A mother says she has been has been left with a huge hole in her living room ceiling by a south London council for more than two years.
The front room ceiling in Sacha Berko's home in Gipsy Hill collapsed in June 2022 due to a leak.
Ms Berko alerted her landlord Lambeth Council to the “crater” in her ceiling following the leak but over two years later she is still waiting for the hole to be repaired.
Despite local authority surveyors visiting nine times over this period, Ms Berko said she was no closer to getting the problem fixed.
Ms Berko, who has an autistic son who has previously tried to jump through the hole, said: "It's overwhelming. My son is autistic. He will put his leg through the hole. He tried to squeeze his body through once. I'm just trying to get this out there to put pressure on them [the council]. I'm fed-up, honestly.
"You can't keep treating people like this. I'm paying rent. I'm not withholding rent. My mind is at the end of the day and it's not the end of the day.. It's tiring living like this."
Ms Berko attributes the hole to severe damp in the three-bed house caused by a leaky boiler which has since been fixed. Water from the boiler previously damaged another part of the living room ceiling, as well as the landing floor upstairs.
Ms Berko is unable to have lighting in the front room and kitchen of the property due to water getting into the electrics. She believes it has been clear to Lambeth that the property has been uninhabitable for years due to disrepair and water damage and doesn't understand why it is taking the council so long to rehouse her and complete the repairs.
Ms Berko and her son were briefly rehoused in a bedsit without a bathroom for one night by the council after presenting at their offices in Brixton, South London at the end of September. But the accommodation was not appropriate and the council said they had to leave the next day.
Ms Berko explained: "They [the council] said it was a two bed apartment but what they meant is it had two beds. It was completely unsuitable and we had to leave it the next day. We need extended temporary accommodation so they can get in here properly and do the works."
Lambeth Council apologised to Ms Berko for the inconvenience she had experienced as a result of the delays in completing the repairs and said it was struggling to find suitable temporary accommodation for her to move into so the works could take place.
A council spokesperson added: "We are aware of the repairs needed at this property but, unfortunately, we haven't been able to complete them because of difficulties gaining access. We will schedule work on the house once we can arrange access; we apologise for the inconvenience Ms Berko has experienced as a result of the delay.
"We do everything we can to find homes for everyone coming to us in housing need. But, in recent years, amid the impact of pressures including the years of austerity imposed on local government, and the cost-of-living and housing crises pushing more people into homelessness, the demand for our services has risen to unprecedented levels.
"The shortage of affordable housing means we are now providing temporary accommodation for over 4,600 homeless households every night- and more than 40,000 households are currently on our waiting list for social housing.
"Lambeth has more than 33,000 council homes and our priority is ensuring that all of these are safe and well-maintained for our residents. Where any problems are brought to our attention, we are committed to dealing with them quickly and effectively."
