A DISABLED cancer patient facing a housing ordeal after being moved into a rotten flat has told the council: “Just because we are tenants doesn’t mean we don’t have standards.”

Diane Hammond agreed to a transfer from her two-bed home in South End Close, South End Green, to a one-bed in Rudall Crescent, Hampstead, in February.

The 58-year-old needed to move because her serious health conditions meant she struggled to negotiate the stairs without collapsing.

But she was not told until after moving in that her new home required major refurbishment – including replacing sagging floors, leaking pipes and fixing “rising damp” – or that she would spend the past year battling with the repairs team.

Ms Hammond, an accountant who has lived in Camden all her adult life, said she understood the pressure on council finances and said that the “Tories in government had a lot to answer for”.

But she added: “I’ve got terminal illness, there is no cure, and a tumour on the pancreas. My lungs are collapsing and I have bad bones.

“I just cannot believe they moved me in here because they must have known the level of problems this place has.

“Because of the physical problems I had I was going downhill and I collapsed. I was really happy where I was, I knew people there but when I was given keys to look at this one-bed in Rudall Crescent I thought I had to take it.

“It wasn’t perfect but it’s got so much potential. Moving for someone in my condition was such an upheaval. I struggle and I rely on people.

“I can’t pick up anything anymore because of fractures in my spine. It is really affecting my mental health because I don’t feel at home here. I can’t have people around to see me when it’s in this state.

“I get the feeling they want me to just get on with it but just because I’m in social housing doesn’t mean I don’t have standards.”

A surveyor’s report, commissioned by the council, has confirmed a series of major structural problems that mean Ms Hammond, and her dog Dougal, is going to have to move into temporary accommodation or get a new tenancy.

She has been offered to move into another flat that was empty, but said she could not go through with an exhausting and expensive moving process again given her condition.

“It’s just been so emotionally draining to be in limbo again – it’s been hell for me,” she said.

A Camden Council spokesperson said: “We want each of our residents to live in a decent home that meets their needs and helps them to live independently, which is why we are currently working to make urgent improvements to Ms Hammond’s home.

“We have planned the repairs that are needed to ensure that it will be free from damp. In addition, we prioritised Ms Hammond for an occupational therapy survey so that we can also make helpful adjustments to her home at the same time.

“We have offered Ms Hammond a move to a nearby property while the improvements are made and we will be continuing to offer our ongoing support, including helping to furnish the nearby property and providing a full moving service.”