Wymondham woman calls for tighter laws to force social housing providers to better tackle disrepair

It follows the death of a two-year-old boy from Greater Manchester caused by mould

Social housing in Norfolk
Author: Tom ClabonPublished 23rd Nov 2022
Last updated 23rd Nov 2022

A woman from Wymondham is joining calls for tighter laws to be brought in to force social housing providers to do more to tackle damp and disrepair.

It follows the death of a two-year-old boy from Greater Manchester caused by mould.

"I paid for somebody to redecorate my whole home."

Anne rents a property from Saffron Housing Trust and claims she's had issues with cracks in the walls and mould since November last year:

"I had two chest x-rays, bloods taken and I'm currently waiting for an appointment with the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital nose and throat department to have a camera inserted to see what the issue is. I cannot begin to explain the stress, anger and upset this whole episode has caused me".

"I paid for somebody to redecorate my whole home, including carpets and flooring. Within the last two weeks, I've noticed that mould has appeared again on my sofas. I'm currently storing a cupboard for a family member, and within 43 days that's gone mouldy".

"My foot-stool had gone mouldy, I then noticed it on my tables and chairs, bookcase and photography equipment. I noticed then that my bedroom had gone mouldy, and my mattress had rotted away".

What has the response been to this?

Saffron Housing Trust said in a statement:

“We understand that there are times when our tenants will be unhappy, and we will always try and discuss the problem and resolve it effectively and fairly.

“We are unable to comment on individual active complaints, but we take all complaints seriously which includes making sure our process and policy is clear and accessible to everyone.

“It is really important that our tenants engage with us. We would encourage our tenants who are experiencing damp and mould, or any other problem, to contact us so we can find out what has happened and resolve any issues with them.

“Where we haven’t got things right, it is crucial that we the learn from complaints to help drive service improvements and ensure the same things don’t happen again.”

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