Lewisham: Council flat tenant discusses squalid conditions

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The council-flat which has been deemed “unfit for habitation” is in a horrifying condition and is affected by both faeces and mould. Mehdi Sheikh, who has spent 17 years at the property in Lewisham, South East London, now relies on a respirator to breathe as a result.

Mould cakes the walls in thick black layers, and faeces-infested water can be seen seeping around the property in horrifying images.

Mr Sheikh has opened up about his experience in the hell-hole property, and told ITV: “I’m waking up at night with a breathless fatigue because I’m feeling suffocated in here.

“My chest is feeling congested… I am literally on the verge of nervous breakdown.”

The flat was inspected by Lewisham Council who deemed the circumstances as “unfit for human habitation”.

In November 2020, the flat condition worsened thanks to a leak which was left unfixed, and a bacterial analysis conducted on the leak showed “significant faecal contamination” which could put Mr Sheikh’s health at risk.

The tenant made desperate attempts to soak up the excess of water in the property by laying towels down on top of the carpet.

The circumstances caused further worry to Mr Sheikh who feared he would be electrocuted as a result of the water.

“It’s almost about to hit the electric socket board,” he said.

His concerns were proven by Jeff Charlton, an environmental health inspector, who found that at certain points in the property there was a “100 percent chance of electrocution”.

Mr Charlton spoke of the flat’s stomach-churning state, expressing his disbelief that anyone would be forced to live in such conditions.

He said: “It beggars belief that people have to live like this…It’s a travesty.”

The response to the hellish conditions has been deemed “pathetic” by Mr Mehdi, who claims he feels “totally helpless” about the issue, and that life at the property is akin to inhabiting a “slum”.

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He stated: “Nothing has been done whatsoever. Because they don’t have to go and live like the way I am living.

“It just feels like living in a slum. And I just simply don’t know what to do. [I feel] totally helpless.

“I don’t feel like even going in there because it stinks. I don’t feel comfortable. It doesn’t feel like a home.”

Mr Sheikh has vacated the repellent property, and at present is living at a hotel while he waits to be re-homed.

He has received an apology from Lewisham Homes, the social housing provider who manages properties on behalf of Lewisham Council who said the service he had received was “unacceptable” but that it was “very challenging” to find a new property for him.

In a statement, chief executive Margaret Dodwell said: “We realise Mehdi has been put in a very difficult and distressing position, and we apologise to him for the condition of his home.

“Although we did make attempts to resolve the leaks, the service he has received is of an unacceptable standard.

“We are working closely with Mr Sheikh to find a new home.

“The increasing complexity of his needs and low availability of accessible properties, along with his understandable wish to keep his pets, have made that very challenging.”

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