Someone recently got an electrician, [I'm guessing from Camden Councils housing repairs department] to install timers on the light switches in the communal hallways and stairs in the street property I rent from Camden Council.
I'm guessing it was an electrician from the councils housing repairs department - i could take a guess which tenant in the property got this done - without me knowing or agreeing to it.
Earlier on, when it was dark, I went downstairs to put some paper in the recycling bin in the front garden. I came out of my flat and pushed the timer button and went down the stairs and managed to make it to the main front door before the lights went off.
I came back in and had to again push the timer button, as the lights had turned off, and as I'm not so quick getting up the stairs due to my back and knees etc problems, I didn't make it half way up the stairs before the lights went off.
Kin ell I though, which bright spark [excuse the pun] got this done without so much as a thought about the health and safety of anyone else, how did this happen. If I had somewhere else to go i'd go, but I don't so I'm stuck here.
At times I do my shopping at night, when its dark and I have to use a shopping trolley for the heavy things - I don't have anyone to do this for me despite the physical problems. I then have to, when I get back to the property, grab hold of the stair rails and pull me self and the heavy trolley slowly up the stairs to the first floor hoping I don't fall down the stairs - it causes me physical pain but I have to do, and i have to do it slowly and I'm thinking that the lights are going to go off when i'm halfway up the stairs with a heavy trolley and then what will happen?
I might have to let go off the trolley and let it fall down the stairs and leave it there, or I might carry on in the dark, holding tightly onto the rail and then to get myself and the trolley up the last few steps and onto the little bit of landing- I have to grab hold of the narrow wall which is between the two flights of stairs that go's up to my flat and then I hope that I don't loss my grip and fall down the stairs - with the trolley. So its hard enough me having to do this without the lighting going off.
Its one thing after after in this place and i'm fed up to my back teeth with it all.
What if an ambulance crew had to come to the property and go up the stairs - and have to carry down someone in a stretcher - on narrow stairs, with the lights going off, they didn't think of that did they?
There are many what ifs about this and no one seems to have taken them into consideration. No one let me know about it.
Update 4 Mar 2020
The below is a photo of the loose cable an electrician ran from the out side doorbell of flat above me, into the the same flat. The stairs are narrow and I have to hold onto the rail to go up and down the stairs to get to in and out of my flat. I found that my fingers where snagging the cable as I gripped the rail and slide my hand down it a bit - so I can [as safely as possible] use the steps and I worried that the cable would cause me to fall down the stairs.
I also tested the light timers by taking the masking tape off the cable and seeing how often the lights went off whilst I went about the task of putting the masking tape back on the cable. I videoed it and will put that up later - you can see how quickly the lights kept going off and I was left in darkness.
update
The below is a different video to the one I was going to put up.
Its me coming out of my flat door on the way to my weekly [bar holidays]
group meeting.
I'm guessing it was an electrician from the councils housing repairs department - i could take a guess which tenant in the property got this done - without me knowing or agreeing to it.
Earlier on, when it was dark, I went downstairs to put some paper in the recycling bin in the front garden. I came out of my flat and pushed the timer button and went down the stairs and managed to make it to the main front door before the lights went off.
I came back in and had to again push the timer button, as the lights had turned off, and as I'm not so quick getting up the stairs due to my back and knees etc problems, I didn't make it half way up the stairs before the lights went off.
Kin ell I though, which bright spark [excuse the pun] got this done without so much as a thought about the health and safety of anyone else, how did this happen. If I had somewhere else to go i'd go, but I don't so I'm stuck here.
At times I do my shopping at night, when its dark and I have to use a shopping trolley for the heavy things - I don't have anyone to do this for me despite the physical problems. I then have to, when I get back to the property, grab hold of the stair rails and pull me self and the heavy trolley slowly up the stairs to the first floor hoping I don't fall down the stairs - it causes me physical pain but I have to do, and i have to do it slowly and I'm thinking that the lights are going to go off when i'm halfway up the stairs with a heavy trolley and then what will happen?
I might have to let go off the trolley and let it fall down the stairs and leave it there, or I might carry on in the dark, holding tightly onto the rail and then to get myself and the trolley up the last few steps and onto the little bit of landing- I have to grab hold of the narrow wall which is between the two flights of stairs that go's up to my flat and then I hope that I don't loss my grip and fall down the stairs - with the trolley. So its hard enough me having to do this without the lighting going off.
Its one thing after after in this place and i'm fed up to my back teeth with it all.
What if an ambulance crew had to come to the property and go up the stairs - and have to carry down someone in a stretcher - on narrow stairs, with the lights going off, they didn't think of that did they?
There are many what ifs about this and no one seems to have taken them into consideration. No one let me know about it.
Update 4 Mar 2020
The below is a photo of the loose cable an electrician ran from the out side doorbell of flat above me, into the the same flat. The stairs are narrow and I have to hold onto the rail to go up and down the stairs to get to in and out of my flat. I found that my fingers where snagging the cable as I gripped the rail and slide my hand down it a bit - so I can [as safely as possible] use the steps and I worried that the cable would cause me to fall down the stairs.
photo of masking tape I put over the cable
update
The below is a different video to the one I was going to put up.
Its me coming out of my flat door on the way to my weekly [bar holidays]
group meeting.
Next time I need to use my shopping trolley for heavy stuff, and its dark outside and in, i'll video myself coming into the property and getting up the stairs.
I think the 2 other tenants in the property knew about the light switches being changed as they where both in when it was being done. I heard someone in heavy boots upstairs and out in communal area, and downstairs talking to tenant on ground floor, but I didn't know what was going on and I didn't go out and check. I was excluded from knowing. I didn't even receive a letter from housing informing me about this. How sneaky and underhanded is that?
update Thurs 5 Mar 2020
https://www.bartlettslaw.co.uk/accidents-at-home/compensation-for-tenant-who-fell-down-stairs.html
"A recent client, Mrs D, was an elderly resident at a private block of flats where she had lived as a tenant for many years. One evening she was walking down the stairs when the lights went out, leaving her stranded half way down the staircase in pitch darkness. The automatic sensors for the staircase and hallway lights were not working properly, a problem that had been reported to the management company a few weeks before. Mrs D carried on her descent, but misjudged a step, lost her footing and fell down their stairs. Another resident heard her calls for help, and came to her assistance. As she could not walk and was in severe pain an ambulance was called, and Mrs D was taken to hospital, where an X-ray showed that she had broken her leg. It took her over 3 months to recover, and she was forced to use a wheelchair and crutches throughout her rehabilitation."
update
Its 1.15am. I'm in my living room. Up until a few minutes ago I didn't have any music on or anything but I've now had to turn my mini system on to drown out the loud water pressure noise that coming from the water pipe that runs up through my living room and along the ceiling. This is the flat above me who i think has a water pump. I've tried to get this problem sorted out with the landlord but no luck. Its never ending problems and though not everything is a problem about living here, the issue of constant noise intrusion is a big ongoing problem, and in general the unwanted intrusion into my privacy from others, be it tenant or landlord.
update - off to bed soon. I've just gone downstairs to get my cat in but he wouldn't come in straight away so I had to wait a while and the lights kept going off and I thumped them to put them back on - must have been 6 or more times before cat came in. Then my hands and arms start hurting and I'm thinking that in future I'm going to have to bring my heavy hammer down when I'm getting my cat in, in case I have to hang around for him to come in - to bang the lights back on - talk about having to physically exert meself just to turn some lights on, especially when i'm tired and energy level isn't so great.
BTW its 3.36am and the loud water pressure noise from the pipes has started again. I'd do a Irish gig before I go to bed - if I had the energy.
update
early this morning someone from the council left a message on my phone answer recorder - a man, something about the communal area and rewiring. I'm thinking well, that message isn't very clear and why phone me - was he wanting me to let him in, I think he was.
I think its the 2 other tenants in the properly he should be phoning and arranging for them to be at home to let him in - like they where in on Tues 3 Mar 2020, when the timers where put on the light switches and I didn't know what was going on.
The work that was done wasn't repairs it was renewal and I'm thinking that could it be that the 2 tenants conspired together and phoned up the housing
update
I've checked my emails, which I haven't done since Tues and I see now what its all about - it was the housing officer, who had received complaints that the communal lights where being left on and disturbing the other tenants sleep patterns. The phone call I received this morning was about an electrician trying to get in to adjust the timers but not change them back to how they where.
So instead of me being asked politely to not leave lights on and the reasons why [which btw I don't believe] - at least being sent a letter from the housing office, the housing officer just goes ahead without me knowing and gets an electrician to come to the property, when the 2 other tenants are in, as I was also in, but I didn't know about it. How sneaky and underhanded is that?
As it happens, the same day the housing repairs case management officer phones me again and I spoke with her briefly about me agreeing to something, which following this stunt I no longer agree to and if they want access they can either force access [break the door down], which I will video or they can get onto their legal department and start court action to try and get me evicted.
A few weeks back the tenant above comes in and as she gets up the stairs to her and my flat doors she starts shouting/ranting about the communal light being on, I heard her and shes shouting as she goes in her flat and up her stairs and I shouted back at her. This is her being polite I guess.
Then someone takes the light bulb out of the downstairs communal hallway.
What was so difficult about asking me politely to not leave the communal lights on and for such and such reasons? I'm not an unreasonable person, as some in the council could attest to as I have been quite reasonable when speaking with them of late in regards to my on-going official complaint which is why a case manager was appointed, but the housing officer and the 2 tenants had to make things worse [as I see it].
update
The housing officer was at my flat the week before in relation to the plumbing/alleged water leak saga, she seemed nice enough to me. It was arranged that she, a repairs manager and a plumber/s would attend my flat - as it turned out it was firstly 1 repairs manager and 2 plumbers and then the housing officer had to be tracked down and attend the property, which she did for a short while then went off, as did the repairs manager.
And yes I did notice the look she gave me when she may have thought I wasn't going to continue to 'co-operate', which I was already doing - as a last resort to any court action [which I was going to start and had sent a Letter before court action]. Maybe she didn't like the look of me or something, but like I said, I thought she seemed nice enough.
I have to write these things down as they help a bit with the stress and upset I've been experiencing quite a lot of late in regards to the housing situation and some other things.
update 7 March 2020
I've been sleeping a lot on and off these last few days, must be the stress or something.
I remember the tenant downstairs telling me that I came close to being evicted re me not letting plumbers in every time tenant reported a leak [tenant has the letters from council apparently] coming from my bathroom into her kitchen.
After me not letting the plumber in on Thurs [it was supposed to be 2 and a half days of work when orginally it was 1 and half days] I guess i'm even closer to the council starting the process of trying to get me evicted.
update
when I think back to when the tenant below first started making reports to the repairs team about leaks coming from my bathroom into her kitchen [around Oct 2017] and and after 2 plumbers came here and took the P big time [ I thought] by going along with the tenant about a leak. One of them even lied to me about 'water gushing down' under my bath when no such thing happened and the other getting stroppy with me when tenant phoned repairs as an emergency - and yet plumber didn't see a leak. I made a complaint and apparently there was an investigation and the then housing estate officer emailed me to tell me that the repairs supervisor had investigated and there was no leak.
At this point the tenant in flat below and the 2 plumbers should have at least been given 'strong words' by people in the council - not to let it happen again blah blah blah, or whatever, but as far as I am aware this didn't happen and later on tenant below started again with the reporting of a leak, that didn't exist, and people from the council continued again phoning me up about plumbers getting in here. So I made another complaint this time via the councils corporate complaints system.
In the meantime things had gotten muddied as there had been an actual leak, which I saw and which was supposed to have been fixed and which later on the tenant below again reported and which I didn't see any leak and which tenant hadn't taken any photo etc of, but she would do the next time it happened she said - like she was sure it would happen, which I thought was odd. Apparently though there was a leak in that area, as I was sent photo's but they wheren't date/ timed stamped and could have been from when there was an actual leak that I saw.
Even when plumbers had been up here and again where supposed to have fixed some things under the bath, tenant still reported leaks, which I again asked for time, date, photo. The repairs case management person, hasn't got back to me on that.
Then the housing officer pulls the stunt about having the communal light switches changed to timers without letting me know or considering an safety issues etc.
As it stands a plumber who also does other works, was supposed to come here last Thursday [5 Mar 2020] to spend not 1 and half days as first said, but 2 and half days fixing and adding bits and pieces to do with my bathroom. Though I had agreed to this on the Tues I didn't let him in on the Thurs as I was upset, disappointed etc as to what the housing officer had done which I thought made the whole situation worse.
Even when they where last here, they where supposed to - I was told, use different colour dye's which they where to use on my bath and sink and kitchen sink - to see where the alleged leak/s where coming from, but the dyes didn't happen and they didn't check my kitchen sink.
Tenant below has even had part of her kitchen wall plastered [last year] for what reason I don't know as it couldn't have been due to a leak as there wasn't one and she has a pipe that runs along and through her kitchen walls that has nothing to do with me, as far as I am aware - which was at one time supposed to have been leaking, which even looked like it had been leaking [photos i have] but which I think there is something very amiss about.
8 Mar 2020
When the tenant below first moved in tenant had [still has] the garden attached to her flat [sole access] landscaped. The previous tenant was an elderly lady who lived alone and the garden wasn't maintained or anything with lots of overgrown wild plants.
Current tenant moves in and gets in a couple of people who removed all the overgrown plants, took up the old paving, dug the soil and whatnot and then landscaped the garden including decking at the top of the garden.
I remember hearing the the tenant boasting one day, in her garden when I was in my kitchen with the window open, about how she got £30,000 of stuff done by the council, and telling the man she was with that 'shes the one to come to if he needs anything from the council'. I have since wondered whether the landscaped garden was also done by the council.
9 Mar 2020
I've done some shopping with my trolly and I've put the shopping away and am having a cuppa, then a lie down for a while, try to meditate a bit. I'll put the video up later on of me getting up the stairs - in the dark because the light timer switched off. Thankfully the trolly wasn't as heavy with stuff as it could have been, but heavy enough. I still have normal strength in arms etc, but its the pain I get that's the problem, so I have to be careful not to aggravate/over do things, especially my back.
update
Me going out of flat to do some shopping
11 Mar 2020
Me getting up the communal stairs in the dark with my shopping trolley
12 March 2020
Since around Tuesday 10 March 2020 I've been hearing the water pressure noise a lot more than usual - whenever the tenant above is in, even after 11pm.
I tried to record the noise but the recording device I have doesn't pick it up. I'll try and get a recording device that will pick the noise up.
Noise [any unwanted sound] is measured in Decibels HERE.
I can hear shouting, swearing. I did manage to record tenant one time when she was shouting and swearing out her window - above me, and my window was open.
13 March 2020
The other tenants are still slamming the front door to the property when leaving and entering which is annoying and I find myself waiting in anticipation for the slam's. Its tempting for me to also slam the door which I have done in the past but i've not been doing it of late in the hope the tenants get the message, so to speak. I also mentioned it to the housing officer but whether she has contacted the other tenants about it I don't know.
update
This one, what to say about it, talk about shaking my head in disbelief, but strangely i'm not surprised. Another electrician comes to the property earlier on - tenant above was expecting him and let him in. I went out to check, just in case another underhanded stunt was pulled on me.
I thought the electrican was here to tighten up the loose cable
After he and tenant had gone out I went out and checked to see what the E had done and here it is
Unsightly I think, plus now I can't put my hand around the top of the handrail when I'm going down the stairs - I have to bend over further to reach the rail.
Thursday 30 April 2020
2 days ago on 28 April 2020 - not long after I finished speaking on the phone with the psychologist who is attached to the Cardiology Care Unit [CCU] of the Royal Free Hospital [RFH]: I was distressed by what happened and this included when I was in hospital, on the ward and a lady came to speak with me and we had a few chats, she was lovely and I appreciate the chats and a follow up after I left hospital an appointment was sent to me for 28 April 2020 for a phone consultation, which I had.
Not long after the phone consultation ended a man from BTU arrived at the property to carry out safety check on gas things as I was expecting him some time between 1-6pm.
I was aware that the communal lights weren't working - they hadn't been since 27 March 2020 when the tenant above me had one of her verbally abusive outbursts downstairs in the enterance to the building hallway - sounds very much like she was shouting off about me, which I could hear and which I found upsetting.
In Jan 2020 she had come in and when she got up the communal stairs and outside my flat door I could hear her mouthing off about the communal lights being on. I knew she was talking about me.
Later on both tenants in the property teamed up and got onto the housing estate officer attached to this area had the normal light switches changed to the push in timer things. I was excluded from knowing about this change even though I was the most adversely affected by the change, tenant in the property.
on 27 March 2020 the same tenant came out of her flat on her phone, went downstairs and started mouthing off about me. The communal lights where on and then they weren't on and weren't working. I recorded what she said including the 'hurry up and die' and other stuff.
This upset me a lot as I'd not long come out of hospital and was still distressed by what had happened.
Going back to tuesday: I went downstairs to open the front door for the BTU man and being aware of the COVID 19 rules about social distancing etc - I opened the door and he was standing away from the door and I said 'how shall we do this' then I said something about 'I'll go upstairs and go into living room' for him to follow and come in flat and down along hallway to the kitchen. I went up the communal stairs and the lights came on - i said to BTU they hadn't been working and he said something about 'his magic fingers'.
Anyway the communal lights where back working and staying on longer than the short amount of times they were first set at, great I thought.
Wednesday 29 April 2020 [yesterday] around 11am ish I heard someone going into the flat downstairs.
Not long after the tenant in flat above me starts stomping very hard down on her bedroom floor - it being my bedroom ceiling and which I could hear and I wondered what was going on. Then tenant was outside my flat door and she kicked the door and went back back into her flat.
WTF is going on I'm wondering ie why is she behaving as such. Anyway I opened my flat door and I shouts out to her about what she had done, shes mouthing off again about me, which I managed to record. She wouldn't come out though and face me and say the things she was saying about me to my face.
Not long after things quietened down someone came out of the flat below me - it was the tenant, and off the tenant went.
I was very upset by what had happened - this was the 2nd time she had mouthed off [well 3 if I include the very first time in Jan 2020] and had included kicking my door. This is about the communal lights being on, as far as I am aware, talk about an over reaction in my view.
This time I contacted the Met police via their website - as it wasn't an emergency as such. I filled in a form and submitted it and received a ref number and PDF copy of my form. I also emailed the housing estate officer.
Neither have got back to me, and judging by the noise the tenant is making today above me, they haven't contacted her either.
Currently on and off, the tenant has been stomping very heavily about her flat, above me in my living room, i've had to turn on my radio quite loud to drown out the noise, but I can still hear her. I suspect this will go on for some time.
update
11ish pm. the communal lights aren't working now, for some reason - they where working earlier.
Its after 11pm and I can hear the tenant above me stomping about and also talking. This has been going on since around 7.30am this morning when I woke up and could hear noise above me then I fell back asleep and later before midday - its been on and off and will in my experience continue until tenant goes to bed which could be very late. It distresses me and I can't relax with the anticipation of waiting to hear the next thump or bang or whatever. I will need to have my radio on all night loud enough to drown out the noise intrusions, including when I go to bed so I don't have to keep hearing tenant even when I'm trying to sleep, rest etc, regardless of how late it is. Its hard for me to relax properly living here.
This is the reality of my home living environment and I suspect its the same for many people and nothing much gets done by landlords etc to fix the issues.
I don't think the landlord Camden council or the Met police are going to do anything about the tenant above so i will need to [ i'm not letting this go or it continue on and on and on, I want it stopped and for good] come this Monday, type up another Letter Before Court Action and slide it under her flat door.
Monday 4 May 2020
I think the tenant above was trying to get me blamed for the communal lights no longer working - that I somehow 'blew the lights', haha I know, I 'somehow blew the new timer lights and they stopped working' just when tenant happened to be in the communal hallway [where the fuse box is] shouting her mouth off about 'what a beast I am' so full of venom she was. Where does such hate come from I wonder?
Thursday 7 May 2020
The tenant above is making a lot of noise today and its still only the morning - first the banging about above my bedroom and then when I got up and went into my living room - very heavy repeated stomping of feet above. Could be she's doing it because of the Letter before Court Action from me.
Friday 8 May 2020
Hurry up and die
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF2hZRDeBsY&feature=youtu.be
This was Friday 27 March 2020
Tuesday 9 June 2020
Tenant above sounds like she is doing some sort of class - I can hear her shouting and suspect others can as well - stomping about at times as well. She started off in her kitchen one day but moved into her living room - both of her rooms are above my living room. Thankfully its not everyday she does them.
Thursday 11 June 2020
Tenant above doing some sort of class again - I can hear her talking, then she shouts out window to another neighbour who is doing building works, to stop for an hour- shes doing a class for the NHS she reckons. Tenant stomping now.
update 4pm - 3 hrs later - tenant still stomping about above me - I think on 2 occasions someone/s has literally sneaked into the tenants flat and it was only when they left i heard them speak and the second one the door close but I didn't hear them come in.
Other neighbour making a racket with power tool - doing building works.
Wednes 8 July 2020
The communal lights are working again, but for how long I don't know. Whoever got them put back on didn't get them put on a longer timer as I found out already so its really pot luck whether anyone can make it in or out the house before the lights go out or whether i'm half way up the stairs with my heavy trolley before the lights go off.
Seeing the lights back on triggered me into remembering the verbal abuse from the tenant above me in flat C and her kicking my flat door. I felt very upset and in fear even of it happening again and so ive got a heavy wooden rolling pin near by flat door and I will use it if need be. She ain't getting to be 3rd time lucky in verbablly abusing me, kicking my door and then hiding in her flat and not coming out and getting away with it.
I have to calm down, deep breaths.
Friday 10 July 2020
11pm Tenant above has been very quiet so far today/night. I thought maybe she'd gone out before I got up, but I've just been downstairs and her light is on, so she must be in.
There is still time for the noise to start though, late at night with the banging about, dropping heavy things, etc etc - as I've experienced time and time again.
It won't last and has in past lulled me into a false sense of thinking she can go a whole 24hrs without making a racket.
update
its just gone 12 midnight and I've just heard some banging about above me.
Sun 2 August 2020
The communal lights have stopped working, again - I noticed this y/d Sat 1 Aug 2020, the day before that [Fri 31 July 2020] I noticed that the lights wouldn't switch off. This is what happened the last time.
Thursday 13 August 2020
According to the electrician i spoke with downstairs earlier on today the fuse in the box on the wall wasn't working re the lights. Its fixed now he says. There was glue in upstairs one he says. That wouldn't have blown the lights though, someone tampering with the fuses. Something about the lights being changed to sensors. Also something about water leaks all over the property or something, huh I says oh you mean the pretend leaks the neighbour keeps reporting.
Mon 21 Sept 2020
Earlier this evening I went downstairs to put some rubbish in the bin and some old flowers, no sooner had I started to go down the long stairs and the lights went off and I was in total darkness. I wasn't pleased as this keeps happening and I ended up dropping some stuff and slowly and carefully managed to get down to the bottom of the stairs and thumped the light switch on.
The other week the lights went off at the same point and it was dark so I turned round to go back up the stairs to the small stairs to go up and turn the lights back on but I banged into the first step, slipped and ended up on my knee and it hurt.
Monday 4 Jan 2021
Im having to buy from my own money [ok the cheapest] a new handrail to put up on the other side of the long stairs in the communal hallway where I live. The reason being is that im fed up with feeling anxious every time I use the stairs specially going down them and the lights still going off and the stairs being narrow, and me having a few physical problems that makes me feel unsafe using the stiars.
I can't contact the housing officer or housing repairs as I feel sick at the thought of them and how they have behaved towards me these last few years and me having a heart attack and they still wouldn't leave me alone.
I will install the new handrail myself - i have an electric drill and I know how to use it, and I reckon i will do a better job than the landlords in-house housing repairs team. I will put photo's up when done.
Monday 8 March 2021
The communal lights still aren't working. I had a look around for some cheap railing but couldn't find any so as yet a second hand rail hasn't been fitted adjacent to long stairs in communal hallway. Its still hit and miss as if to whether I fall down the stairs - i have to use torch at night when coming in or out.
I can't seem to get some things done, i start off on them like trying to get another hand rail, or start with court action and then something else comes up or I'm so tired I'm mostly in bed for a day of 2 and then i'm trying to keep myself from falling to pieces. Ive done a lot of work on myself over the last few years and had some help with I am thankful for, but I'm exhausted and its an on-going thing and probably always will be.
Finding help with the court action however is proving to be a lot more difficult or generally taking Camden Council on - I still have time though - Limitation Act 1980 HERE
8 March 2021
Yesterday (wednes 7 march 2021) an electrician changed the communal lights to lighting that switches on using sensors. It seems to be working ok and seems a lot better than the other lighting, i appreciate it being installed - though why its taken so long [over a year] is a bit of a mystery.
Saturday 12 June 2021
On Thursday 10 June 2021 I received via the post a [2 sheeted/3 pages] letter from my Landlord Camden Council - dated 7 June 2021 [Monday]
I think the tenant above in flat C also received a letter but i'm not sure. Anyhow as I mentioned elsewhere the small bookcase [BC] was put there by the tenant in flat C.
I don't have a problem with it, its in the corner and doesn't seem to obstruct the hallway. I think I was supposed to be blamed for complaining to housing about the BC when I didn't.
The BC has been in the hallway since at least 2016 - as you can see from some of the photo's from the 17 Oct 2016 CycleGate post HERE
The below is a recent photo of the downstairs communal hallway - notice where the Take me Away notice is under the no smoking sign - notice where the bookcase in in relation to the Take Me Away notice. Who ever took the above photo's and sent them into the land-lord did so [i believe] hoping that sending in 2 separate pics would fool the housing office - which I think from the letter I received [which has no reference number on it] they have managed to do. I can't remember how long the notice has been there.
I was going to email the person whose name is on the letter but I won't - its a minor issue compared to the other stuff and I really don't want any contact with these people unless I really have to.
Sun 17 Oct 2021
Whilst having a read of some of the minutes/reports of the Fire Safety and Compliance Advisory Panel [FSCAP] set up by camden council after the tragic 14 June 2017 Grenfell Tower fire which took the lives of 72 people and countless harm/injuries - The Inquiry into what happened is on-going HERE
One of the officer reports that was of interest to me was that the meeting of Tuesday 9 April 2019 HERE and in particular agenda item 9. Communal and Emergency Lighting - Report of the Director of Property Management HERE dated 26 March 2019
Michael Killeen, Head of Property Planning & Asset Management, 33/35 Jamestown
Road, NW1 7DB, Michael.killeen@camden.gov.uk
SUMMARY OF REPORT
This report provides an update on the communal and emergency lighting
improvements, maintenance and the prioritisation of responsive repairs. Our
Camden Plan clearly sets out the Council’s commitment to the safety of its residents.
To help deliver this commitment the Council ensures a maintenance programme is
in place to manage lighting systems. [my emphasis]
3. Investment in Communal and Emergency Lighting
3.1 The Council’s fire safety programme for purpose built blocks and street properties includes assessment and replacement of emergency lighting, determined by fire risk assessments.
3.2 The Council’s Better Homes Programme incorporates the replacement of communal and emergency lighting within the scope of works to improve safety and the quality of homes.
The above 'prescriptions' of how the programs of works is to be carried out didnt actually work out that way in practice when it came to a 'cack-handed zealous' housing officer from Kentish Town who as I have mentioned earlier on this post took it upon herself in collusion with flat A and C, to change over the communal lighting system to one that didnt work property and was dangerous and was I believe done more to cause me stress and upset than to follow the then housing officers duties to provide safe and quality homes for tenants.
From late Feb 2020 - 7 March 2021 the lighting system was in place - the evidence of it is in various video's I took of how the lights turn off at inappropriate times etc. There was little in the way of concern from the landlords agent for my safety and welfare despite me having some physical problems.
I have to keep asking this - how many other tenants have received and will continue to receive the same treatment from housing officers employed by camden council?
When I think of some of the stuff they have done, their behaviour towards me I feel sick inside like I can't believe that these people, so called professionals who work for the council/government are so discriminatory with some tenants. What is their problem?
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