Pressure is growing for an independent investigation into the role of the London borough of Tower Hamlets before a fatal fire in an overcrowded flat as it was claimed 10 officials and councillors knew about problems.
The Tarling West estate residents’ association published excerpts from correspondence from officials at the council dating back to last summer that appear to show they knew the two-bedroom flat in Maddocks House was overcrowded before fire broke out on 5 March, claiming the life of Mizanur Rahman.
He was one of at least 18 men of Bangladeshi descent living, studying, working as couriers and in hospitality in the flat, which its owner had crammed with bunk beds, charging £100 a week, according to one tenant. The fire is suspected of being started by a faulty e-bike battery.
The residents of the estate said they had “raised specific complaints about overcrowding, successive leaks and other problems specifically arising from the unsafe conditions at 18 Maddocks House for the last three years”.
The council had licensed the flat in August as a home of multiple occupation for no more than three people.
In a four-page dossier residents named council officials, housing officers and councillors who they said were aware of the problems and called for an investigation into alleged “negligence” by the council.
On Monday the council announced it would mount a criminal investigation under the Housing Act, saying it had previously carried out enforcement on the privately owned property in the council block and it was “shocking that Mizanur Rahman has lost his life”.
But Hussain Ismail, spokesperson for the Maddocks House support group, which is helping look after the survivors, who are now in a hotel, said: “We are concerned about the criminal investigation being led by the London borough of Tower Hamlets, who are in effect investigating themselves. We are worried about them deflecting blame when senior officials from the borough and Tower Hamlets Homes bear responsibility.”
One excerpt in the dossier showed that last June a repairs manager confirmed “an inspection was undertaken last year by environmental health and the property found to be occupied by multiple occupants”. Another from an official at Tower Hamlets Homes, the council’s arms-length management body, said leaks from the bathroom into a property below were in part due to “the amount of usage it gets per day as there are a few people within the property of No 18 Maddocks”. A council official said in November that the previous month the London fire brigade had visited and noted the flat “was not in a good state with an excessive number of people living in it”.
The fire brigade confirmed it visited Maddocks House in October but was unable immediately to confirm what its firefighter claimed to have seen.
The London borough of Tower Hamlets said: “We have started a criminal investigation under the Housing Act and are unable to go into specific details while this is ongoing. We must give our officers time to gather evidence including conducting interviews with tenants and neighbours. We are keen to speak to anyone with information about this case and encourage them to contact the council on 020-7364 5000.”
