Lewisham mother successfully sues L&Q after living in ‘prison’ home with damp and cracks

A Lewisham mother-of-two has successfully sued her housing association after ongoing issues with her home, including a hole in her shower which caused her to trip and crack open her head.

Lorna Martin, 54, had been suffering from problems ranging from damp to broken cupboards in her L&Q-managed three-bedroom home.

Last August, Ms Martin required 15 stitches in her head after tripping on a hole in her shower.

Her daughter found her bleeding on the floor and rushed her to hospital.

Ms Martin’s arthritis prior to the accident meant her mobility was already limited, though the injury has added to her challenges.

Following the incident, Ms Martin instructed Veritas Solicitors to fight her case with L&Q, with an out-of-court settlement recently agreed for £1,000 plus repairs.

Of the accident, Ms Martin said: “It was very scary. I felt myself falling but couldn’t do anything to stop it. My main worry was snapping my neck.

“I thought I was paralysed and just felt blood gushing from my head. I was in shock. Luckily my daughter was around otherwise who knows what could have happened.

“All I’ve ever wanted is a safe place to live. But it’s bad when the property is more disabled than the person living there. It’s like a prison.”

Ms Martin said she has called L&Q “more than 100 times” due to ongoing issues in her home, though the repairs so far have been “slow and subpar”.

“They decided to do all the repairs in one go, but they’ve still not finished. For one week I couldn’t even have a shower as there was no water,” she said.

“The house is embarrassing and even though they’ve levelled the hole where I tripped, I still find myself walking around it because I’ve been used to that for many years.

“A while ago, my home lift stopped working while I was inside, so I was trapped until the morning when my kids saw me.

“I’ve probably called the housing association more than 100 times and spend an hour at a time to try and get through to someone.

“My husband passed away in 1999 but up until recently I was still getting letters addressed to him. It is quite traumatic and brings everything back for me, which I’ve told them many times. I just want to leave this place now, there’s too much pain here.”

David Lewis, executive group director of property services at L&Q, said: “We’re sorry that repairs to Ms Martin’s home have taken longer than we would have expected.

“Whilst we cannot comment on legal disrepair cases in detail, a surveyor visited and produced a detailed report of works required at the time.

“The safety and wellbeing of our residents is a top priority, and we will be visiting Ms Martin’s home again today (Wednesday) to carry out further inspections and agree the snagging repairs.

“A specialist windows contractor is attending in the first week of August to assess the repairs required to the window handles and to confirm when the works will be completed.”