Ms Leeuweink-Royal and the broken ceiling in her mould-hit flat near Newington Green

A WOMAN who is suffering with multiple sclerosis (MS) says she feels like she is being forced to move out by the “nightmare” condition of her flat.

Karmen Leeuweink-Royal said the housing association Peabody had failed to fix mould, leaks, and damp in her home in Pyrland Road, near Newington Green. Her bathroom ceiling fell through in the middle of the night last month but is still unrepaired.

The delays have left her thinking that Peabody would like her to leave, potentially allowing them to put the property on the private market.

“I’m aware that a lot of properties are getting auctioned off on my street,” she said.

“It just makes me think: are you not doing the work because you want to sell it off?”

In the past two months, Peabody have sold two other properties on Ms Leeuweink-Royal’s street for a total of £1.25million.

Morag Gillie, a campaigner with Islington Homes for All, warned that Ms Leeuweink-Royal’s case is not unusual, and said she had witnessed housing associations selling flats in a state of disrepair on to private developers.

Ms Gillie said: “It’s specifically street properties that they are selling off and they are making huge profits. My concern is that they [Peabody] are going out of London and building in cheaper areas. Not where there is a need like there is in London.”

Islington Homes for All previously calculated that Peabody had auctioned off 47 properties between 2020 and 2023. At least four more have been sold this year, and two are currently on the market.

Ms Leeuweink-Royal was homeless prior to moving into the flat, but said her housing situation has turned into a “nightmare”.

She said: “I got this place and I was so grateful to have my own space, I was so happy. Then all the floods started – all the water coming through constantly.

“I kept calling them and asking them can you please come and have a look. They kept coming and having a look but not doing anything about it.”

According to Ms Leeuweink-Royal, Peabody have sent surveyors on at least three occasions, but have never fixed the mould, damp or constant leaks that she is living with.

“I don’t feel safe here at all,” she said.

Ms Gillie said that Islington Council could be doing more to try and ensure these properties are not lost from the social housing stock.

“Local authorities could be actively approaching housing associations saying ‘don’t put them on the market, sell them back to us’,” she said.

Labour councillor John Woolf, who took over as housing chief this week, said: “Peabody is an independent housing association and Islington Council is unable to influence the decisions made by any housing association, as housing associations are regulated by the regulator of social housing, not Islington Council.”

He told the Tribune however, that the council would “liaise with Peabody to retain ownership of the properties due to the housing crisis”, adding: “If they wish to sell due to their financial position, perhaps they would approach Islington to see if the council can purchase any of the freehold properties.”

A Peabody spokes­person said: “We’re very sorry for the delay in starting the repairs in Ms Leeuweink-Royal’s home. We’ve been struggling to fix the cause of the leak which we believe is coming from next door, but we haven’t been able to get access.

“We never force anyone out of their property to sell it, and we have no plans to sell Ms Leeuweink-Royal’s home. Carrying out these repairs is our priority, and we want to do this as soon as possible.”