Housing association apologises to tenants after bug infestation
JLiving chief executive pledges urgent action after desperate residents contacted Jewish News
A Jewish housing association has apologised after fuming tenants complained of a widespread bug infestation that forced one couple to throw out their bed and sleep on the floor.
Residents of Young Court in Willesden Lane, a block of 63 one-bedroom flats, claim pleas for help to jLiving over a string of issues had gone ignored.
One horrified tenant, speaking anonymously, said bedbugs were “dropping off sofas” in communal areas before the lounge was shut down for months. Bedroom furniture was reportedly crawling with pests, forcing residents to throw out their beds and sleep on the floor.
A main lift was out of action for 10 weeks, apparently leaving vulnerable tenants struggling to leave the building, while winter heating problems left many in further discomfort.
The resident said: “Bugs were literally dropping off the furniture in the communal living area. Then our flat became infested. We had to throw furniture and our bed out and ended up sleeping on the floor. My wife and I are in such a state. There are loads of people who have suffered like us for months.”
Jane Goodman, chief executive of jLiving, was quick to acknowledge Young Court had been hit by multiple outbreaks of bedbugs over the past two years. She said a contractor was brought in last summer after reports of a major infestation, and a full building-wide heat treatment to tackle the issue was undertaken.
She added: “External contractors have been engaged to eradicate the infestations and prevent further spread. However, in late summer and early autumn of 2024, we received multiple reports of suspected infestations within a substantial number of flats in the building, including in the communal lounges.
“The association approached an alternative contractor to investigate whether there was another method of treatment that could be used to eradicate the infestations, bearing in mind the suspected scale of the issue. Following a full survey of the building and the individual flats, it was proposed that all flats should be treated using a heat-based treatment to eradicate both identified areas of infestation and as a preventative measure. This approach was adopted on the recommendation that bedbug infestations have become increasingly resistant to chemical treatment.”
Goodman added: “In a block of 63 flats, this is not a small exercise and has required multiple visits on the part of our contractors, particularly when access has not been given readily by some tenants.
“Undertaking a programme of treatment on this scale required extensive planning, with measures put in place for tenants to have easy access to the communal laundry and access to the lounge whilst flats were being treated. The decision to close the communal lounges for general use to prevent further infestation was not undertaken lightly, but it was necessary to stop the spread of any further infestation by individuals whose flats may still be undergoing treatment.
“We fully understand that withdrawing this important communal facility is far from ideal and has caused upset and anxiety to some tenants. For this, we apologise unreservedly, but such has been the scale of the infestation that we have had to implement stringent measures to address the problem and prevent a recurrence.
“In respect of the lift issue, Young Court is served by two lifts, one for the front block and one for the block to the rear. Unfortunately, they do not serve the same parts of the building. Sixteen flats were affected during a recent series of mechanical failures. Tenants affected by these failures have been offered an unreserved apology. We recognise that our contractors fell short of the service that we and our tenants deserve and expect, and compensation has been offered to those affected.”
jLiving has properties across the London boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Harrow, Lambeth, and Westminster, as well as in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, and Margate, Kent. In 2023, it joined forces with Brighton & Hove Jewish Housing Association.
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