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Peabody pays out over gas disconnection
Housing association Peabody has paid out more than £30,000 to 57 residents who were left without gas for months.
The payment is the result of a two-year court battle over the gas supply being cut off on the Strawberry Vale Estate in East Finchley for up to four months.
A total of 267 homes on the estate lost access to gas in January 2016 when the National Grid decided it was unsafe due to a faulty meter. The meter was replaced but Peabody did not reconnect the supply.
An injunction the following month resulted in Peabody agreeing to reinstate the gas supply.
Residents were reconnected by May, but many had spent large amounts on electricity in the meantime.
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A spokesperson for Peabody told Inside Housing: “We apologised to residents at Strawberry Vale in 2016 for the interruption of the gas supply.
“We also made a series of goodwill payments at the time to the small number of people whose heating was affected. While most residents’ heating was unaffected, we recognise that the interruption was disruptive.”
The residents’ law firm, Hodge Jones & Allen, said that during legal proceedings it was discovered that Peabody had not been compliant with gas safety regulations since 1998.
Jayesh Kunwardia, head of social housing at the firm, said: “Residents of the Strawberry Vale Estate suffered major upset and upheaval as a result of Peabody’s direct failure to reinstate the gas supply for so long. It was never right that residents should be out of pocket for Peabody’s mistakes and I am grateful to them for entering into negotiations and avoiding a long and costly trial.”
Shona Perkins, treasurer of the Strawberry Vale Residents Association, said: “I never thought I would experience such an episode in modern times. Our community came together to challenge Peabody’s actions and after a long David and Goliath battle I am pleased that we have finally settled the case.”
