‘My home is just five years old but has a garden like a swamp’
TENANT SAYS GARDEN IS SO BAD HER KIDS CAN’T PLAY IN IT
A Mum-of-three claims her children can’t play in the garden of her new-build home because it is like a “swamp”.
Emma, 36, moved into Hazlewood Drive in Hessle with her family in 2021. Although the inside of the house is “perfect”, she said the garden has gradually become waterlogged.
She told Hull Live: “I’ve been here nearly three years now and, at first, it was absolutely fine and everything was perfect. When the bad weather started, the garden became a swamp. It’s just full of weeds and muck.”
Now her three daughters, aged eight, four and one, cannot go on their trampoline because the ground is too muddy. Emma also said a gardener who came to give a quote “nearly lost his work boots” when he sank in the mud.
Emma is a tenant of the housing association Hull Churches. She pays rent but says the terms of the contract make her responsible for the garden.
She said: “I have three girls desperate to play in the garden but they can’t.
“I feel depressed, upset, and angry. The garden is the biggest problem as I cannot use it all.
“A gardener came round the other day to give me a quote and it is so boggy he nearly lost his work-boots. The more bad weather we have the worse my garden gets.”
“It’s gotten worse with this rain lately,” she added. “I’ve told my friends it will be a pond before long.”
Gardeners have quoted her £3,000 to install artificial grass and add drainage. She said the original builder, David Wilson Homes, had told her that the house was out of its two-year warranty period.
A spokesperson for David Wilson Homes said: “The property was legally handed over to Hull Churches in 2019 with a garden installed as per agreed designs.
“Our Customer Care team has advised the resident to make contact with their social housing provider for any concerns regarding ongoing maintenance of both the property and garden.”
Hull Churches Housing Association was approached for comment.