential to avoid the ceiling from collapse and protecting the health and safety of all the residents.”

No news is bad news

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

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

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.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.