Families living on an estate in South London say they are living in fear and relying on bottled water after several flats reported lead levels several times above the legal limit.
Tenants of Dorchester Court, a private estate of around 300 residents, discovered last week that drinking water to two flats tested had lead levels several times higher than legally allowed.
While lead pipework is banned for new developments, some older properties including Dorchester Court have still not replaced them, MyLondon reports.
Ben Archard, a leaseholder on the estate, is worried about the health of his two young children.
While the lead levels in his flat are below the legal maximum, there is no “safe” minimum for lead in drinking water.
At high levels, lead can build up and cause poisoning, with babies and young children at risk of developmental problems.
After learning of the lead piping on the estate several years ago, Mr Archard estimates he’s spent £2,000 on bottled water, going through a five-litre bottle every day.
He told MyLondon: “The effects of lead on children can be quite extreme. We’d rather take the hit than risk our children's health.
"The tenants’ union requested tests and were refused until we approached the council.
“The management company are not interested in improving things unless they’re forced to by Lambeth Council. They don’t give a damn."
Lambeth Council is now testing more flats and could compel the estate's owner to make urgent changes to the water supply.
Mr Archard says he pays around £4,500 a year in service charges to freeholder Manaquel Ltd and estimates the company's additional rental income after tax may be around £1m a year.
He added: “Where is all the money going? They could have replaced the lead pipes easily with that kind of money coming in.”
Dorchester Court resident Estella, who has two children, also relies on bottled water and hit out at the landlord's alleged slowness to respond to concerns over lead levels.
Freeholder Manaquel Ltd is owned by the property tycoon Heinrich Feldman, who has featured on the Sunday Times' Rich List with a net worth of more than £200 million.
Residents have previously described him as a "rogue landlord " after a string of problems on the estate.
A Lambeth Council spokesperson said: “Lambeth Council is doing all it can to support residents at Dorchester Court which is a privately-owned estate.
“Following complaints raised by tenants and leaseholders about living conditions on the estate, an inspection by the council found traces of lead in the water supplied to two flats.
“The council has been liaising with the freeholder, and across agencies including Thames Water, in managing the situation. We have ensured residents have been supplied with safe drinking water, and we have given the occupants advice about how to stay safe while we carry out further testing...There are no plans to take enforcement action at this stage.”
MyLondon has seen an email from the management company, Property Partners, confirming the high lead levels in two of the four tested flats.
It says: “Please do not drink the water from and of the taps within the flat.
"We are arranging for drinking water to be delivered to the site…This will be distributed to all flats until the results of the testing are received.”
In a statement, Property Partners told MyLondon they planned to replace lead pipes as part of a wider planning application currently with Lambeth Council, which includes building new penthouse flats on the estate.
A spokesperson said: "The replacement of lead pipes across the estate forms part of a wider planning application which is shortly to be determined by Lambeth.
"The only way to replace the lead pipes is to have residents vacate their flats as floors and walls will need to be exposed to undertake the works...
"In the interim Lambeth are testing various flats across the estate over the next week or two with a view to working with us if any short term remedial works are required.
"It is important to note that four flats have been tested to date, two passed and two failed, one of which was vacant meaning there was standing water in the pipes.
"We hope this provides some clarity and we would like to reassure you that we are working closely with Lambeth to ensure the safety of all residents."
The Dorchester Court Tenants' Union is calling for the lead pipework to be replaced without relying on the planning application.
In 2020, residents faced hot water outages in the winter and in October that year, emergency services attended a major carbon monoxide leak from temporary boilers.
Some residents were taken to hospital in an ambulance for check-ups.
Heinrich Feldman has not responded to requests for comment.
