Families in 'unsellable' flats face financial ruin: Residents are washing in buckets at block that's had no gas or hot water for six months - and estate agents warn the value of their properties is 'next to nothing'

Flat owners in a block which has had no gas supply for six months due to 'potentially dangerous leaks' fear they will be left 'financially ruined' through not being able to sell them.

Families in a new residential building have been living with no heating or hot water and rely on washing in buckets, camping showers or visiting swimming pool changing rooms.

Many believe they will be left hundreds of thousands of pounds out of pocket through not being able to ever sell the properties in Admiral Court, Croydon, south London.

The block is made up of mixed-tenure development with many families, including young or expecting mothers. They have described the situation as 'sheer hell'.

Residents say they are 'trapped in a web of bureaucracy' between the freeholder, the housing association, the managing agents and the developer, over who is responsible for the cost of the remedial works.

The original developer was plunged into administration, sparking a major dispute over who should pay. It has left residents in the 65 flats facing anxiety over whether the cost of replacing the pipework would fall on them.

Some locals are already teaming up to bring legal action to make sure that is not the case.

Izabella Skrzypczak, 37, secretary of the residents association, said the situation has left her feeling 'depressed'. She said: 'I moved in back in March 2025. The lease has cost £211,000. Just one week after moving in, it became clear we had big problems with the gas.

Paige Basterfield lives in a flat with her seven-month-old son, Aiden 

Admiral Court, Croydon, south London, where residents have had no heating, hot water or gas since March 4 due to multiple dangerous gas leaks in the buildings

Izabella put down a £76,000 deposit on the property, with the help from her family and the rest was from a mortgage, but now fears she will be unable to sell the property

'I became very suspicious. More and more problems with leaks started to emerge. This did not seem the sort of thing that should be happening with a new development. During the winter of 2025, there was another. We could all smell gas.

'It was in the communal areas. We were very scared. Then in February this year, our hot water went down. It's been like that ever since. We have been treated appallingly. Imagine living in a place with no hot water. It's terrible.'

Izabella put down a £76,000 deposit on the property, with the help from her family and the rest was from a mortgage. She added: 'It's horrendous. I am depressed because of this. That's my family's money in the deposit.

'How am I ever going to be able to sell this now? It will be impossible. It's such a huge mess. We're going around in circles as to who needs to pay it all. But it shouldn't be us. I'm so angry. It's disgusting.'

Izabella said the system was 'totally flawed'. She said: 'Everything is against the people living here. It's wrong.

'It should not be allowed to happen without any accountability. We're thinking of coming together to take legal action. I am having to go to the gym to have a shower. That's how bad it is.'

Another flat owner, Martyn Oak, said he fears being 'financially ruined' because of the limbo. The 41-year-old said: 'I put my savings into the deposit and now I have a £150,000 mortgage. Who would want to move in here?

'I will lose so much money. I fear it will end in financial ruin. Moving here has been the worst thing I have ever done in my life.

Many believe they will be left hundreds of thousands of pounds out of pocket through not being able to ever sell the properties in Admiral Court

Families in the new block Admiral Court have been living with no heating or hot water and rely on washing in buckets, camping showers or visiting swimming pool changing rooms

'I have consulted lawyers. I have also spoken to estate agents. They say nobody will want to live there, which we all know. If I was to sell it, it would be worth next to nothing. I don't want to live here but I cannot sell it.'

The BBC says in August 2026, five months after the gas was switched off, an expert witness report commissioned by the freeholder, Groundinvest (101) Limited, and managing agent Warwick Estates found that the gas supply pipework 'has not been installed in compliance' with the standards set by the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (Igem).

The freeholder has now contacted a number of companies it says are 'associated' with the original developer seeking to recover the cost of the remedial work. The building was initially developed in 2019 by company UK Land Assets. It has since been liquidated.

The managing agent, Warwick Estates, says neither it 'nor the freeholder' was involved with this development until some time after 'substandard construction work' was originally carried out. It says while 'our foremost concern' is the residents, 'significant obstacles... have led to delays in remediation'.

It claims that under the terms of the lease, gas pipes 'fall to the direct responsibility of the individual leaseholders', but 'we and the freeholder appreciate that it is not a simple case of advising the leaseholders to raise their own claims or arrange their own repairs'. It adds that the defects are not covered by the building's warranty.

Paige Basterfield, 29, lives in a flat with her seven-month-old son, Aiden. She said: 'We are in a right mess. We have no idea what is happening. I am in a shared ownership flat, so I honestly have no idea where it leaves me.

'Bringing up a seven-month-old son in this environment is terrible. He's not known any different and neither have I since he's been born. It's a nightmare. We're doing the best we can. It's impossible to sell this place at the moment. I have no chance.'

IT engineer Benjamin Hudson, 32, said the situation was 'soul destroying'. He said: 'I moved in just before the issues started. I have a £150,000 mortgage. How on earth are we going to get out of this mess?

'It's pretty grim having to go to the gym for a shower and washing in buckets. I've been taking my washing to friends and family. I think in the winter, it'll be absolutely freezing cold here as well with no heating.'

Grangeford Asset Management, which manages the freehold, and the company that built the flats, Cube Construction, have been approached for comment.

A spokesperson for the managing agent, Warwick Estates, previously told the BBC neither it 'nor the freeholder' was involved with this development until some time after 'substandard construction work' was originally carried out.

It said 'our foremost concern' is the residents, 'significant obstacles... have led to delays in remediation'.

It claims that under the terms of the lease, gas pipes 'fall to the direct responsibility of the individual leaseholders', but 'we and the freeholder appreciate that it is not a simple case of advising the leaseholders to raise their own claims or arrange their own repairs'.

It adds that the defects are not covered by the building's warranty.

'We are now seeking further expert advice regarding the potential installation of electric heating and hot water for each flat. We are hopeful that this advice together with costs will be available in the coming weeks.'