Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Blaze-hit family put up in ‘filth and damp’
Mum slams ‘disgusting’ house
It’s been distressing we are lucky to be alive JODENE RAFFERTY BELFAST, YESTERDAY
A MUM told of her distress yesterday after being moved into a “filthy house with damp and mould” after a devastating fire at her home.
Jodene Rafferty, 42, said she and her family were lucky to be alive after the blaze at the property in the Andersonstown area of West Belfast.
The upstairs of the three-bedroom home, which Jodene was living in with her 22-month-old son Connall and ill mother Deirdre Rafferty, was extensively damaged on Good Friday. The family were then moved to a hotel for two weeks before North Belfast Housing sent them to another property in the Dunmurry area.
But the mum-of-four said she was distraught when she walked into the temporary home and claims her family had to clean it thoroughly.
Jodene added: “It has been a very distressing time. We are lucky to be alive after the fire. They put us in this temporary accommodation and said it would be for a few weeks and they will get us back into our house, they are going to fix the damage caused by the fire.
“The house we have been given is disgusting, there’s mould and damp.
“They said they had inspectors in saying there was no damp. We have to take this place because they said if I didn’t accept it I would go down as homeless and terminate my tenancy and make myself homeless. They have put us in a very difficult situation.” North Belfast Housing said: “Prior to the tenant moving into the temporary accommodation, we employed a professional cleaning company to complete a full clean of the property. Where this cleaning has not been up to standard we shall arrange immediate recall.
“We don’t agree with the tenant’s claims she was advised she had to accept the property. We did advise her this was the only available property we had as a temporary measure.”