The leak was first reported in January and has since become “heavy rainfall”

By Josh Mellor, Local Democracy Reporter

The leak from the upstairs flat was first reported in January (credit: Laura Amissah)

A Leytonstone mum says a leak she first reported to her landlord months ago has now become “heavy rainfall”.

Laura Amissah, who lives in an L&Q-owned building in Leytonstone, first reported a leak from her upstairs neighbour’s flat in January this year.

Laura said the leak from the upstairs property started as manageable dripping but by March had turned into “heavy rainfall”.

She added: “The damage is halfway down from the ceiling mould to the ground… they wouldn’t do anything and have made it bigger for themselves.”

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she made “two dozen” calls to L&Q, engaged a no-win-no-claim solicitor, complained on social media and asked Waltham Forest Council for help before the housing association began to take action.

During this time, her one-year-old child has not been able to sleep in the second bedroom as she hoped.

When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for L&Q said they are “very sorry” for the problems, which they admitted have taken “too long” to address.

They added: “While access to deal with these types of leaks can cause delays, we should have dealt with the matter more effectively.

“We gained access and isolated the leak in the flat above before the Easter holidays and a further inspection is scheduled for this Friday, before proceeding with the full works and repair.”

Laura said call handlers “never seemed to be aware” of her previous complaints and eventually told her to hire a plumber to verify that the leak wasn’t in her own flat.

She said a key cause of the delay was the L&Q managed building contains a mix of leaseholders and social housing tenants. Laura is a leaseholder whereas her upstairs neighbour is a social housing tenant.

She added: “What got to the point of lunacy was I couldn’t do anything outside of my property as that was the policy they had.

“With the advisors on the phone, once they hear the word ‘leaseholder’, they just fob you off.”

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