My housing association property is moldy so the floorboards are rotting

FR NOW residents have complained about their housing to one person claiming he nearly fell over rotting floorboards.

Families are worried about damp and mold in their flat in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, seeping through the floorboards and into the walls.

6

6

Anthony Bleakley lives with his family of six in a housing association house on Cedar Avenue in Heywood.

He has lived in this house for three years while his partner has been there for six years.

Anthony said Manchester Evening News: “We just put this wallpaper up six months ago, it just fell out.

“We used laminate to show more evidence [of the damp].

“I was standing on it and it just fell.”

Beneath the floorboards, Anthony said he could see a “puddle of water”.

“The water has gone a lot but there is still a little bit of it,” he said. When it rains, the water rises a lot.

Anthony resorted to DIY and covered the hole with a playhouse.

“I’m in the commercial sector, so I know what’s going on,” says Anthony.

According to Matthew Condrad, director of Tenant Claims, which represents the Anthony family, the growing wetness in homes on Cedar Avenue has been reduced to failure with moisture locks.

He says the damp proof that the housing association uses only has a lifespan of about 25 years – and it’s now expired.

Two out of four children living in the home have asthma – and Anthony worries about them when it’s “rainy and wet”.

However, Anthony isn’t the only Cedar Avenue resident affected by Natalie Lake, another worried about her child’s health.

Her daughter, Jorja-Maria Lake, was recently diagnosed with asthma.

She said: “She was only three. Her asthma got so bad that she had to be hospitalized. She was very young.”

Although Jorja-Maria was young, she was still aware of the terrible smell of dampness.

In a video that Natalie recorded, the child can be heard saying, “Mom, I don’t like the smell.”

Her house has rotting flooring and other damp problems similar to Anthony’s house.

“When I walk around the house at night, I can feel the floor breaking. I’m sure there’s water underneath. It’s just everywhere,” she said.

Natalie and Anthony said they both went to Rochdale Boroughwide Housing for help.

But so far, they say the housing association has done nothing to combat the damp conditions.

Anthony said: “We kept reporting everything but nothing happened. They kept watching us. They thought they could get away with it because we live here and they made us go. trapped.”

He and his partner had planned to buy their Cedar Avenue home through Right to Buy with the intention of a “big savings”.

But Anthony has said the “damage” to the right way has caused them to stop working.

“We kept wanting to finish the house but to no avail,” he added.

Natalie recalls a stressful time when her house was invaded by rats and it took about three years to sort out.

“My mental health went through the roof with rats,” she said.

“I just feel really upset and angry and frustrated.”

Attorney Matthew Condrad explains problems at Natalie and Anthony’s home.

“Households are affected by increased humidity, which rots floors, damages furniture and threatens the health of residents,” he said.

“The floorboards are collapsing, puddles are visible below, from where the water rises to the floorboards, baseboards and walls below.

“This increasing wetness is caused by damaged moisture-proof locks. A chemical spray damp-proof lock was introduced to reduce dampness, but its approximately 25-year lifespan has expired, meaning the area This area needs urgent repair.

“Rat infestation is also a recurring problem, posing additional health risks to residents.”

A Rochdale Boroughwide Housing spokesman said: “We received reports of rat infestation behind a block on Cedar Avenue, Heywood in late 2021.

“After a detailed survey, we carried out extensive drainage work to fix the problem.

“This was completed by the end of January 2022. We have not received any further reports of rats in this area.

“We recently received a report of wet conditions in a house on Cedar Avenue. Our participant attended on Friday, February 25th and confirmed that work was needed. We’ll get the job done as quickly as possible.

“RBH tenants who need to report an issue can do so quickly and easily by phone, by e-mail to customerexperience@rbh.org.uk or via the online portal MyRBH.”

6

6

6

6