Residents of Love Lane say the property at number 58 has been left vacant for years, and is now deteriorating rapidly
A Croydon couple say their neighbour’s crumbling house is “ruining” the look of their street and posing a safety risk to their young family. Part of the building’s frontage recently collapsed onto the South Norwood street, prompting fresh concerns over the property’s apparent abandonment.
Although supports have since been installed, Mitch and Vicky Gibbons say their calls for further action from Croydon Council have gone unanswered. However Croydon Council has said it will “use every power available to us” to find a long-term solution.
“We came out in the morning and most of the front had collapsed,” Vicky told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) stood outside her home on Love Lane. “I spent two hours trying to get the council’s dangerous structures team to come out.”
The couple, who have a young child, said they are now worried about the risk of further debris falling from the building which is directly next door and connected to theirs in a terraced row. “Now the place is actually a danger,” Vicky said, adding: “It is annoying because this is exactly what I thought would happen.”
Vicky and Mitch moved into their terraced house in April 2024, when there was no visible damage to the property’s frontage. However, signs of the neighbouring property’s neglect were already clear, with an overgrown garden and weeds spilling over the fence.
The couple said cracks first appeared in the render last summer and continued to worsen over the following year. Their concerns escalated on July 22 this year, when the front of the abandoned grey-painted property partially collapsed onto the street below.
Mitch said that while they do not believe the neighbouring house was at risk of imminent collapse, they remained concerned about loose material falling from the property. “Thank God it collapsed overnight, otherwise it could easily have hit someone,” he said.
Strongboy support props have since been installed at the address and a notice pinned to the door instructing the owner to take action.
The property is privately owned, but neither the Gibbons nor other residents on the street said they had seen the owner at the property before. Other residents said on Facebook that the only people they had seen entering the apparently abandoned building were bailiffs from utility companies.
The couple said they had repeatedly contacted Croydon Council, urging it to take further action against the private owner. “We have been talking to the council about it, but they are moving so slowly.” said Mitch.
Asked how the council had responded to their calls, Mitch said they had received “lots of legal jargon” explaining why it could not intervene due to the private ownership.
Both the Gibbons and other local residents hope the building can now be bought by another private individual, or that the council will use its compulsory purchase powers to prevent further deterioration. However, concerns over the cause of the cracks present further challenges.
Residents we spoke to believe there may also be long-running subsidence issues affecting the property. Mitch said there had been problems “going back for years now” and claimed surveyors had inspected the site on several occasions prior to the recent collapse.
The house at the end of the terrace – number 60 – is connected to number 58 but a large visible crack is now running between the two properties.
The owners of both numbers 58 and 60 were unavailable for comment when the LDRS visited.
Vicky said the neglected middle property was also starting to affect their own home. “It is really frustrating that we are stuck with this,” she said. “It is also reason for people not to want to buy this house. It’s ruining the look of the whole street.”
The couple said the ongoing situation has also left them potentially facing additional costs. “It is all asking for money we don’t have because we have just paid for a wedding,” she said.
Local Green Councillor Laura Bradnam, who has been supporting the couple, told the LDRS: “Various residents raised this after I was elected in May, and I submitted this as casework with the council.
“The issue has been ongoing for over a year and the council had put in some safety measures to prevent the immediate crumbling of the front of the house, but further damage has now taken place. I will keep working with local residents and council officers to make it safe and hope it gets resolved soon.”
A spokesperson for Croydon Council said: “Our building control team has attended the property on several occasions, most recently in July 2026. Following the latest report, our structural engineer inspected the building and additional supports were installed to address the immediate risk and ensure the area is safe.
“We understand the concern and frustration this situation is causing neighbours. The property is privately owned and responsibility for carrying out a permanent repair rests with its owner. We are continuing our efforts to engage with them and are undertaking further investigations to establish the cause and determine the action required.
“The current situation is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely. We will keep the property under close review and use every power available to us to ensure a lasting solution is secured.”
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