People face losing their homes after Enfield Council demanded they pay at least £15,000 towards "much-needed" improvements.

More than 30 families, couples and pensioners, who recently bought a lease on flats in Town Road, Edmonton, have been told to pay huge sums for the building work.

The council is spending millions modernising its council homes, but estimates each Brett Court leaseholder needs to contribute between £15,000 and £25,000.

Simon Rowley, who bought a lease on a flat in order to get his daughter on the housing ladder, said the council letter demanding £16,311 arrived on his doorstep in mid-December, ruining Christmas.

He said: “I have spoken with people – Everyone is shocked, angry and upset, or a combination of the three. It is unbelievable, I was gobsmacked when I heard about it.

“I cannot believe the approach, the sums of money the council is planning to spend, and it’s almost complete dismissal of leaseholders’ views or ability to pay what is for most a staggering amount of money.

Whether legal or not, "The distress and hardship it is putting people with little disposable income through is just immoral.

“This comes after years of neglect. It admits to not monitoring the block very well over the years. Now it is instigating this total redevelopment, which is way over and above the usual redecoration.”

Mr Rowley said one leaseholder was a 78-year-old woman, who faced a £25,000 charge. He said the prospect of a debt that she would simply never be able to repay meant she could lose her home of 30 years.

During a meeting with leaseholders last week, Mr Rowley said council staff told him the improvements followed five years of planning and would start in three weeks. leaseholders met with His daughter, 26-year-old photographer Louisa, says she cannot understand why the council was charging so much.

She said: “At the moment it is a bit stressful – how can they assume they have done their numbers properly? I look out of my window and it really does not look in a state of disrepair requiring £15,000.

“We are all normal people who cannot pull this sort of money out of nowhere. This flat was not bargain price either; we paid for a flat in good condition.”

Cllr Ahmet Oykener, cabinet member for housing, said: “Enfield Council has a statutory duty as a landlord to maintain its housing stock and is carrying out a much-needed investment programme to ensure that our properties are kept to a decent standard and are safe and secure.

“Leaseholders are responsible under the terms of their lease to contribute their share for work carried out to the block and shared areas.

"This is a clear stipulation of the lease and is always drawn to attention before signing. We appreciate the impact this can have and actively approach leaseholders as early as possible once we know that works are likely to be completed.

“In Edmonton Green this was 8 months ahead of the legal consultation process carried out in December 2015, which only requires a minimum of 30 days’ notice.

“We offer a financial assistance package to alleviate the impact of the costs, with interest free payment options for resident leaseholders. "We will always work with individual leaseholders to assess the best repayment options available to them for their circumstances, and would encourage our leaseholders to contact us to go through these.”