"We were told not to have fairy lights because our building might be flammable"

25 August 2020, 13:35

This caller told James O'Brien that the situation in her block of flats is so bad, she has been told not to put up fairy lights because the building is flammable.

Following Rachael Venables' exclusive about a block of flats in north London in which the properties are "worthless" because of unsafe cladding, LBC was inundated with stories from other people in a similar position.

Victoria called in to tell James the story of her building, which has been considered dangerous enough for the Housing Association to tell them not to risk putting fairy lights up or having a barbecue.

She said: "We live in a Shared Ownership Housing Association flat and we were told in 2017 by the Housing Association that we didn't have any cladding on our building.

"But just before the pandemic, we were told there was cladding. It turns out it does have flammable material, but we've never been formally notified. We know this because the building manual confirms we have three types of potentially flammable material, including HPL.

"Despite this, the only letters the Housing Association have sent us is to say 'Please do not have fairy lights or barbecues on your balcony due to cladding concerns'."

Things get even worse. If the Housing Association cannot secure a government grant for the works, the residents will be charged for it themselves.

And all of this happened right before lockdown, so residents were stuck in their flats, not knowing if they are safe or not.

The whole story really shook LBC listeners. Watch it at the top of the page.