Fellows Court tenants' anger at Hackney Council over leaks

Problems at 63-162 Fellows Court are persistently left unresolved by landlord Hackney Council, according to long-term residents.

This includes damage to the concierge’s office, which was flooded at the end of December, and is yet to be repaired.

Residents say that this is one of numerous leaks that consistently plague communal areas of the building, particularly on the ground floor by the lifts.

The communal area on the ground floor by the lifts has been plagued by an ongoing leak (Image: Newsquest)

Alessandro de Faria, who has lived in the block with his wife for eight years, claimed that the leak by the lifts had been ongoing for over a year.

He said: “It’s ridiculous. Nobody looks after Fellows Court. People don’t even complain anymore, as they don’t believe in the council.”

Other problems include the heating system, which reportedly broke several times last winter, lifts failing to work and the smell of urine in communal areas, he added.

Alessandro, who lives on the 15th floor, said: “I come back at midnight from work sometimes and both lifts don’t work. What happens for old people?

“It smells like urine and now we don’t have the concierge office – it’s not safe.

“Nobody lives here for free. We all pay rent, but the council does not fix things.”

Hackney Council has admitted that there have been “a few occasions” over the last year when the lifts have not been working, but claimed that they have been “repaired and working on the same day”.

The authority added that it has plans to permanently replace the current heating system, but admitted this was “unlikely” to happen this year. A temporary boiler is in place for the interim period.

A temporary boiler is in place outside Fellows Court (Image: Newsquest)

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David Coleman, another tenant in the block, said that the lack of security as a result of damage to the concierge office meant anti-social behaviour was more common.

He added that residents were still paying for fulltime daytime security, even though patrols only seemed to take place once a week.

Hackney Council has denied this, claiming the patrols are “regular”, and that the building is monitored through its main CCTV patrol room.

Residents who spoke to Hackney Gazette also expressed frustration that the council was planning to build a brand new block next to Fellows Court.

Mr Coleman explained: “The concerns are that our sunlight will go once the new block is built.

“And the council are doing this when they need to spend money on their existing stock.

“You can see the tension of people living here from all of this.”

David Coleman has said there is an obvious 'tension' in the block due to ongoing disrepair (Image: Newsquest)

Hackney South and Shoreditch MP Meg Hillier, who has visited the block several times since January, said she is “aware of the impact… serious disrepair issues are having” on residents’ lives.

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But, she added, there are “no quick fixes”, claiming the council has “no additional money for the regeneration needed at Fellows Court” due to funding cuts from central government.

Hackney Council’s strategic director for housing Steve Waddington said: “As part of our drive to improve our service we are now committed to visiting all reports of leaks by the end of the next day.

“I would urge anyone with a leak to call our repairs contact centre on 020 8356 3691 so we can investigate them.

“I also want to be very clear that the development of much needed new council homes and the upkeep of the homes we already have are equally as important as each other and the cost of any new build is not met from the monies available for improvements.”