Lift Nightmare Continues for Enterprise Way Residents
No replacement at eight storey block despite years of complaints
Natasha Johnson by the faulty lift at Enterprise Way
October 23, 2026
Frustrated tenants say they can’t carry on living in an apartment block near Wandsworth Park plagued by repeated lift breakdowns, which forces them to climb up as many as 16 flights of stairs.
Southern Housing, which manages 27 Enterprise Way, promised the lift would be replaced in 2025, after years of complaints, but this still has not happened.
Social housing tenants of the eight-storey block, which has two flights of stairs for every level, said their physical and mental health have been severely impacted by the lift repeatedly breaking down over the years, sometimes for weeks at a time.
They have outlined to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) in visits since 2022 how the lift’s failures have disrupted their daily lives, particularly impacting those with health and mobility issues on the upper floors, leaving some housebound.
Natasha Johnson, 45, told the LDRS the lift was most recently out of service for around two weeks until October 19, which left her and her three children once again navigating 14 flights of stairs to enter and leave their home.
The mum said she was particularly concerned about the impact on her 16-year-old daughter who has sickle cell disease, while her 21-year-old daughter has asthma. She also has health issues and is waiting for an operation, but is concerned about the lift breaking down during her recovery.
Natasha, who has lived in the block since it was completed in 2015, told the LDRS: “We’ve had this problem years and years, it’s still the same. It’s like they don’t care, all they care about is the rent.”
Natasha Johnson on the stairs at Enterprise Way
Southern Housing told the LDRS in 2024 it planned to replace the lift in 2025, but then said the works had been delayed by its need to understand and comply with requirements of the new Building Safety Act. It said in 2025, after further lift breakdowns, it was not expecting to start work until late 2026.
However, with two months left of the year, residents said they had not received any update about this work starting.
When the LDRS contacted Southern Housing after the most recent lift breakdown, it said the block was a high priority in its lift replacement programme and that it supported vulnerable residents when it was out of action. It did not provide a timeline for the lift’s replacement.
Natasha described how it was difficult for residents to go about their daily lives as they never knew when the lift would break down again, which affected vital appointments. She said she felt Southern Housing did not listen to or care about residents.
Natasha said: “This isn’t good enough. We shouldn’t have to keep on living like this where residents feel trapped, they can’t go out because of the lift.”
She added: “If you go out, you don’t know when the lift is going to stop working. It’s a nightmare, and when you’ve got heavy stuff it’s just hard. You never know when it’s going to break down again.”
Natasha told the LDRS she was concerned for vulnerable neighbours who could not use the stairs.
The partner of an elderly vulnerable man living in the block, who wished to remain anonymous, said they were desperately waiting to be moved as the lift breakdowns had a “terrible impact” on them, forcing them to navigate 10 flights of stairs when it is out of service.
“It kills me, it really does kill me,” she said.
She added: “We just can’t carry on like this.”
A Southern Housing spokesperson told the LDRS: “The lift at 27 Enterprise Way has now been fixed by our engineers following damage caused by suspected misuse. We recognise the disruption and frustration caused by the lift outage and the impact this has on residents.
“We’ve been supporting vulnerable residents when the lift has been out of action. Our housing team have been on hand to help residents, including providing a porter service to assist with carrying shopping and buggies upstairs.
“We remain committed to replacing the lift and it’s a high priority in our lift replacement programme. New building safety legislation means we must complete additional legal requirements before the replacement can go ahead. This has caused delays that are outside of our control. It’s extremely important we comply with the requirements for the safety of all residents.
“We’ll continue to work closely with our residents to address any outstanding issues within their building. We’d always encourage any resident who has specific concerns to reach out to us, we remain on hand to offer help and support. A member of our team has spoken to Ms Johnson directly to explore the housing options available to her.”
Charlotte Lilywhite - Local Democracy Reporter