Sarah McGreevy died after falling from the sixth floor of Macbeth House on the council’s Arden Estate on June 16 last year.
A coroner’s report into her death said that police officers attending the scene found a wooden box on the balcony close to a drainpipe.
The pipe also appeared to have previously been repaired with “heavy duty tape”.
Police were told of residents on the fifth and sixth floors of the building climbing onto their balconies to manually unblock pipes, especially after heavy rain, the report added.
Photographs taken of Ms McGreevy’s hands showed dirt around her fingernails “consistent with undertaking a cleaning task”.
Sarah Bourke, assistant coroner for inner north London, said: “I found that it was more likely than not that Ms McGreevy had climbed onto the wooden box to clear the pipe and had accidentally fallen over the balcony,” Ms Bourke said.
She added: “In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken.”
In a letter to HM Senior Coroner last month, Hackney Council claimed that it had “no knowledge of the inquest hearing” and was not invited to attend or present evidence.
The council said that it is responsible for the building’s structure, but that a tenant management organisation (TMO) set up by residents so they can manage their own homes is responsible for “the maintenance and cleaning of the common areas and grounds of the estate”.
A ‘repairs matrix’ on the council’s website shows that Hackney is tasked with managing gutters and drainpipes on the estate, which includes unblocking and minor repairs, and not the TMO.
The letter adds that a search of the council’s housing repairs system showed that there were no reports for any works orders relating to the balcony drainage in the block.
Drainage systems are “not subject to periodic inspection” but tenants are not expected to undertake repairs themselves, the council added.
Plumbers reportedly attended the flat in November and noted that the pipework was “secure, free flowing and no repairs were required”.
The council has said it will now warn tenants not to use steps, stools or ladders on balconies and to contact the council’s repairs centre about any issues with guttering or pipes.
Steve Waddington, strategic director of Hackney Council’s housing services, said: “Throughout this we remain mindful of the impact of this incident on the friends and family of Ms McGreevy and our thoughts continue to be with them.
“Our response to the coroner highlights we can find no reports to either ourselves, or the TMO who manage the block, of issues with the guttering or any associated pipework.”
