A SINGLE mother whose kitchen ceiling collapsed on her as she washed up has said she warned her council-approved landlady about problems six months ago.
Daisy Byanruhanga, 48, who lives in an £800-a-month rented house near Leyton High Road with her 17-year-old daughter, feared for her life when plaster, wood and gushing water rained down on her last Friday evening (July 30).
The collapse is believed to have been caused by a faulty water tank in the bathroom above.
But nearly a week later water is still leaking, with Ms Byanruhanga claiming her landlady has been ignoring her cries to get it fixed.
Ms Byanruhanga, who was housed in the property two years ago by the council after she became homeless following the break-up of her marriage, has been forced to live in temporary council accommodation while she waits for a resolution to the crisis.
She said: “I was standing by the sink when suddenly it all began falling on me. I tried to run out of the way, but a bit of it fell onto the back of my neck.
“The neighbours heard my screams and came rushing round – they called the fire brigade and ambulance because I was so shocked.
“I complained to the landlady about cracks and damp in the ceiling in March but she did nothing. She just refuses to listen. She expects me to make repairs when I’m the tenant, and when I complain to the council they tell me to take it up with her.”
Ms Byanruhanga, who is on housing benefits, alleges her landlady has failed to carry out numerous repairs throughout her tenancy, and is furious that the council arranged for her to live there.
She said: “The council brought me here – I didn’t ask to come here. Our lives have been messed up and we’ve lost so many things in the damp.”
But landlady Cossilah Gungaphul said: “I sent a builder right away but she didn’t let them in.
“She is letting this happen because she doesn’t want to live in this area and wants the council to rehouse her somewhere else.”
Ms Byanruhanga said a man did phone her several days later offering to look at her home, but because she was in temporary accommodation miles away she could not let him in immediately.
She says the man told her he did not have a spare key so could not do the repairs.
Waltham Forest Council has been asked to comment.
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