Natasha Boffa, who has been homeless for more than a month, sheltering in a Travelodge foyer and at a McDonald’s restaurant

THE daughter of a councillor who was known for fighting housing cases has told how she herself has been made homeless after a housing association left her flat unfit for human habitation.

Natasha Boffa, who has lived near Old Street her entire life, was moved out of her Peabody property two years ago after her bathroom ceiling collapsed.

The housing provider claims that the property is now safe, but an independent surveyor has declared it unfit for human habitation and advised that Ms Boffa does not return.

Meanwhile, Peabody has ceased paying the cost of temporary accommodation, leaving their tenant homeless for more than a month.

This means Ms Boffa – whose mother was the late Liberal Democrat councillor Donna Boffa – has spent the last month moving every day between the foyer area of a Travelodge hotel and a nearby McDonald’s.

She told the Tribune: “I’ve no money left. I’m having to stay here [the Travelodge] in the foyer when I can.

Ms Boffa was moved out of her Peabody property two years ago after her bathroom ceiling collapsed. An independent surveyor has declared it unfit for human habitation and advised her not to return

“My brother comes down sometimes and I’ll sit in his van. If not, I’ll go to McDonald’s. Or I’ll stay here until 4 o’clock in the morning when it closes, then I’ll have to move from here.”

Ms Boffa added: “How can they leave a vulnerable person like this ? It’s not right. I’ve been really down, the lowest of the lowest I’ve felt in a really long time. I just don’t get how they can do this.

“I don’t have any faith or trust with Peabody anymore, I fear for my life with them.”

She suffers with mental health problems and a spinal disease and was first moved out of the flat on Errol Street in June 2023 after a leak caused the ceiling to fall down.

“I was lucky, I was just coming out of the bathroom and it smashed me in the back of the neck,” she said. “It was slabs.”

Ms Boffa was moved into a hotel while works were being completed, which took close to two years. But when Peabody said the flat was ready to move into, a surveyor found that the dust left behind by builders, along with fire safety issues, made it unsafe for Ms Boffa to return.

“The front door isn’t fire-safe. You’d think after Grenfell, that would be a major thing, but they don’t seem to care,” she said.

Now, Ms Boffa says she is pleading with Islington Council to give her enough points to move elsewhere.

The late Liberal Democrat councillor Donna Boffa

She added: “I will never never be under Peabody again. I think they’re a disgrace, an absolute disgrace. But I want that property safe because somebody else is going to move in there, and you could put their life at risk.”

Her case is the sort of battle that her mother took on for tenants as a councillor. She died aged just 43 in 2010 after a long illness

“Donna was a fighter right through to the end,” the then leader of the council Terry Stacy said.

“From the day she was elected a councillor, Donna never forgot where she came from or who she was there to represent.

“Donna was all about helping the people without a voice.”

Islington South MP Emily Thornberry, who has been helping Natasha with her case, said complaints about Peabody were frequent.

Ms Thornberry said: “My office handles many cases from Peabody tenants who come to me seeking help, often as a last resort, after feeling that they are not being listened to.

“From endemic damp and mould, faulty communal facilities, and spiralling service charges, Peabody tenants – my constituents – deserve much better.”

A spokesperson for Peabody said: “We want to complete the repairs so Ms Boffa can return home as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we have not been given access to her home for long enough to finish the job.

“We share the frustration with how long this is taking and will continue to try and find a suitable time to do the repairs.”