A mother in Camberwell, South London, is voicing serious concerns for her three-month-old baby’s health after being without heating in her flat for four months.
Sun’Johnique Delisser, 32, has been relying on electric heaters to warm her one-bedroom flat since October, despite repeated requests to her landlord, Wandle Housing, to fix the building’s broken heating system.
Ms. Delisser moved into the flat in April 2024, and since then, both the heating and hot water systems have been faulty. She explained, “Since I moved in, I’ve had five parts replaced, but there’s still no heating, and the hot water is only lukewarm. I call every week, but each time an engineer is scheduled, they cancel.”
The situation has become more urgent since the birth of her son, Aire-Shakari, who was born with respiratory issues following a traumatic emergency c-section. Ms. Delisser explained, “I brought him home from the hospital to a cold flat. He’s been ill ever since, and now he has a chest infection for which he’s on antibiotics.”
With two electric heaters running, Ms. Delisser is paying an additional £300 a month in electricity bills. She fears the mounting costs will soon become unsustainable as the temperatures continue to drop.
“I’m a new mom dealing with so much already, and I still don’t have basic heating in my house. It’s such a simple issue that should be fixed,” she said. “I feel like I’m failing my son, and I’m being let down.”
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