Dead neighbour complaints ignored by landlord for 2 years, Duncan Lewis clients tell BBC (3 April 2023)

Duncan Lewis clients have been discussing the harrowing case of their dead neighbour who was to left rot in her flat for two years, despite complaints to the housing association from the residents. One of the residents of Lord’s Court unknowingly lived in a flat below Sheila Seleoane’s corpse for two-and-a-half years, which led to maggots infesting her home in Peckham. The client told the BBC: “I changed the lightbulb and maggots fell out. It was like living in a horror movie.” Residents say they raised the alarm about the smell to Peabody Housing many times but that their fears were ignored. The client told BBC that the foul stench was “like a dead body” and “it made [her] sick”. Police discovered the 58-year-old medical secretary's skeletal remains when they broke down her door in February last year. Our housing director Manjinder Manjinder Kaur Atwal and caseworker Annabelle Steele, of Duncan Lewis, are currently advising the neighbours in respect of a possible compensation claim against Peabody Housing. In advising and assisting the residents of Lord’s Court, Manjinder says, “it is clear that housing associations are more concerned about financial performance than the wellbeing of their tenants and this needs to change.” If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article please contact our expert housing team for advice. Duncan Lewis' Housing team is recognised by the UK Legal 500 legal directory as a leading practice in social housing law matters throughout London and across the South East. Manjinder Manjinder Kaur Atwal is a Director of Housing & Property Litigation at Duncan Lewis, with 15 years’ experience dealing with a wide variety of housing and property law dispute cases including possession claims and eviction matters, landlord and tenant disputes, homelessness and housing disrepair. Email Manjinder manjindera@duncanlewis.com or via telephone on 020 3114 1269. Read the full account at BBC News