A TROUBLED family have hit out at Bromsgrove District Housing Trust (BDHT) and the council, claiming they have failed to deal their home’s squalid conditions.
Couple Katie Moulder and Chris Minton spend every night sleeping in the same room as their three children in a bid to avoid the aggressive damp and mould which has taken over their two-bedroom apartment.
Chris said: “We can’t carry on living like this – it’s just not right.
“Katie, who lived here before I moved in, has spent years seeking BDHT’s help but she is always fobbed off with different excuses as to why the work cannot be completed.
“Building inspectors have been out to the property but it’s always a different person each time and we have to explain the same issues all over again.”
He added it felt like they were ‘trapped in a never-ending circle’.
“For example, the first inspector told us we needed air bricks but the next person said we couldn’t have air bricks ‘because we don’t have concrete walls’.
“None of them have helped solve the issue.”
The Breakback Road residents were unable to pay their rent during December because they had to replace clothes, toys, pushchairs and car seats which were damaged by the conditions.
Chris added that, going forward, he ‘refused to pay the rent anyway’ because the flat was ‘so far below what is expected for living standards’.
The pair said they had taken their children to the doctors several times over the last few months.
“My son has a chest infection and I’m convinced it’s because we are being left to live like this,” said Chris.
BDHT inspectors have been out to the property on two occasions last month – the second time after being contacted by the Standard.
On both visits the social housing provider scraped mould off the walls but inspectors are yet to remove the plaster to eradicate the problem completely.
Barry Stevens, director of asset management and development at BDHT, said: “We completely understand the frustration the customers are feeling and we are extremely sorry for the distress caused.”
He said works on the property had started in December, adding the trust recognised the problem needed to be rectified.
“We are doing everything we can to get this resolved as quickly as possible.”
UPDATE 03/01/2020
Barry Stevens said: “We attended the property on several occasions throughout December in a bid to get the problem resolved as quickly as possible.
“We are pleased to say that the works undertaken to rectify this issue are now complete and the residents are satisfied with the results.
“However we will be carrying out additional works to prevent any further issues and will continue to monitor the situation closely.”
