Elderly tenants living on a council-run housing estate were left in freezing flats over the winter due to rotting windows.
Shalford Court, close to Angel station, is home to 14 Islington Council tenants, most of whom are elderly or disabled.
Those living on the estate say that they have been asking the council for new windows for more than eight years, after their window frames started to rot and warp.
But despite repeated promises that work would take place soon, the repairs have not yet been carried out.
One tenant, Tony Bliss, said he contacted the council in 2016 to complain about the state of the windows, after discovering they had not been repaired since 2003.
He claims their condition has only deteriorated since then, forcing many tenants to spend eye-watering sums on heating to avoid living in freezing conditions over the winter.
Tony told Islington Gazette: “Year after year after year, the repairs were put off to the next year.
“The windows are single pane, the wood is warping or rotting in some cases. The doors are not much better – very draughty.
“Every winter as bills go up and up and up, I think - there goes my savings on heating.”
Some tenants have had to duct tape their windows shut, while others cannot properly shut their back doors.
Tony claims that tenants were told earlier this year that the work would be carried out in July, before being pushed back to September, and he now doubts the timeline given by the council.
Islington Council has said it is “committed” to carrying out the repairs, and that the consultation process has already begun, with a meeting with the four leaseholders on the estate set to take place this week.
The first windows will be installed later this year and the contractor has been instructed to prioritise works at Shalford Court, the authority added.
Tony also questioned whether the council would have acted more promptly on repairs if the estate was visible from the street.
He feels that the estate’s “out of sight, out of mind” location, tucked away behind Charlton Place’s pretty Georgian terraced homes, meant its upkeep has not been a priority.
Tony said that his frustration at the lack of repairs has been heightened by the fact the council had spent thousands of pounds installing an s-bend and planters in the street, which he claims are unpopular with most local people.
Tony said: “I suggested years ago uPVC windows, and I got told they’ve got to be wood for conservation.
“And yet, what they’ve done conservation-wise in Charlton Place has totally destroyed the character of the street with the chicane and the planters.”
Cllr Una O’Halloran, Islington Council’s executive member for homes and neighbourhoods, said: “We are working on a project to replace the windows in several of our housing blocks.
“It has taken us slightly longer than expected to conclude the pricing phase of this process and so our estimated start date for installing the windows has been delayed.
“We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.”
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