New mother fears for baby’s health after being left without heating for months by landlord

A mother who has been left without heating in her flat for four months says it has caused her three-month-old baby to become sick.

Sun’Johnique Delisser, 32, has had to warm her one bedroom flat with electric heaters since October despite repeatedly asking her landlord to fix the building’s faulty heating system.

The property in Camberwell Station Road, Camberwell, is managed by South London based housing association, Wandle Housing.

Ms Delisser says the building’s heating and hot water systems have been faulty since she moved into the flat in April 2024.

She said: “Since then, I have had five parts replaced, but I still have no heating and my hot water is only lukewarm.

“I call every week but each time an engineer is scheduled to come and fix it they cancel.”

Since the birth of her son, Aire-Shakari Delisser, three months ago, Ms Delisser says she is becoming increasingly concerned for his health.

She said: “I had a very traumatic birth, an emergency c-section, and he was born with respiratory issues. 

“I brought him home from the hospital and we had no heating. He has been constantly ill.

“At the moment he has a chest infection which he has been prescribed antibiotics for.”

Ms Delisser said using two electric heaters in her flat is costing her around £300 a month in electricity bills. 

She fears she will not be able to continue to afford the extra cost, despite plummeting temperatures.

She said: “I’m a new mum, I’ve got 1000 things to deal with and I don’t have basic heating in my house. It’s such a simple issue that could be fixed.

“I feel like I’m letting my son down. I am being let down.”

This is not the first time Ms Delisser has faced housing challenges. 

Before moving to her current flat, she was living in temporary accommodation in Peckham where she was bidding on Southwark council’s housing register for a permanent home.

She said: “I was bidding for three and a half years and then found out the information on my application was incorrect.

“It said I was a single mother with two children, it had the full names of two boys I’d never heard of before.

“The council must have mixed up my application with another family.”

Ms Delisser said the inaccuracy delayed her from securing a single bedroom flat from the council.

She said: “I was declined three times for single bed properties because they thought I was a family of three.”

After raising the issue with the council, Ms Delisser said she was offered her current flat.

She said: “I feel like they fobbed me off by sending me here.

“It was a form of compensation but they didn’t even check if the building had heating.”

A spokesman from Wandle housing said: “I am sorry that Miss Delisser has had a difficult experience with Wandle and acknowledge the distress this will have caused her whilst caring for her young baby. 

“We have spoken with her to find out more about her experience and how we can put this right in the future. Our team has scheduled a boiler replacement on January 15. 

“In addition, she will be compensated for the cost of running the temporary heaters.”

Southwark council has been approached for comment.

Pictured top: Sun’Johnique Delisser with her son Aire-Shakari Delisser (Picture: Sun’Johnique Delisser)