Issues began back in April – and Hull City Council has confirmed issues at the flat have been booked in to be fixed
A young mum says her children are too scared to live in their council home, claiming it has been plagued with damp and mould issues for months. The 23-year-old, who doesn’t wish to be named, has been living in the Hull flat for around three years.
However, she claims flooding, black mould and damp which first became a problem in April have made it totally unsuitable for a young family to call home. She also told how water which she feared contains sewage came through drainpipes onto her balcony, as well as leaking in her bath and sink.
Now she says her children, aged one and three, are too scared to stay in the home, worried that black damp marks in her bedroom and her children’s bedroom have made the flat unsafe to live in. She wants to be moved elsewhere, saying she and her children are spending more time at her mum’s house nearby to avoid being in the flat.
However, initial issues with the flat’s electrics and pipes were seen to by the council in July. And the council has now confirmed to Hull Live that remaining issues have been booked in to be fixed.
In an official complaint to Hull City Council, the tutor claimed sewage from the property above was backing up into her bath and sinks, and she feared that her home was at risk of flooding. She also told the council she worried about using the water due to contamination and felt that her home is not safe for her two young children.
However, the council wrote to her this month to say her complaint is not upheld because contractors have attended and completed repairs to the pipes, and an appointment has been arranged to carry out damp and mould treatment and minor remedial repairs.
The mum told us of her housing woes, saying: “Dirty water that looked like sewage water recently started coming up through a drain on my balcony and almost came into my house. It was also coming through the drain overflows in my sinks, so I got on the phone to ask for someone to come out but was told I would have to wait five days.
“On the balcony, I ended up unblocking it myself, out of fear it would come into the home where my little boy was. There are mould and damp marks in my kids’ bedroom and my bedroom, from where my upstairs neighbours had a flood in April and it came through into my home.
“It all came through the electrics, so the council came out and took them all out. It took them two months to put new wiring in,” she claimed.
“It’s all very overwhelming. It got so bad that I had to take the children out of their bedroom. They had been up all night coughing.
“I bought a dehumidifier to try to help, and have been scrubbing at the black marks with mould and mildew sprays, and leaving the windows open as much as I can – which is fine in summer but what happens in winter? My son is three and suffering with trauma from this place,” she claimed.
“He’s toilet trained but he has been bed wetting, there are constant accidents and we’ve had to go back to nappies. They’ve told me that the water coming up wasn’t sewage water and that my house is liveable, that they’ve been coming out to fix issues.”
A council spokesperson said: “The council has visited the tenant following reported issues to the property. All issues reported have been fixed or are scheduled to be fixed. We empathise with the tenant’s family and hope any remaining concerns will be resolved on a planned maintenance visit this month.”
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