Gipsy Hill tenant and her nephew in hospital after council house ceiling gives way again

A Lambeth Council tenant in Gipsy Hill says repairs to her home are still not finished, eight months after its ceiling first came down. A second collapse in August left her and her nephew needing hospital treatment.

Venesha Rose said the January collapse narrowly missed her three-year-old daughter. The family spent several months in temporary accommodation before moving back in May. On 27 August the ceiling of her downstairs study fell on her and her nephew. The London Ambulance Service took both of them to hospital, and Rose said her nephew was hit on the leg by a piece of wood. In her view, the work carried out after January never tackled the underlying cause.

Leaks raised with the council since 2024, tenant says

Rose said her complaints about leaks at the house go back to 2024. She said a council worker came round shortly before the January collapse and told her there was no leak. Within a few hours of that visit, she said, the ceilings in a bedroom and in her study both gave way.

Rose said that on the family’s return the council assured her every repair except one was complete. That was not what she found. “When we returned home, the electrics were all hanging [out], they still are,” she said. The house started leaking again once the water supply was switched back on, she added, and the photos and videos she sent to the council brought no visit.

A GP note recorded concussion-related headaches, lower back pain, neck pain and bruising following the August collapse. Rose also said her daughter later fell down the stairs because the lights were not working and parts of the house were “pitch black”.

What Lambeth Council says about the repairs

Lambeth Council said a senior surveyor went to the property “immediately” after the latest collapse and that it had been working on the repair ever since. A spokesperson said the council was “shocked and saddened” to learn of the injuries and had not previously been told about them. Emails Rose sent after the collapse show she did inform the council of the injuries.

The spokesperson said the council knew what work was needed, had been in touch with Rose “several times” about it and had carried out repairs at the house. An appointment has been arranged with her, and the council said it looked “forward to resolving the last remaining issues”.