Single mum says Kingston Council 'failed' her after leaving her in 'unsafe' accommodation for five years

A single mother and former foster care child says that Kingston Council has "failed" her after leaving her and her young son in "unsafe" accommodation in New Malden.

In an exclusive interview with Kingston Nub News, Naz Zarei said: "For over five years, I have been trapped in unsafe housing under London & Quadrant Housing Association.

"My young child and I have endured persistent harassment and intimidation from a neighbour, leading to serious safeguarding risks.

"I have reported this countless times, providing police CAD numbers, GP letters, and statements from my child's school confirming the impact on his wellbeing.

"Despite the evidence, Kingston Council has failed to intervene or provide us with a safe home. Their inaction has left us in an environment that is damaging our mental health and breaching our right to safety and security."

She added: "The housing association continues to ignore formal complaints and safeguarding alerts, and the situation has escalated to the point where every day we remain here is a risk.

"I have tried legal action, complaints to the Housing Ombudsman, and direct appeals to local representatives, but we are still here. My son and I deserve to feel safe in our home, and we urgently need action."

Ms Zarei says that she grew up in care, having "no family here", including a mother, aunties, or cousins.

"So, I was raised by the government itself, by Kingston Council," she said.

The single mother was placed in her current home by the council five years ago with a PA from Achieving for Children.

However, from the moment she moved into the property, she started experiencing problems.

Ms Zarei said: "The first day I was here, I had my door knocked off the hinges physically by this neighbour, to which I called my landlord, London and Quadrant Association (L&Q), and they told me that my neighbour has severe, severe mental health issues.

"L&Q told me to just 'live with it' and then hung up on me."

Ms Zarei says that her neighbour knocked her door off its hinges (Credit: Naz Zarei)

 She says she thinks she has trauma from the incident.

"It doesn't leave my mind," she added.

Ms Zarei says that her neighbour, who lives in the flat below hers, bangs on the ceiling to "directly harass" her in her home and that this has been going on for five years.

However, she says that L&Q "won't come and offer to at least fix it".

She added: "So my house is literally in the midst of basically falling apart. She's [Ms Zarei's neighbour] actively came on public transport when I was taking my child to school and sent her two children to just attack me physically.

"Her kids kicked me in my knee for four or five bus stops."

Because of this, Ms Zarei had a crime reference recorded, and an investigation was carried out by the police and TfL.

She says that the police found the bus CCTV filming the incident.

 So, they agreed that what's going on is absolutely bizarre," she said.

"But because my neighbour sent her children to do it, they cannot make an actual arrest for the kids.

"So, she's basically finding loopholes by either throwing her children on the bus in regard to telling them to do all this stuff, or she uses her mental health as an excuse. If it's her directing anything, all she needs to say is: 'Oh, I just suffer with mental health'.

"And the landlords are putting all of this down to her mental health struggles."

Ms Zarei says that L&Q told her she "needs to learn to live with it" and that the situation has led to her being "basically jobless".

She says that she was actively working before she moved into the property and that she had never previously suffered with any mental health problems.

However, she said: "I'm distressed. Crying day in and out to my GP on the phone."

Ms Zarei says that the situation is also affecting her son and says that his school sent a letter to L&Q suggesting that the pair needs to be moved out of the property.

She said: "To which my landlord is physically blocking that support."

Ms Zarei says she has had help from local MP, Sir Ed Davey, Councillor Yvonne Tracey, and Councillor Leslie Heap, but claims that L&Q is "blocking that support" too.

She says that L&Q offered her £80 in compensation, but "were willing to give me £60 of that to silence me, and the wording in that outcome was horrendous".

"My jaw was on the floor," she said.

Not accepting L&Q's offer, Ms Zarei then contacted Kingston Council, who she says were not helpful.

"They basically said 'we have no authority over you'," she added.

Ms Zarei claims that the council said it can only help her if she is homeless.

She added: "Kingston Council is saying it has no duty of care towards me or my child, but it does, as essentially, it raised me with me growing up in foster care. They are aware I have no one.

"No matter how I put it to them, no matter how many times I say, here's the safeguarding letter from GP, from my son's school, they block contact or tell me to go back to my landlord."

Ms Zarei is now taking legal action and trying to get an injunction against her neighbour.

She says that in the five years she has lived at the property, she has rarely seen her neighbour's children leave the house and has called the police on several occasions due to the children screaming.

"The landlord has basically put me as the carer of this family," she said.

She also claims that her neighbour has tried to physically assault her, to which she had to get the police and ambulance services involved, but L&Q still did not help her.

"The physical assault is not good enough for them to do anything," she said.

"You know, when I got attacked in the hallway by my neighbour's partner while he was holding the little girl, that still didn't deem fit for police to arrest them because there was no CCTV in place. So, it was my word against theirs, no matter what I've endured physically, emotionally."

She added: "I've done everything, but there's nothing more I can do."

A Kingston Council spokesperson told Kingston Nub News: "Kingston Council takes all safeguarding matters extremely seriously, and, as Ms Zarei's current tenancy is not with a Kingston Housing Register partner, we have contacted Ms Zarei to encourage her to complete a Housing Advice Application, so that the Council can properly assess the circumstances and has all the necessary information to determine any emergency or interim housing support options that may be available.

"We are sorry to hear about Ms Zarei's situation and understand that such circumstances can be deeply distressing. We strongly encourage Ms Zarei to complete a Housing Advice Application as the appropriate next step to ensure her circumstances can be reviewed in full."

Charlie Culshaw, Director of Housing Management & LQ Living, said: "We take concerns about antisocial behaviour very seriously and understand the impact this can have on residents.

"We're currently reviewing the details of this complaint and expect to be able to provide an update by the end of August."