An East London leaseholder has declared he will not surrender in an astonishing 18-year battle with Hackney Council over a compensation claim stemming from a burglary at his family home.
A Break-In and a Broken System
At approximately 1am on 2 June 2007, a thief used a crowbar to smash a glass pane and break into the home of Anthony Burton on the Regents Estate in South Hackney. The burglar escaped with a bag containing cash, a television, a PlayStation, and other items with a total value exceeding £2,000.
Police arrived about 20 minutes later but found no fingerprints, and the culprit was never apprehended. Mr Burton, who had home contents insurance, believed a council-controlled CCTV system covering the estate should have captured the criminal. However, he later discovered the system was not operational.
Insurance Invalidated and a Council Liability Claim
This failure proved critical. Mr Burton had declared on his insurance policy that his property was covered by CCTV. The system's inactivity invalidated his claim. "It's a bit like if you're taking out car insurance," he explained. "And the insurer asks you if your car has an alarm on it - and you say yes. Then, someone nicks your car... Do you think the insurance company is going to pay you out?"
As leaseholders, the Burtons paid service charges to their landlord, Hackney Council, which funded the estate's surveillance cameras. At least one camera directly overlooked the point of entry. In 2009, they learned that not only were none of the 16 cameras working on the night of the burglary, but they remained out of action two years later.
Mr Burton says his insurer informed him the council was liable because it had charged for the CCTV service. This began his near two-decade quest for reimbursement.
A Saga of Promises, Delays and Legal Dead Ends
Mr Burton alleges that various council officers over the years promised to investigate or reimburse him, only for those staff members to leave their posts, restarting the cycle. "It just goes on and on," he said.
In 2010, he secured a meeting with senior officers, including former Hackney Homes head Charlotte Graves. He claims they promised to reimburse service charge credits to all homes that had paid for the CCTV—a promise the council says it has no record of. The council twice offered a 'goodwill' payment of £200, which Mr Burton refused, seeing it as an avoidance of responsibility.
The family pursued legal action, but solicitors advised that a Small Claims Court case for £2,200 would not be financially viable due to paperwork and costs. "They told me I was a fish in a pond, and I couldn't swim," Mr Burton recalled. The council formally disputed the burglary had even occurred, demanding proof.
At one stage, Mr Burton withheld service charges and council tax, leading the council to take him to court. He later agreed to pay £1,800 in arrears plus £200 in costs.
'A Disgrace' and a Guinness Record Claim
Local Conservative councillor Simche Steinberger, who has assisted Mr Burton for years, described the case as unprecedented. "This is going to go into the Guinness Book of Records for how long [it's] been going on," he stated.
"But the worst part of it is that officers keep saying 'the matter is closed'. How can they say that with no justification?" Cllr Steinberger added that the compensation value today would be three or four times the original amount.
Mr Burton, who has kept extensive documentation including the police report, said: "It's a disgrace - how many more people have been affected by this?"
A Hackney Council spokesperson said: "We sympathise with Mr Burton and have been in regular contact with him about this incident. Following our investigations, we have no record promising to reimburse service charges, as Mr Burton suggested. We now consider this matter closed. If Mr Burton remains unhappy with this outcome, he should seek independent legal advice."
