Aron Kennedy is disgusted with the condition of the Maitland Park Estate

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PROBLEMS with a leak which is like a “river” when it rains and mould in tenants homes are spiralling out of control in a block of flats in the Maitland Park Estate.

The block, 77-84 in Maitland Park Road, has been suffering the effects of a leak for two years with residents suspecting it is coming from the roof or blocked guttering.

The leak is now causing issues on all four floors of the block of flats right from the top to the bottom, with many flats also experiencing persistent problems of mould inside their homes.

Aron Kennedy, whose mother lives in the block, said: “It worries me with my mum coming up and down the stairs, because it’s so wet on the stairwells. The water is visibly affecting the concrete. There are cracks everywhere and if a bit of concrete were to fall and hit her on the head that would be that – or a serious injury.

“I don’t even bring my kids round to my mum’s much any more. Usually we go sit in the garden because I’m worried about them breathing in the damp air. My baby is one next week – I don’t want her breathing in all that stuff.

“This is a nice estate in Camden but the council are just letting it rot and decay. I think the leak is coming from the roof. No one has been around to do the guttering for years.

“For two years now there has been a leak that drips from the top of the block to the bottom of the block and when it rains it’s like a river.”

He added: “There are visible cracks in the concrete which makes you worry about how strong the ceilings and walls are. It’s an accident waiting to happen and I’ve never seen a surveyor round to check things out.”’

Mr Kennedy said his mother has mould inside her flat on multiple walls.

He said when they contact the Camden repairs team to deal with the mould, they simply clean it up, or repaint it without investigating what caused the issue in the first place.

Mr Kennedy added: “My mum’s flat is cold all the time. The windows have loads of condensation, but it’s been so cold she has to put the heating on and can’t open as many windows. She’s suffered two Christmases with this, two years.

“It’s a waste of time calling out repairs as the problem is above, from a leak. Every time she reports mould it’s through a virtual chat on the Camden website and you get nowhere with it.”

Another resident who did not wish to be named told the New Journal that mould was all over his house.

He said: “We’ve told the council countless times. We’ve literally given up. I just paint it myself and I have a spray from Poundland that’s pretty good and does the job. I go through a bottle of it a week.”

A council spokesperson apologised to tenants and added: “We are carrying out inspections in this block and will do the necessary repairs as a matter of urgency. So far, our team have accessed the roof of the building and repaired a pipe, so the staircase leak should be fixed – we will continue to monitor this.

“We have a dedicated damp and mould team in place to support residents and make urgent repairs – we have reached out to these residents and are addressing these issues as soon as possible.

“We want to assure residents that this building is structurally safe and as per procedure our structural survey team will be inspecting the building to carry out checks in the coming days.”

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