HA's failure leaves mum without loo and shower for years

A WEST LONDON mum has been forced to use her neighbours loo and shower for several years because of her housing association's failure to repair pipes and toilets.

- By PHILIP JAMES LYNCH

To make matters worse, there are leaks from her bathroom down to a bedroom which causes moulding rendering the room uninhabitable.

Ten years ago, Mulki Elaw, 60, was cooking in the Acton home when her ceiling collapsed and the upstairs bathroom fell apart.

This was repaired, however Mulki claims a Peabody Housing Association staff member told her 'not to bath, only to shower' in the upstairs bathroom post-repair in case the ceiling collapsed again.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service [LDRS], Mulki said: "I can’t wash in my own house. Even shower, because the leaks from the bathroom to the bedroom cause issues - it’s an issue inside the pipes... the leaks caused it [the ceiling] to collapse before. I had to throw away all of my furniture.

Mulki's upstairs toilet has also been risky to use since 2015, because the pipes cannot handle the pressure of flushing, particularly when it's a number two. In the instances where she has been unable to use her neighbour's toilet, Mulki has been forced to use a plunger and drain unclogger to flush.

Additionally, if she has to use the downstairs toilet, she’s forced to fill it with jugs of water before and after because there is no water at all in that bathroom.

She told the LDRS: "They came to take the sink out, but the downstairs toilet was never repaired."