Woman buys London council flat for £78K… only to be told the entire block is due to be demolished weeks later

• Residents in two 17-storey blocks face rehousing following a gas leak last year

A woman who bought a London council flat for £78,000 has been left devastated after being told, just weeks later, that the entire block is up for demolition.

Jamila Farah, 51, who lives with her 24-year-old son Galid, bought her two-bedroom home in Edmonton, north London on May 14, after living there for 20 years. 

Ms Farah now wishes she ‘never bought the flat’ after local authorities declared, just weeks after the large purchase, that the entire block on the Shires estate, would be knocked down and flattened. 

Residents in the two 17-storey blocks on the estate – Cheshire House and Shropshire House – comprising 204 homes, face rehousing following a gas leak in November last year, with fears that the building could collapse any time and was deemed too dangerous to live in.

But despite the gas supply being cut and talks of demolition notices being served by the council, Ms Farah, who originally comes from Somalia, was approached with the opportunity to buy her flat – only to have the hopes of securing a permanent roof over her head snatched away from her.

Ms Farah has complained of ailing health that has contributed to the uncertainty of her future, telling MyLondon: ‘It would be very hard for me to rent this house now. I’m aging, and I don’t know how much longer I can work to be able to pay the rent’.

Enfield Council will now has to pay her £230,000, after councillors agreed on a ‘timely buy-back’ of properties owned by leaseholders based off market value, plus an extra 10 per cent in home loss compensation.

Effectively, this means that £152,000 of taxpayers’ money has been unnecessarily wasted by the local authority, with the total cost of the buy-back plan reaching an eyewatering £13.8million.

Enfield Council estimated that repair work to the 1960s building would cost £53 million to bring these blocks up to standard in the short term, and that leaseholders would also be obliged to make significant contributions.

Ms Farah fears that she will be forced to move out of the area in her search for affordable housing.  

Ms Farah, who moved into the flat in 2003, told MyLondon: ‘I’d still be in a normal council house, and then they would have to rehouse me. Now I’m a private tenant so they won’t offer anything and I can’t afford somewhere new.’

The healthcare workers, who is employed by North Middlesex Hospital, bought the council flat with the help of a neighbour who lent her £30,000, with the hopes for more stable finances, that would come from not forking out of her stretched budget for rent.

Ms Farah added: ‘I just want a similar place to live, I’m not even fussed about the money now. I’m struggling with daily life. They still should look after us.’

Enfield Council’s Leader, Cllr Nesil Caliskan, said: ‘Following overwhelming backing of moving from the estate, our priority is to ensure all residents at Cheshire and Shropshire Houses get the quality home they deserve. 

‘A full refurbishment of the blocks, just to maintain them to an acceptable standard, would have been expensive and disruptive, so we have listened to the community at The Shires Estate who do not want to go through several months of disruption. 

‘Decanting the blocks will also enable the Council to put its limited resources towards improving the rest of our council homes.

‘This is why we are recommending decommissioning the tower blocks, which will enable us to move residents out as soon as soon possible into decent and safe alternative accommodation. 

‘The safety and comfort of our residents is our priority, and this decision will ensure that residents are able to quickly access the decent housing they deserve.’ 

Enfield Council has also promised that there will be access to legal and surveying costs associated with buybacks for leaseholders, and they too will be supported to move.