Builders on my balcony

Published: 16 July, 2010

• AT 8am on Monday, July  5, I was woken from my sleep by the shadowy figures of two men who had climbed onto my first-floor balcony with a ladder and were sitting on my wall, facing the patio door to my lounge.

I am a single female, living on my own, and was quite shocked by Hyde Housing Association’s lack of respect for my safety.

These men started digging up the tiles on my balcony and I realised they must be builders.

I asked them what was going on.

One builder agreed to pass on to Hyde my concerns about their failure to inform me about my balcony being dug up.

I am a leaseholder and my neighbour is a tenant.

As residents on this estate, we felt that we clearly did not matter or have any rights, as neither of us were informed that builders were going to enter our properties and remove tiles from our balconies.

A builder informed me that there was water leaking into an elderly lady’s flat below.

He said he had never seen anyone living in such squalid conditions.

The ceiling had collapsed and the walls were covered in mould.

He had gone into her flat during the heatwave and the damp had been so bad she needed central heating on constantly.

Surely, this is against Decent Homes standards? It is also a classic example of how Hyde is failing to meet the needs of the most vulnerable residents.

It’s time for more people to name and shame the poor treatment and living conditions of local people.

DEBORAH MOYE
Corporation Street, N7