A council tenant who raised concerns about fire safety at his home says the local authority tried to evict him.

Although the eviction notice has now been dropped, Roy Sutton, who lives in the sheltered accommodation block at Goddarts House in Hoe Street, Walthamstow, said he has been labelled a “trouble maker” and remains sidelined for voicing his worries.

Goddarts House is home to vulnerable residents who are either elderly, suffer from mental health problems, are visually impaired or are wheelchair users.

A fire risk assessment was completed for the building on behalf of Waltham Forest Council in May 2018 by a company called Ridge.

The company found the property presented “moderate risk” to residents and “essential action must be taken to reduce the risk”.

Following this assessment, as reported in a Waltham Forest Matters blog post by Nick Tiratsoo, Mr Sutton arranged for an independent fire door safety inspector to examine his home in September 2018.

According to Mr Sutton, the findings showed his flat door did not close completely on its own, the hinges were uncertified and the correct door signage for fire safety was not in place.

Mr Sutton said he presented these findings to the council and asked for changes to be made. But no satisfactory action was taken.

He said that shortly afterwards, he was issued an eviction notice by the council and given a month to move out.

Mr Sutton said this caused him great stress, but the council soon dropped the eviction attempt.

He believes his concerns are still valid and he wants to continue pushing the council to make its housing safer for residents.

He said: “This would make a great book. I am going to keep fighting with 100 per cent documented proof (from industry, regulators and government) in my favour.

“I have two close neighbours with their own legitimate concerns and they too have been waiting years for safety and health issues to be answered and rectified.

“Council management cannot be trusted as they say all of our concerns are passed on but answers never come back.”

Cllr Louise Mitchell, cabinet member for housing, said: “We take our duties as a responsible landlord very seriously. We want to reassure residents that their safety is our primary concern.”

She added that fire risk assessments offer only a visual inspection of buildings and do not give in-depth information about structural issues such as compartmentalisation or electrical wiring.

She said: “Fire risk assessments show a snapshot in time of a building. An FRA does not identify the actions which are being carried out on an ongoing basis or during planned refurbishment programmes. Looking at a historic document without an update on actions carried out does not provide a robust assessment of current risks.”

The council carries out fire risk assessments every year but the cabinet member said they do not cover a specific time period.

She added: “The actions identified in the most recent fire risk assessment (for Goddarts House) have been completed and we are awaiting updated results of tests to the fire doors.

“Resident input is a vital part of assisting the council in addressing any areas of concern. We hold monthly meetings with residents of Goddarts House to discuss building safety and the ways we manage risk in our buildings. Residents can request copies of FRAs for the blocks in which they live as well as an up-to-date action progress list.

“Our approach to fire safety meets all the necessary standards and we work closely with the London Fire Brigade who are supportive of our approach.”

The council is now moving to a system of more in-depth fire risk assessment inspections and is retrospectively fitting sprinklers into high-priority blocks, including Goddarts House.