Disabled Woman’s Three-Year Housing Ordeal

A disabled woman from south-east London has described her experience as “hell,” having been unable to occupy a specially adapted ground floor flat allocated to her three years ago due to its unsafe and unliveable condition. Deborah Morgan, a regular wheelchair user, informed BBC London that the flat in Woolwich lacked heating and hot water, was infested with worms, featured broken windows, a malfunctioning intercom system, and exposed wires from light sockets. She stated that the impact on her health has been “huge,” leading her to feel “at some stages, I felt suicidal.” L&Q, the housing association that provided Ms Morgan with the residence, apologized for the delays and affirmed its commitment to resolving the issue “urgently.” Ms Morgan was assigned the flat after becoming unwell, which prevented her from remaining in the fourth-floor property where she had lived for 30 years. However, after moving her belongings in, she discovered numerous problems and was advised to stay in her previous Greenwich Council home until the necessary work was completed. This occurred three years ago, and she asserts that L&Q has yet to rectify all the deficiencies within the flat. She characterizes the dwelling as her “ghost home, it is fully furnished with no resident.” “It’s been three years of being walked up a path and three years of hell and nothing being done,” Ms Morgan commented. Among the issues Ms Morgan encountered upon her initial move-in was a worm infestation in the kitchen. She stated that she is unaware of their origin but noted their persistent presence. She further expressed that visiting the flat is “heartbreaking” due to the uncertainty of what additional problems she might encounter. Ms Morgan reported that Royal Borough Greenwich informed her they could no longer offer support, as she is now under the housing association’s purview; however, with no advancement on the situation with L&Q, she feels she has been “left in the middle of hell.” She articulated, “I’m frightened of the future.” “Truthfully with my health, this (flat) is what I needed, where I am now is not sufficient.” “I don’t know where I’m going next, I don’t know where I’m going to live, at the moment I actually feel homeless.” David Lewis, executive director of property services at L&Q, commented: “We are aware Ms Morgan has been unable to move in to her new home and apologise for the delays in getting works completed. We are keen to progress these so that she can move in.” He stated that L&Q required authorization to access her flat to finalize the repairs and urged her to assist in coordinating arrangements with the contractors. Mr Lewis added, “We’ve also suggested she seek further medical advice to determine if the property fully meets her needs or if she might require a different, more suitable home.” “We are working closely with the local authority to make sure that Ms Morgan receives the support she needs. We appreciate Ms Morgan’s patience and will continue to work with her to resolve this urgently.’’ The BBC has contacted Royal Borough Greenwich for a statement. In the previous week, London Councils, the organization representing all local authorities in the capital, published data detailing expenditures on temporary accommodation. The figures indicated that councils were allocating £4m daily to house over 180,000 individuals. For further content, BBC Radio London is accessible on Sounds, and updates from BBC London can be followed on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Submissions for story ideas can be sent to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk. Copyright for this material is held by BBC, 2024, with all rights reserved. The BBC states it is not accountable for the content found on external sites and provides details on its external linking methodology.