A family-of-five stuck in a council flat without a working shower say they have to wash with buckets, while the toilet flush is so high that the three children can’t reach it.
Princess Ola, her husband and three children moved into their house on the Clifton estate in Peckham in 2017, and have been waiting for a shower to be installed ever since.
The house has just one toilet between five people, which means the family has to endure long waits for the bathroom, My London reports.
After using the toilet, Mrs Ola’s kids have to wait for her to flush as the old fashioned pull chain is too high for them to reach.
Mrs Ola, 43, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the flat was completely unsuitable for children.
She said: “I told the housing officer that my bathroom never had a shower. It’s not good for children. There’s a bath but there’s no shower so I have to put water in a bucket to clean the children.
“There’s five people living here but there’s just one toilet and you have to flush it from the top. The kids can’t reach the flushing system and they have to wait for me to come. They [the council] should have changed the flush in the toilet system.”
Mrs Ola also complained that it took Southwark Council six days to fix a leak from the balcony on the floor above, despite her children having to pass under it several times a day.
When the Local Democracy Reporting Service visited the estate on June 28 the leak had stopped, but rotting timber on the balcony above was exposed.
“It’s dangerous. I have a nine year old and a 10 year old and they have to pass under where the leak was on a daily basis,” Mrs Ola said.
Mrs Ola added that her kids struggle to sleep because of the noise from traffic on Peckham High Street day and night. The window facing the road doesn’t have double glazing and Mrs Ola said the passing cars sound as loud inside the house as when she stands outside.
She said: "My son sometimes finds it difficult to sleep and the glass isn't double glazed. Even in the middle of the night it’s really noisy and sometimes it’s people playing on bikes outside.
“They [Southwark] said they will change the glass but they have not and they’ve been promising for the last five years. It’s hard to get a response from them and you can’t go to see them in person because everything is online.”
A Southwark Council spokesperson said: “The home has three bedrooms and was built with one toilet. Whilst we sympathise with Mrs Olukoya-Olanipekun, unfortunately we are unable to install an extra toilet, but we will be contacting Mrs Olukoya-Olanipekun to discuss her current housing position and support her housing needs.
“In regards to the high pull flush, we are arranging to fit a longer flush chain so the family can all use it,” they said.
"Most council homes have baths instead of showers, but some showers are put in if there is a medical requirement. We will look at the bathroom to see if there’s anything we can do to improve things for the family.
"We know this block needs its windows to be upgraded, and that is planned to happen in the next cycle of major works. However, we will check the windows to make sure they fully close and that any noise from outside is reduced.
“We are aware of a leak in a neighbouring property which was fixed as an emergency repair. We are visiting today to fix the balcony ceiling."
