Father-of-four suing Lambeth council over three-year leak in kitchen

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

A father is suing a council over a three-year leak that leaves a puddle on his kitchen floor every time it rains.

Jake Siu and his family wake every morning to a pool of water in the kitchen from a hole in the ceiling.

Dad-of-four, Mr Siu, claims that the Lambeth council-owned house on the Spurgeon estate in Stockwell, has a decade-long problem with mould and damp that is getting worse every year.

Despite asking the council to sort out the underlying problem multiple times, he claims nothing has been done and his kitchen, bedroom and home office are now plagued by damp every autumn and winter.

Mr Siu, 37, said: “I’m suing them. Every time it rains I come downstairs and there’s a puddle on the kitchen floor. I almost tripped this morning.

“I live with four kids and my kids could trip on it. I have damp in my bedroom, my office and my kitchen. It bubbles up the flooring.

“They [Lambeth] sent someone when I complained but they didn’t fix anything properly.

“It has now been going on three years in the house but I’ve seen the damp on the outside for 10 years. Now we have paintwork peeling off because of it. It’s getting worse.”

Mr Siu, who has lived in his property for 15 years, claims there are damp problems throughout the estate but said his house is particularly affected. Spurgeon estate was built between 1966 and 1967 by the now-dissolved Greater London Council’s department of architecture.

He added: “Suing them was the last thing I wanted to do but it has been going on for too long now. I can’t even fit a new kitchen because the damp will just damage it.

“They used to sort out the weeds outside but they don’t even do that now. They’re still charging the service charge though, and we have to pay council tax – it’s terrible.”

Lambeth council was contacted for comment.

A Lambeth Council spokesperson said: “Lambeth has more than 33,000 council homes and our priority is ensuring all of these are safe and well-maintained for all our tenants. Despite significant cuts in government funding over more than a decade, we have invested hundreds of millions of pounds in improving our council homes and estates, in line with the Lambeth Housing Standard.

“We have concentrated on improving the day-to-day repairs and maintenance provided to residents, including assigning 10 new firms and a brand new in-house repairs team. We’re committed to continuing these improvements, and acting quickly to resolve problems when they are brought to our attention. We take seriously our responsibilities to both tenants and leaseholders, including repairing and maintaining communal areas and the structure of buildings.”

Pictured top: Jake Siu is suing Lambeth council over damp on the Spurgeon estate in Stockwell (Picture: Robert Firth)