Flats left with no heating or hot water for months

Jade Alvarez and her 12-week-old baby, Laia

Leaseholders living in an Art Deco block of flats in south-east London have been left without hot water or heating for three months.

Jade Alvarez, 42, lives on the top floor of Lee Court on Lee High Road in Lewisham. She gave birth to Laia in October.

“We came back home from hospital and there was no heating - it was horrendous. We thought it would be an annoying thing for a couple of weeks, and three months later we were still without heating.”

The central heating system for the building is normally switched on in October and is paid for by the annual service charge, which also covers maintenance and other expenses. The amount varies every year but in 2023, the bill was £4,000.

'An impossible situation'

Ms Alvarez says the lack of heating has made existing problems with a leaking roof much worse.

“It’s so bad that if it’s raining we can’t leave the house because we don’t know how much it’s going to bring. It literally leaves a little puddle if you leave it unattended,” she said.

There is now black mould, and powdery mildew, on the walls of her baby’s nursery.

Water drips into Christopher Francis's bedroom

Christopher Francis, 69, also lives on the top floor at Lee Court. He has owned his flat since 1986 and lives on a pension. When it rains, water drips through the ceiling of his bedroom for days.

He said: "It’s so frustrating. If it was your own house, you’d be able to go and do something. Because it’s all down to the managing agents, it’s been an impossible situation to be left in."

Catherine Boggan is recovering from cancer

Catherine Boggan, 34, was diagnosed with cancer last year and is now in remission.

She says the poor maintenance of the building has added to her stress.

"It has felt like managed decline… that the plan has been to deteriorate the building, whether through neglect or intention, I don’t know. But every call that we’ve made for any kind of improvement or any maintenance has been ignored."

The 90-year-old Art Deco building is in need of repair

The managing agent, Drivers and Norris, said the hot water boiler was replaced last summer and the recent problem with the central heating system was complex.

The company said it had been compounded by individual leaseholders incorrectly installing additional radiators in their flats.

Michael Porter, head of block management for Drivers and Norris, said: "The freeholders were planning to add another storey to the building and as part of that development, and to compensate the leaseholders for the inconvenience/ disruption, the proposal was to refurbish the building. These plans did not get approved.”

He said they then started a Section 20 process for major works "but there was little support from the leaseholders for doing all the works at significant expense in one go".

'A desperate state'

The residents have now taken over the building maintenance themselves and have appointed a new managing agent in the hope they can resolve some of the problems.

Buy-to-let leaseholder, Lorelie Wilson, 68, says: “We know that the brickwork pointing, the roofs, the gutters, the downpipes, the services such as heating and hot water are all in a desperate state - so this will take quite some time.”

Lee Court is owned by Grandpex Company Limited, represented by Better Properties Limited.

The chief operating officer, François Joliot, said: "The responsibility for the maintenance of the building is now with the managing agent appointed by the right-to-manage company set up by the leaseholders.

"We are liaising with them on all matters pertaining to the building, including our plans for carrying out the planning consent. This is not stopping us from conducting a full investigation into what has happened."

The case highlights the difficult position leaseholders are often in, without recourse as tenants or rights as freeholders. The government is debating the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill in Parliament, legislation it said would be fairer to leaseholders.

Labour MP for Lewisham East, Janet Daby, is supporting the leaseholders at Lee Court and says the government’s planned reforms do not go far enough.