Charlene, from South East London, has been complaining about the lack of steady water supply to her home for almost 3 months. She lives in her apartment in Crystal Palace with her 3 children, and the sporadic supply has left her without water for periods of up to 7 hours at a time.
In an interview with BBC London, Charlene explained that her housing association, Hyde Group, had dispatched a contractor to fix the problem, however that the issues persist in four out of the 6 flats in her building. Hyde responded to advise that they are investigating the problem, and that they have been supplying bottled water where necessary.
Charlene has been a resident of the two-bedroom flat, managed by the Hyde Group, for 12 years, along with her three children.
“It started off every few days, but now every day there are some periods where I don’t have running water.
“Trying to run a household with three children without running water is a joke” Charlene explained.
She continued, “We never know when we will have water, so you never know when you can have a shower.
“I’ve had to wash my clothes at other people’s homes, which is a complete inconvenience, it’s ridiculous.”
The lack of running water is a serious issue within a home and impacts every aspect of daily life. Washing, cleaning and even simple things like cooking become a challenge. FDM Solicitors have worked on similar cases in the past to help force landlords to take responsibility, and action when a home falls into disrepair.
Charlene and her neighbours have lodged numerous complaints but feel they have been “passed from pillar to post” with no reasonable outcome received. After filing a formal complaint with Hyde, they informed her that it was likely that Thames Water was accountable for the issue.
Upon contacting Thames Water, she was informed that if the problem was related to the supply, then all of the flats would have been affected.
Charlene also mentioned that Hyde had sent her a box of chocolates and had previously offered her a payment of £150. However, she rejected this offer and claims that the association has not replied to her two most recent emails.
“It’s not an isolated issue and it’s now beginning to affect my mental health,” she said.
“It’s impacting my everyday life and it’s destroying it.”
‘Investigations are underway’
A Hyde representative stated, “We’re sorry that Charlene and her neighbours are experiencing issues with the water in their building.
“We are investigating and we’re trying to get to the bottom of why the water is running dry so quickly.
“In the meantime, we’ll make sure that we are supplying bottled water to the building.”
A Thames Water spokesperson said that an engineer had inspected the property on Tuesday and confirmed there were no issues with the external water supply to the flats.
The engineer also indicated potential internal issues with the pump and tank, which would of course fall under the purview of the landlord to repair.
If you’ve experienced issues with your water supply or any other type of housing disrepair, please contact FDM Solicitors using the form below for a no-obligation chat to see how we can help you.
