Leak leaves man without ceiling for three weeks
A VISUALLY impaired man has been left without a ceiling in his living room for nearly three weeks.
Following leaks which led to a contractor finding water damage, Neil Habberfield has been living in difficult conditions with no idea when the repairs will be completed.
The 57-year-old from Pentre, near Treorchy, has lived in his home for the past 23 years.
His one-bedroom flat is owned by Wales & West Housing Association, to whom he reported the fault on July 28.
The two leaks were fixed within 24 hours of the fault being reported, but he has since been living with an exposed ceiling.
This has caused him great difficulty as his living room furniture has had to be moved into the kitchen – which is now inaccessible.
He said: “I don’t know when or if my ceiling is going to be replaced. I have tried contacting Wales and West Housing Association who quite frankly are passing the buck back and forth and I’m not getting any answers.
“I’m so frustrated at the situation. Everybody has been fobbing me off and it’s just been going around in circles.”
He also claims that when a contractor from Wales & West Housing Association came to look at the damage to the flat, he suggested that Neil should move permanently into sheltered accommodation, which is housing for older and/or disabled or other vulnerable people.
He added: “I’ve always been an independent person. Sheltered accommodation isn’t something I’ve considered yet and, if I do, I would quite frankly like to choose that myself.”
Neil lost his eyesight 20 years ago and has since been registered blind.
However, he feels it’s important to live an independent life to the best of his ability.
For the last 15 years, he has volunteered as a presenter on the Morning Show at Rhondda Radio, every Monday and Friday, under his show name Neil Abber.
Volunteering at the community radio station has allowed him to keep his independence and receive listener support throughout the years.
He recently had to enlist the help of his colleagues from Rhondda Radio to move his furniture out of his living room into his kitchen, following the leaks.
The downstairs space has now become difficult for Neil to navigate.
He describes the situation as frustrating as he has lived in the property for decades and has not had any issues with the housing association before this incident.
In response to the claims, a spokesman for Wales & West Housing said: “We are disappointed that our usual high standards have not been met on this occasion.
“Unfortunately, this has not been a straightforward repair. The resident reported a fault with the boiler and we sent out an engineer within 48 hours.
“They repaired two leaks and noticed damage to the living room ceiling, recommending that the ceiling should be removed so that we could further investigate.
“It was requested that furniture be removed from the living room to avoid damage while the work took place to remove the ceiling.
“Once the furniture had been moved and safety checks were completed, our contractors returned and removed the ceiling.
“At that point it became evident that there had been water damage over a long period from the bathroom above, which needed further investigation.
“Once the ceiling had been taken down our contractor swept away all the debris leaving the living room area clean for the resident.
“Repairs to the ceiling is taking place on Thursday, August 18. The ceiling work has been delayed longer than usual as we have been exploring bathroom improvements for the resident, such as installing a level access shower.
“We are aware and apologise that there has been some miscommunication with the resident on this occasion, which we will learn from.”