Acton Family Left Without Kitchen for Nearly a Year

Housing Association apologises for failing to deal with collapsed ceiling

Cesar Medina in his kitchen. Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon

July 17, 2024

A family of four has been left without proper use of their kitchen for nearly a year after their landlord failed to make necessary repairs. Cesar Medina says he and his family couldn’t properly celebrate Christmas at home and have been forced to regularly eat takeaways since part of their kitchen’s ceiling collapsed in August 2023.

The family’s landlord, Octavia Housing, specialises in providing social housing for people working for the NHS or in social care, often providing housing at reduced rates for key workers. Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service Cesar said that trying to get Octavia to fix the problem has become ‘the worst part-time job.’

“It happened in August [2023], it’s July now. The ceiling is still exposed,” he said. “The longer it goes on the more frustrating the situation has become because I guess Octavia is trying their best but maybe they aren’t because they tell you it’s a top priority for them but then they just haven’t done anything.”

He added, “It just feels like Octavia doesn’t really care.”

“It comes to a point where I have to send persistent emails, make persistent phone calls just to get an update. I don’t like to be a difficult tenant, but I have never gone through something like this.”

Octavia did offer the family temporary accommodation at a hotel, but Cesar explained that it was impractical for several reasons. He said, “Because this flat is next to Hammersmith Hospital which is where my mum works, she’s a nurse. So we stayed here.”

“They said ‘Don’t use the kitchen’. They put up some beams and that’s how it’s been left.” Cesar also pointed out that placing the family in a hotel wouldn’t solve their lack of a kitchen.

Octavia did offer to give the family food vouchers totalling roughly £2,000 over eight months to make up for the loss of cooking facilities but Cesar said the lifestyle took its toll eventually forcing the family to take risks. “We used [the kitchen] where we could even though they told us it wasn’t safe to do so but we can’t eat takeout every day,” he explained.

The unaddressed damage has also had a negative impact on the family’s personal lives. Cesar told LDRS, “My parents are sort of ashamed to bring people over.”

Kitchen ceiling damage. Picture: Cesar Medina

Even the family’s Christmas celebrations were made nearly impossible by the danger the kitchen poses. “We had to spend Christmas with an exposed kitchen ceiling,” Cesar explained.

As a result, his parents and brothers had to shuttle between Acton and Chiswick to where one of his brothers lives in order to prepare Christmas dinner.

Due to the delays, Octavia has offered the residents a retroactive 20 per cent discount on rent until the problem is resolved. However, Cesar says that the landlord has also increased the rent by hundreds of pounds in the time between August 2023 and July 2024.

In an email sent to Octavia, Cesar said, “The rent has even increased from £1,850.48 to £1,992.97 amidst these unresolved issues, exacerbating our financial strain during this cost-of-living crisis.

“This situation is unacceptable. We have upheld our end by paying rent without delay despite the deteriorating living conditions. We expect the same level of commitment from Octavia in promptly resolving this matter.”

An Octavia spokesperson said:, “We are very sorry for the unacceptable delay in carrying out this repair at one of our homes and for the distress and inconvenience caused. We are now arranging to complete this repair as swiftly as possible, and are actively engaging with our residents about this. We are also seeking a thorough understanding of what went wrong on this occasion, so as to learn the lessons that will enable us to avoid similar delays in future.”

Rory Bennett - Local Democracy Reporter