Ceiling Collapse After Council's Repeated Repair Failures
A North London man suffered a catastrophic ceiling collapse after his local authority repeatedly failed to fix a persistent leak originating from a council-owned flat above his home, according to a damning report from the Housing Ombudsman.
The watchdog heavily criticised Camden Council for its handling of the situation, revealing that council workers made more than 10 unsuccessful attempts to stop the leak. Despite numerous warnings about the escalating problem, the authority showed no evidence of considering enforcement action against its own tenant in the upstairs property.
Systemic Failures in Repair Process
Ombudsman Richard Blakeway's investigation uncovered multiple procedural failures. The council failed seven times to gain entry to the property it owned upstairs, severely hampering repair efforts. Even more concerning, the repair job was marked as complete on two separate occasions without anyone verifying whether the leak had actually been stopped.
The resident living below the leak tried repeatedly to document the damage by sending photos to the council's repair team through their WhatsApp service, but discovered the account was not functioning properly. When attempts to contact the upstairs neighbour by phone failed, the council made no further effort to follow up.
The situation culminated when the persistent water damage finally caused the man's ceiling to collapse. The Ombudsman placed responsibility squarely on the landlord's delays, stating the collapse was a direct result of the repair failures.
Extended Displacement and Council Apology
Even after Camden Council eventually managed to stop the leak, the affected resident remained in temporary accommodation by the time the watchdog completed its investigation. The man told investigators his home was not safe to live in due to the extensive damage.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a Camden Council spokesperson apologised for the distress and disruption caused to the resident. They acknowledged the Town Hall should have acted more quickly and described the situation where the resident remained in emergency housing as unacceptable.
The council has since implemented changes to prevent similar situations, including bringing in specialist contractors earlier when in-house teams cannot quickly identify problems. New procedures have also been established to better monitor stays in temporary accommodation and ensure residents can return home sooner.
The Housing Ombudsman's report also criticised several other London authorities and housing associations for similar failures in addressing serious leaks, highlighting what appears to be a wider problem with repair services across the capital's social housing sector.
