A vulnerable pensioner and his wife have been forced to bail water out from their home for the last two years after leaks ripped through the ceiling.
Eleopha Bramble, 66, and her husband Ronald, 77, complain they were then left in the dark for five months after their lights were disconnected because of the water damage.
Then they had to be moved from the flat after fire services visiting to check smoke alarms deemed the property a safety risk due to water in the electrics.
Eleopha and her husband, who is recovering from bowel cancer surgery and suffers with long Covid, have spent the last seven weeks stuck in a hotel.
She said: "I cannot deal with these things because my husband is vulnerable and I'm a vulnerable woman."
Each week, Eleopha says they are told by their landlords, Clarion Housing, that they will be able move back in once repairs are completed, however, she has little faith of that offer coming any time soon.
For the last two years, Eleopha says that the slight chance of rain brought dread to her family and that the only reprieve was chiefly during the last two summers when the weather changed for the better.
This meant that they were afforded daylight for longer periods and the ceiling of their flat in Lewisham, London, would stay dry.
She said: “You're just listening like, ‘is it going to rain? Is it going to rain?' And every time it rains, I think of the property. I think of what’s going to happen next."
The family says they have had to wake in the middle of the night to tackle the floods which have destroyed their belongings.
To add to their misery, they claim that the housing provider even refused to give them temporary lighting but went on to increase the rent.
She said: “Everything is sitting in water. When I got the place I was supposed to go and apply for contents insurance.
"My son had his coats on in there, and they're all ruined already."
On September 8, 2022, Eleopha and her family were rushed out of the flat and into a hotel after the London Fire Brigade deemed it a fire risk due to water in the electrics when officers visited to carry out smoke alarm checks.
She said: “If the fire brigade people didn't come to the house to check the smoke alarm, I would be there until now.
“They had to call Clarion and let them know that it's not safe for me. I was not even home at the time I was at a funeral.
“I had to leave to come down to get my stuff to go to the hotel.”
Eleopha says that the severe leaks began when contractors began work on the roof and that a week later, her home was flooded.
She said: “My husband called me and told me that the kitchen is leaking. He said it was from the ceiling and when I got home, I saw the water leaking from the lights in the kitchen.
“Two days after, it was in the bathroom. I couldn’t understand and the water was just running down everywhere.
“I had to ring the [housing] office as an emergency and they sent someone in just to look at what was going on.
“Then the following day, they sent somebody else in to disconnect the lights.”
“They said that they cannot give me a temporary light and I would have to go and get the light or somewhere myself.
“I didn't have any lights at all.”
Eleopha says that contractors from Clarion Housing came to take pictures but never began to deal with the root cause which has left her in tears.
She said: “The contractors come in and they take the pictures inside the flat and say they're going to send it to their manager.
“I called them and I was in tears and I said to them, ‘I cannot deal with these things because my husband is vulnerable and I'm a vulnerable woman. Why would I be in this condition in this water business? Why? Why do they have to do that?
“They say there’s nothing they can do. They don't call me at all.”
Eleopha says that living in a hotel has not been any better and that at one point she was even evicted from her room as Clarion had not extended her stay with them.
The care worker and her husband were then forced to pack their belongings and move to another hotel on the other side of London, and then back again after the problem was rectified.
But after seven weeks, the pair remain unable to cook their own food and having to spend money outside of the hotel to get suitable meals.
While their son who was placed in a different hotel claimed he has not been given a dinner allowance from Clarion.
Eleopha said: “I just went to my GP last two weeks. I was complaining to them. I told them about it.
“They're going to send me to a group meet and place where they keep meetings for people because I said to them, ‘I don't think I'll be able to cope with that. The way things are going on right now."
Eleopha says she does not believe that there are any repairs happening at the flat as she says she would have been contacted to grant them access.
She added that she does not want to return to the building and that she needs permanent accommodation.
She said: “I just want them to find me a proper place to live in. I wouldn't want to go back. I don't want to see the sight of that flat
“If I wasn't bailing out water I believe that building would probably would have fallen already.”
A spokesperson for London Fire Brigade said: "A crew from Lee Green attended a flooding incident on the 8 th September. The incident was over by 1301.
"They were carrying out home fire safety visits in the building and went in to the flat to fit a smoke alarm.
"On inspection they saw water coming through the ceiling isolated the electricity supply. When speaking to the building owner they advised them that the flat had to be without power due to the fire risk caused by water on the electrics."
A spokesperson for Clarion Housing said: "We are deeply sorry for the experience Ms Bramble has had as a result of the leaks. This has been a very complex repair, complicated by a telecom mast on the roof, owned by a third party.
"Our teams now have a plan in place to resolve the issue.
"We offered the household temporary accommodation and paid for meals in line with our policy while we complete the work.
"We understand the hotel Ms Bramble’s adult son is staying in is preferred due to its proximity to his place of work.
"While we instructed the hotels that Clarion would pay for meals, this unfortunately wasn’t actioned by one and this has now been resolved.
"We appreciate this has been a difficult time for Ms Bramble and her family and we are working closely with them to find a housing option that meets their needs until the repair work is complete and they can return home.”
