£17,000 bill headache

I HAVE been in touch with Homes for Islington (HfI) to try to reach agreement on repayment of a £17,302 major works bill that will not leave me bankrupt. It has told me (I paraphrase) to get stuffed. The options are to pay the full amount now or in 24 monthly instalments of £750. I have looked under the mattress and sadly found no £17,000. And there is not £750 worth of flexibility in my outgoings for one month never mind 24.
Here’s what I can’t do:
l Put it on my mortgage. My lender isn’t taking on any further lending.
l Get a bank loan. I work freelance and am not eligible for such a large loan.
l Sell the flat. I do not currently live in it, as HfI has now had vacant possession of it for the best part of a year.
What does council leader Terry Stacy suggest? Put it on a credit card and enter a downward spiral of debt? Frighten an elderly relative at Christmas in the hope they’ve remembered me in their will?
Fiona Rintoul
Address supplied