A family in south-east London who were left without hot water for over a month have described their housing association’s response as “disgraceful” and are now demanding compensation.
Remi Olawole says she has been “fobbed off” by Clarion Housing after waiting for boiler repairs since August 5, with the housing association claiming delays were due to waiting on parts.
In the meantime, she was forced to boil kettles so she and her five children could wash at their flat in Anerley. Although the boiler was finally fixed this week, the family is now demanding compensation.
They say their gas bill has soared as a result of having to boil water on the hob daily.
Remi Olawole, 39, says she was forced to boil kettles on the hob so she and her five children could wash, after their boiler stopped working on August 5. Despite repeated visits from contractors, the boiler remained unfixed for weeks, with Clarion Housing claiming delays were due to waiting on parts.
“The whole thing has been a total nightmare,” Mrs Olawole told Metro. “We had no hot water to wash ourselves or our clothes, and no heating for a month. The housing association sent people out to inspect the boiler, and they said it was beyond repair—but Clarion just kept saying they were ordering parts. I feel we’ve been completely fobbed off.”
She added that while the lack of heating wasn’t as urgent in the summer, having no hot water was unacceptable. “How am I, and the children, supposed to carry on like that? I’ve scalded myself trying to boil water in kettles. It’s been incredibly stressful.”
The working mother also raised concerns about the general condition of the property, saying it was unsuitable for a family to live in. “There’s damp and mould on the walls—it’s not healthy,” she said. “No parent wants their kids to live like this. I want Clarion to take responsibility and sort out all the problems. We also want compensation. No family should have to go through this.”
Clarion has since installed a new boiler and confirmed that hot water has now been restored. The housing association said further work is scheduled to provide a backup system and prevent a repeat of the issue.
A spokesperson for Clarion said: “We sincerely apologise to Ms Olawole for the unacceptable delays in restoring hot water to her home. The outage was caused by multiple faults with the boiler, alongside a breakdown of the immersion heater. However, this issue should not have taken as long as it did to resolve, and we will be reviewing several serious failings by our contractor.”
Clarion added that urgent repairs are being scheduled, including mould treatment. A recent inspection did not find a crack in the ceiling, but a follow-up assessment is planned.
