Meet the Sussex residents whose landlord is Ealing Borough Council

Ealing Borough Council owns seven properties in Seaford, a situation which will strike many as odd.

A freedom of information request lodged by The Argus into the reason for this ownership was answered simply: “This information is not held in a clear format as our records show that the properties were purchased approximately in the 1970/80’s. As this 40+ years, no record of the exact dates and reasons are recorded.”

Nicky Woodward, 56 who is one of the tenants of these 7 properties, believes that they were bought so that elderly people living in the borough could retire to the seafront. She said: “Then they discovered they had no room for disabled adapted bungalows in London so they moved disabled people down here.”

Nicky was moved to her bungalow in 1996 from the Green Man estate in Ealing with her husband Steve and their four young children.

As Steve has “life limiting” back issues and one of her sons has ADHD, autism and speak and language delay, the family required an adapted property.

Nicky, however, says the adaptations on the property “weren’t done properly” and drainage to mitigate damp was never carried out.  

Nicky says that drainage to mitigate damp was never carried out (Image: Supplied) The cavity wall insultation became wet and the damp course, a protective barrier against damp rising up the walls of a building, was breached. As a result, Nicky and Steve have been left with chronic damp and mould in the property.

Nicky said that Steve, who has stage 4 prostate cancer and asthma, suffers from “permanent chest infections” and was taken to hospital last Christmas, which Nicky believes was caused by the damp and mould.

A rail near the front door of the bungalow came loose due to the disintegration of the concrete behind it, she said. Steve relies on the rail to exit the property, but Nicky is is “forever fighting with Ealing” to get the problem fixed.

She said: “The rail is not being treated as a normal repair but instead has to go through as an adaptation. Steve can’t walk out of the front door on his own because it is broken. I have spoken to five different departments, but I get nowhere.

“I am constantly having to chase them over issues. If there is an emergency repair, you’re in trouble.”

Despite the fact that Nicky and Steve are council housing tenants, they are viewed as private tenants by Lewes District Council, because their landlord is not a local council. This makes resolving issues complex.

Steve suffers from asthma and permanent chest infections which Nicky puts down to the mould and damp (Image: Supplied) A social worker said: “Social housing repairs are difficult enough in your own borough, let alone when navigating this insane pathway.

“There are so few Ealing tenants in Sussex, that they get a terrible service. It is like they are living in a forgotten land.

“I don’t know why something hasn’t been brokered. It’s an antiquated situation with lots of complexities and strikes me as an odd situation.”

Nicky said: “We need Ealing council to take responsibility and maintain these properties. I’ve been an Ealing council tenant since I was 16, so I know how they work.

“I’m a feisty bugger so I won’t back down.”

Am Ealing Council spokeswoman said: "Keeping our tenants safe in their homes is a top priority for us, and we are sorry that these tenants have had a poor experience. Our repairs contractors are working to tackle mould issues in the homes.

"In the meantime, we are reviewing how the properties are managed and implementing a plan to address any systemic issues, ensuring our processes are robust and responsive to tenants’ needs.”