West London Homes Plagued by Leaks and Mold After Only Six Years

People in a Shepherd’s Bush tower have problems. It’s near the Westfield shopping center and their homes have leaks and mold. The building is only six years old. The Local Democracy Reporting Service visited and saw water damage in several apartments. One home was evacuated because of flooding.

One elevator wasn’t working, and the front doors didn’t close properly. Some entrance panels were damaged. L&Q manages the block and they said they are sorry for the issues. They know it’s taken too long to fix things.

Newall Court has views of the area, and you can see Grenfell Tower from there. L&Q maintains the building, but residents say Westfield built it. A company called White City Investment owns the land and they bought it in 2015.

Eve moved in after its completion in 2019. At first, she felt very lucky because the location seemed perfect and the spacious homes looked promising. Problems started very quickly, however.

Elevators were among the first issues; both lifts rarely worked at the same time. Things have gotten worse since then. Eve described antisocial behavior in the building and felt personally threatened once. There is also vandalism and disrepair.

People were defecating in the hallways, and others were having sex in the staircases. People were taking drugs there too and homeless people squatted in the building. L&Q workers visited due to leak concerns, and water came into the building from leaks.

Mandy Goggin, 33, lives there with her four kids and she also had problems with leaks. A pipe burst last June, causing a flood. Her daughter’s bedroom was destroyed, and her living room, hallway, and the boys’ bedroom were also affected.

It took L&Q over 14 hours to stop the water. Seven months later, she still battles mold, and showed a recent leak with water pouring outside the windows.

Hope Williams, 36, moved in with her sister due to flooding. Her son saw water leaking in the kitchen, and it took 40 minutes to reach someone at L&Q. It took hours to shut off the water; her flood came from a sprinkler problem.

The hallway still smelled of damp several days after it happened. Williams had no issues before this flood; it was her first since moving in 2019. She now feels hopeless about the response.

Eve had issues with mold before, and the problems make her feel anxious. She knows what comes next, which might mean temporary housing could be needed.

L&Q’s Mr. Lewis apologized to Newall Court residents and acknowledged maintenance issues. He knows fixing things took too long.

The sprinkler system caused problems, so they cut off its water to prevent more leaks this way. Contractors work on a fix for the issue, and they have people watching the building to reassure the safety of residents and help reduce bad behavior.

They are fixing the communal lifts; an engineer was there this week. They will fix the front door quickly and want to install CCTV in the lifts to improve security.

Their priority is resident safety, and they want to resolve issues fast, so residents should feel comfortable. L&Q appreciates residents’ patience.