Five-year leak from council flat upstairs leaves desperate Holloway woman ‘homeless’

Kike Ogunseye mops floor in her flat at Colley House Hilldrop Estate. Picture: Polly Hancock (Image: Archant)

Kike Ogunseye’s home in Colley House on the Hilldrop Estate is covered in mould thanks to water seeping through the ceiling.

The flooded floors constantly need mopping, there’s water dripping off lightbulbs and in the electricity box and the cupboards are caked in thick mould.

“This isn’t habitable,” said Kike, a 54-year-old hairdresser. “I’m having to stay at my friend’s house, but can only do that on and off.

“No one has been listening. There’s water dripping off the lightbulb and in the electricity box. I’m so fed up, it’s giving me nightmares.”

Mouldy sink unit in Kike Ogunseye's flat at Colley House Hilldrop Estate. Picture: Polly Hancock (Image: Archant)

Kike bought her home through the Right to Buy scheme in 2006 and had been renting it out through housing association Genesis Apartments. But in 2015 Genesis told her tenant they had to leave because the flat was so damp it didn’t meet health and safety rules.

Islington Council then sent workers to repair the flat, carrying out extensive work in the bedrooms and kitchen and re-tiling the place. But evidently the underlying leak in the upstairs flat wasn’t fixed because the problem soon returned.

Workers will head back to Hilldrop Road to have another go at finding the root cause, the town hall has vowed.

Housing boss Cllr Diarmaid Ward said yesterday: “We take issues of damp, leaks, and condensation in our homes extremely seriously.

“We’ve arranged for an emergency plumber to inspect the property above Ms Ogunseye and identify any urgent maintenance work to rectify this problem.

“We’ve also been trying to establish with Ms Ogunseye a suitable date and time in which we can access her home and carry out the necessary repairs.”