‘I feel like I don’t exist’: Council leaves disabled man in flat with no kitchen for a year after failing to complete repairs

A disabled man says he has been forced to spend thousands of pounds on takeaways after the council failed to complete repairs on his kitchen for a year.

Garfield Brown, 57, of Frazier Street, Lambeth, is blind in his left eye and suffers from sciatica, arthritis and high blood pressure.

A year ago, Lambeth council sent builders to carry out maintenance work on his kitchen after Mr Brown reported problems with his boiler and leaks coming through the flat above him. 

He said: “They worked on it for a week and then just left it falling apart.

“I’ve spent 50 weeks without a kitchen, with most of my things in storage.

“I’m spending about £70 a week on takeaways. I’ve had to cut back my spending just so I can afford to eat.”

Three weeks ago Mr Brown’s boiler broke and he had to buy an electric heater.

He said: “I’ve been in bed most of the time to stay warm – I can’t afford to run the electric heater all the time.”

Mr Brown said he has been left frustrated by the council’s failure to communicate with him.

He said: “I phone up to complain and they tell me there’s a court case going on with the property – but I don’t know anything about it.

“Sometimes they don’t even answer my calls. I feel like I don’t exist.”

The property is also riddled with mould – which Mr Brown said is affecting his breathing – and has been left with a boarded up window from council repairs in 2020. 

Mr Brown said: “The window that works opens out into the road and it feels unsafe when my grandchildren visit.

“In summer it gets too hot and there’s mould all around the window frames so it needs ventilation.

“I’m constantly cleaning the walls to try and get rid of the mould.”

This comes after the Housing Ombudsman ordered Lambeth council to pay out £13,000 in compensation following six findings of severe maladministration across three different cases, in November 2023.

The ombudsman said its investigation into the council in these instances had a theme of an unacceptable time taken to remedy outstanding repairs, some of which were left for five years.

In one case, the sector watchdog made three findings of severe maladministration for repairs, record-keeping and complaint-handling.

A Lambeth council spokesman said: “We identified several repairs needed at this property and we have been trying to complete them for several weeks. However, the work required has been continually put on hold due to problems agreeing access to the property.

“The council also offered to place some of Mr Brown’s items into storage while the repairs were being carried out, but we have been unable to agree the arrangements for this.

“We are sorry for any inconvenience these delays have caused Mr Brown. We’re disappointed that we haven’t yet been able to complete these repairs and bring his home up to standard, but we have agreed an appointment for next Monday to finish the repairs.”

Pictured top: Mr Brown said the council has left him without a kitchen for nearly a year (Picture: Garfield Brown)