Woman who fled domestic violence given mouldy council flat

A woman who fled domestic violence and was moved into a damp and mouldy flat by the council has told of her fears her children would die.

Amin [not her real name] who has two young children, said she had repeatedly complained to Birmingham City Council the flat was making them ill.

She said the council had completed some repairs, but "mould was getting worse".

It comes after an ombudsman's report found tenants were not appropriately dealt with by the local authority.

Amin said she suffered with anxiety and depression due to her living situation but had not been offered a different flat.

Her living conditions had also caused her son's skin condition and daughter's asthma to to worsen, with her doctor and children's school both writing letters to the council demanding the family were moved urgently.

"Every time I wake up, I think one of my kids has died already.

"We need to move as soon as possible," she said.

Birmingham City Council said it was sorry to hear the mould had returned and it would get it treated "as a matter of priority".

It also promised to discuss alternative housing options.

It said it had produced a leaflet about housing issues, including mould, which would be sent to all tenants.

The Housing Ombudsman looked at 14 cases which were brought forward over a six-month period from March 2022.

It identified 24 cases of maladministration and said: "The failings identified cut across every aspect of a resident's interaction with the landlord."

It found residents had to make multiple attempts to get repairs resolved and little checking, to make sure those repairs were properly carried out.

The report also concluded poor record keeping caused delays in repairs and delays and maladministration in the way subsequent complaints were handled.

Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said it was "unusual and concerning" to find so many cases of maladministration.

The report made a number of recommendations to improve the service and ordered the council to pay out £7,500 in compensation.

Preet Kaur Gill, the MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, said the council was committed to improving social housing but it needed more government funding.

She said she was "very concerned" to hear of the failings and she had written to the chief executive of the council and Housing Secretary Michael Gove.

"Given we are in a cost of living crisis, it's imperative that the government acts now.

"I am urging the council to take action now," she said.

Birmingham City Council said it was the largest local authority social housing landlord in England, with more than 60,000 homes, and carried out more than 250,000 repairs per year.

It said "we have progressed in terms of improving the service for tenants" since and now had a new corporate complaints process.

It also said it had terminated the agreement with a contractor and welcomed the opportunity to work with the ombudsman to implement its recommendations.

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