Residents of an eight-storey social housing block in Wandsworth say they are still waiting for a promised lift replacement, with some forced to climb up to 16 flights of stairs during repeated breakdowns. Southern Housing, which manages 27 Enterprise Way, had pledged to replace the lift in 2025, but the work has not started, and tenants report no timeline has been provided.
Lift failures persist despite 2025 replacement promise
Natasha Johnson, 45, a resident since the block was completed in 2015, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the lift was most recently out of service for around two weeks until October 19. During that period, she and her three children had to navigate 14 flights of stairs to enter and leave their home. The block has two flights of stairs for every level, meaning residents on the top floors face up to 16 flights when the lift is not working.
Johnson said the breakdowns have severely impacted her family's physical and mental health. She is particularly concerned about her 16-year-old daughter, who has sickle cell disease, and her 21-year-old daughter, who has asthma. Johnson herself has health issues and is awaiting an operation, but worries about the lift breaking down during her recovery.
“We’ve had this problem years and years, it’s still the same. It’s like they don’t care, all they care about is the rent,” Johnson told the LDRS.
Delays linked to Building Safety Act compliance
Southern Housing told the LDRS in 2024 that it planned to replace the lift in 2025. However, the housing association later said the works had been delayed by its need to understand and comply with requirements of the new Building Safety Act. In 2025, after further lift breakdowns, it said it was not expecting to start work until late 2026. With two months left of the year, residents say they have not received any update about the start of the work.
When contacted after the most recent breakdown, Southern Housing said the block was a high priority in its lift replacement programme and that it supported vulnerable residents when the lift was out of action. It did not provide a timeline for the replacement.
Johnson described the uncertainty as a “nightmare,” explaining that residents never know when the lift will break down again, which disrupts vital appointments. “If you go out, you don’t know when the lift is going to stop working. It’s a nightmare, and when you’ve got heavy stuff it’s just hard. You never know when it’s going to break down again,” she said.
Vulnerable residents left housebound or waiting to move
The partner of an elderly vulnerable man living in the block, who wished to remain anonymous, said they were desperately waiting to be moved because the lift breakdowns had a “terrible impact” on them, forcing them to navigate 10 flights of stairs when it is out of service. “It kills me, it really does kill me,” she said, adding: “We just can't carry on like this.”
Johnson also expressed concern for vulnerable neighbours who cannot use the stairs, leaving some housebound during outages.
Southern Housing responds to latest outage
A Southern Housing spokesperson told the LDRS: “The lift at 27 Enterprise Way has now been fixed by our engineers following damage caused by suspected misuse. We recognise the disruption and frustration caused by the lift outage and the impact this has on residents.”
The spokesperson added: “We’ve been supporting vulnerable residents when the lift has been out of action. Our housing team have been on hand to help residents, including providing a porter service to assist with carrying shopping and buggies upstairs.”
“We remain committed to replacing the lift and it’s a high priority in our lift replacement programme. New building safety legislation means we must complete additional legal requirements before the replacement can go ahead. This has caused delays that are outside of our control. It’s extremely important we comply with the requirements for the safety of all residents.”
The spokesperson concluded: “We’ll continue to work closely with our residents to address any outstanding issues within their building. We’d always encourage any resident who has specific concerns to reach out to us, we remain on hand to offer help and support. A member of our team has spoken to Ms Johnson directly to explore the housing options available to her.”
