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Woman who bought flat from council ‘miserable and depressed’ after it flooded three times

By Hannah Neary, Local Democracy Reporter 

A new homeowner says buying a £650,000 flat from a London council was the worst mistake of her life after it flooded three times in two years.

Arianna Cagli, 37, says she feels “miserable and depressed” after spending a huge sum of money on her dream home, which has been plagued with problems ever since.

She said her flat in Pimlico has been flooded three times since she bought it from Westminster City Council in 2019.

The latest flood caused by a burst heating pipe has left Arianna without proper heating and floors for two months.

She said: “I spent £650,000 on this flat and I’m literally living in a sh**e.

“I thought I lived in this lovely place and now I’m just miserable and depressed and feel like buying a house was the worst mistake of my life at the moment.

“My parents were like, ‘you’ll be secure’, but every time I’ve finished renovating from one leak I get another.”

Arianna said a burst pipe flooded her home for the third time on October 22.

She said: “I was woken at six in the morning by a guy loudly banging on my door.

“I got out of bed and just walked into water. There was steam everywhere and it was boiling hot.

“I was in shock. I didn’t know what to do.”

Flooding in the flat

Arianna said the council turned off her heating and promised it would replace the pipes in her flat but she is still waiting for the repairs eight weeks later.

She also said water came in through her wardrobes, causing them to go mouldy, and ruined her new wooden floors.

She added: “They tore up all my floorboards in the living room where the flooding originated.

“Underneath the floorboards there were tiles with asbestos that were super cracked.”

Arianna claims she was not offered temporary accommodation and had to live in the flat for six weeks while the tiles and asbestos were being removed.

She also said she is still paying the council a service charge of £350 a month and spending triple her usual bill on electricity for electric heaters the council gave her as a short-term fix.

Arianna said it was her dream to buy her own home but she cannot bear living there while it is such a mess.

She added: “I can’t bear to spend Christmas in these conditions.

“I lived in Pimlico ten years before this happened and I thought I’d stay here forever but now I just want to get out.

“I feel like I’m lacking basic things and it’s making my life miserable. Every week I’m told ‘It’ll be sorted tomorrow’ but nothing’s changed.”

Cllr David Harvey, the council’s lead housing member, said: “We are doing everything we can to support Ms Cagli and to make sure her home is in the best condition.

“Works to fix the heating have now been completed and we are in contact with Ms Cagli to arrange a date to re-pipe her entire home.

“I’m very sorry it’s taken longer than expected to solve due to complications involving asbestos.

“We will be covering the costs of the electric heating and will remain in close contact with Ms Cagli.”

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