People living in a tower block have been left without central heating for days after months of “torturous” leaks.
Water flooded the concierge's office for numbers 62-162 Fellows Court - a Hackney Council-run block - last Saturday (December 30).
Pictures show debris strewn across the floor, with fallen ceiling tiles above computers and other electronics.
Two days later, engineers traced the leak to pipes associated with the building’s heating system.
Hackney Council says it is “working hard” to resolve the issues, blaming the delay in repair work on the design of the building.
But residents say that leaks have plagued communal areas for months, particularly on the ground floor by the lifts, despite the council's hefty service charge.
Ronan Millar, a leaseholder who bought a flat 18 months ago, claims the disrepair has been getting “worse and worse”.
Ronan, who says he paid almost £10,000 in service charges to the council last year, said: “At first, we bought the property and there was all this chat from the council about repairing this and that, but it’s just never really happened.
“There’s been a leak in the communal area for seven months that’s just been deteriorating.
“It’s been pretty torturous, and it’s just gone downhill since we moved in really.”
David Cole, who has lived in the block for ten years, claimed the whole situation was a “shambles”.
He said: “The council are allowing failures in pipework on a monthly basis.
“The building is in poor disrepair, endangering the residents of the tower block.
“The lift area has got worse and worse and worse. It’s ruined.
“And now, with the leak in the concierge office, there’s no security.”
Hackney Council said that although the concierge office is out of use, regular patrols are continuing, and CCTV is being monitored through its main control room.
Steve Waddington, strategic director of housing services, said: “We are aware of the issues raised by the residents of Fellows Court, and we are sorry about the impact they are having on their quality of life.”
“Although we were unable to make immediate repairs, residents have been provided with temporary heaters until we can resolve the problem.
“We have engineers working to repair the system and we expect this to be resolved tomorrow (January 5).”
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