A council tenant in East London has been forced to endure freezing conditions, washing in stone cold water, following a protracted disagreement with the local authority over the installation of a pre-payment heat meter.
A Flat Like a 'Giant Refrigerator'
Neil Jones, a resident of Thaxted Court in Shoreditch, Hackney, has described his high-rise flat as feeling like a 'giant refrigerator' since his hot water supply was disconnected on November 12, 2025. He claims the lack of insulation and exposure to wind chill on the 12th floor freezes the concrete walls, forcing him to use his oven for warmth in winter.
The council states the problem originated with a faulty heat credit meter in June 2025, which required replacement. However, Mr Jones resisted the installation of a new pre-payment meter, fearing it would become an 'unaffordable' financial trap. He currently pays for heating via service charges and argued the core issue was with the heating unit interface, not the meter.
A History of Heating Problems and Distrust
This incident is not isolated. Mr Jones's distrust stems from long-standing heating problems at Thaxted Court. In 2019, he and other residents accused Hackney Council of 'bullying behaviour', alleging heating was 'illegally' switched off in winter to pressure tenants into accepting new pre-payment meters.
The council apologised for providing 'incorrect' information that caused confusion but disputed the bullying claims. A council letter had stated heating would be cut off for boiler room works, though it later emerged the building did not have a boiler room.
Thaxted Court is part of the Shoreditch Heat Network (SHN), which has a troubled history. A year ago, the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed hundreds of homes across the SHN suffered outages after a boiler house breakdown in 2019, with problems persisting into 2024.
A Temporary Fix After Months of Dispute
Following the November breakdown, Mr Jones refused engineers access unless he received a written guarantee the new meter would remain in 'credit mode'. After receiving assurances, he permitted installation on January 7, 2026.
However, the new meter did not resolve the issue. Engineers ultimately ran a temporary wire from the fuse box to restore heating and hot water—a solution Mr Jones had proposed months earlier. 'I don't understand why they didn't do that in the first place months ago. I'm fuming,' he said.
A Hackney Council spokesperson said it was their statutory duty to install meters to improve energy efficiency and that they were pleased permission for installation was finally granted. They maintained the supply failure was due to the old meter.
