'I've had no heating through two winters,' says Northamptonshire tenant

Martin Heath
BBC News, Northamptonshire
Martin Heath/BBC Woman with medium-length blond hair wearing Nike topMartin Heath/BBC
Naomi Handscomb came to live in Lilbourne 21 years ago after being advised to move to a different area and change her name

A tenant has said she has had no heating in her housing association home for the past two winters.

Naomi Handscombe, from Lilbourne in Northamptonshire, said she has been waiting for Futures Housing Group (FHG) to replace her faulty boiler.

Ms Handscombe said she wanted to buy the house but could not do so until the boiler and her windows were fixed.

FHG said it was talking to the customer and was hoping to resolve the situation.

Martin Heath/BBC Two-storey brick house with small front gardenMartin Heath/BBC
Ms Handscombe wants to buy her house in a quiet village near Daventry

Ms Handscombe, who recently got married, said: "For two winters now, we have had the freezing cold weather with no heating or water.

"We went on a beautiful honeymoon, came back and had no heating."

She added that FHG had sent contractors to repair the boiler on several occasions but it has always stopped working.

The windows are also in need of replacing but Ms Handscombe said this has yet to take place.

Martin Heath/BBC A hand shows where the rubber seal around a window is peeling offMartin Heath/BBC
Ms Handscombe says the seal around the windows throughout the house is peeling off

Ms Handscombe wants to buy the property but believes the housing association should resolve the issues first or reduce the price.

A spokesperson for FHG said: "The boiler has had some ongoing issues but it has now been completely overhauled and was working normally following our last visit. We are not replacing any oil-fired boilers at the present time as we are planning to phase them out.

"We are in the process of organising new seals for all the windows in the property as well as one complete replacement, which is currently on order."

Martin Heath/BBC Floor-standing boiler in an brick outhouse with dirt on the surfaceMartin Heath/BBC
The boiler at Ms Handscombe's house has been repaired several times but never works properly

For Ms Handscombe, everything is far from being resolved.

"I cry a lot," she said. "My mum was supposed to be coming up the weekend, but she can't because there's no heating. My grandchildren can't come. It's made me feel rubbish."

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