Family's council home 'unliveable and not fit for animals'

A family say their south London housing association home is "unliveable" and "not even fit for animals".

Kwajo Tweneboa, 22, said the Mitcham home was infested with mice and cockroaches and had an "asbestos-filled ceiling".

He added the kitchen cabinets were waterlogged and rotten, while tiles were falling off the bathroom wall.

Clarion Housing, the UK's largest housing association, said it was committed to fixing the repairs.

But Mr Tweneboa, who pays £600 a month and lives at the property with his two sisters aged 23 and 20, said he had no choice but to share pictures of his rotten kitchen and mouldy wallpaper on social media "out of desperation".

Doors on the property do not latch properly, while the garden fence is rotten, which has resulted in the premises being broken into.

"I've had to put it [pictures of the home] online and embarrass myself," Mr Tweneboa said.

"It just shows how much of the last resort it is when you have to drag your property, which you're ashamed of, on social media because no-one is listening."

Following his father's death from cancer last year, the family were served with a 30-day eviction notice because there was a clause in the contract that a spouse could have the property, but the children could not, he said.

He complained to Clarion and was eventually offered his own tenancy.

Mr Tweneboa said work done by Clarion had included tearing down an "asbestos-filled ceiling", leaving dust in the living room and a hole in the roof.

Despite repeated calls, he said the family were then left without a ceiling throughout the winter, with no provision for additional heating.

"All it needed was a patch repair," said Mr Tweneboa, who added: "I ended up moving my furniture outside, and now it is destroyed. My belongings are all destroyed, as are those that belonged to my dad."

Merton Council said it had raised Mr Tweneboa's concerns with Clarion, who own and are responsible for maintaining the property.

A Clarion spokesman said it had undertaken a significant amount of work already and were currently working with Mr Tweneboa's solicitors to agree a schedule for the remainder.

"We acknowledge the inconvenience the repairs issues at this property have caused and apologise if Mr Tweneboa feels we haven't provided the service expected from us," the spokesman added.