‘Why are we paying for a non-existent concierge in our rat-infested flats?’

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

Council tenants claim they are living in a rat-infested block of flats plagued by repair issues while shelling out more than £500 per year for a non-existent concierge.

And their frustration is compounded by the fact near identical private apartments next door enjoy luxuries, including a 24-hour caretaker service, a private gym and underfloor heating.

When Southwark council bought a block of affordable housing included in the award-winning Blackfriars Circus development in 2017, then cabinet member for housing, Stephanie Cryan, said the purchase would allow council tenants “to enjoy living in some of the most attractive homes in the borough”.

Few families living in the 56 flats the council took over in the Dibdin Apartments block in Blackfriars Road would describe their homes using those words today.

Instead, they talk about constantly broken lifts, faulty doors that allow strangers to walk in off the street and a weekly charge for a concierge which is included in their rent, despite the building not having one.

They claim teenagers hang out on the rooftop garden smoking drugs, while other drug users linger in the basement and stairwell, the heating and hot water breaks repeatedly, while they also say cleaning is not up to standard.

Dad Maciej Malicki, 40, said: “Our rent includes a concierge and we don’t have a concierge. It’s a fairly new building but the state is already worse than older ones because there’s no management. The youths get bricks from the roof and they throw them on the road. We have more weeds than plants in the outside area.”

Francesca Garrett, 34, who moved into the block when it first opened seven years ago, said: “I have experienced a lot of problems. I had mould and it took them months to come and deal with.

“The first floor terrace has rats now. The rats from the bin store have eaten their way through the concrete to the first floor. People are terrified so they leave their bins in the area outside. The rats are big and once I counted 23 of them.”

Yusmeri Misle, 37, who also moved in seven years ago, added: “Every year the rent goes up but we have no one downstairs. The lift breaks often. The door is always broken and lots of people come off the street to smoke weed. There’s people doing drugs on the stairs.”

She added that the building’s door locking system was dangerous. Yusmeri said she had previously got stuck in the stairwell with her baby son when a door release button broke.

Cllr Sarah King, the council’s cabinet member for council homes, said: “We take all of the issues raised by residents very seriously, such as the repairs, maintenance and pest control matters, and will look into each point. We will meet with residents to discuss all of these matters further in order to resolve them.

“We are also aware of the issue with vandalism of the doors and associated antisocial behaviour, which we have picked up with the police in order to get an action plan in place. I sincerely hope that we can make life more pleasant for residents once we have tackled these various issues.”

Pictured top: Francesca Garrett, a resident of Dibdin Apartments, with Liberal Democrat councillor Graham Neale (Picture: Robert Firth)