‘Why am I being penalised for trying to be a good mum?’
WOMAN REFUSED PERMISSION TO INSTALL WINDOW IN BABY’S ROOM DESPITE OWNING 40PC OF HOUSE
A MUM says she is ‘raging’ after a housing group refused to let her install a window in her baby’s bedroom, despite her owning 40 per cent of the house.
Joanne Conroy, 35, lives in Baguley, Wythenshawe, with her partner Mark, and 18-month old daughter under a shared ownership scheme.
She also has a baby on the way and is nine-and-a-half weeks pregnant.
Joanne applied for planning permission from Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, requesting to build a skylight, just before Christmas.
The room, which is due to be used as a bedroom for her unborn baby, currently has no window.
She claims the housing group has refused her application because she is technically a tenant, and therefore cannot make alterations to the property.
But Joanne has slammed this decision as ‘outrageous’ as she owns a 40pc share of the house.
“It is just ridiculous,” the mum fumed.
“I own 40pc of the house and I am just trying to add value to the property.
“They are saying because I am a tenant that I’m not allowed to do anything to the property, but I can’t have a baby in that room without a window.”
Joanne says she paid a deposit to Garden City Homes, an arm of Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, when she moved in five years ago.
She pays money towards rent and to a mortgage, and currently owns a 40pc share of the property.
Joanne said: “They came back to me and told me because we are letting the property we can’t make any changes.
“I have lived here for five years and have always met my payments and kept the house in top condition.”
Joanne says she hopes to buy full ownership of the house in the future. But she claims the housing group’s decision is stopping her from expanding her family.
“The bedroom currently has no window and a skylight will open up the room and actually make it liveable,” Joanne said.
“The housing association don’t do maintenance or upkeep – if something goes wrong it is my responsibility to fix it.
“They take my money and tell me it is my house but then when I want to add value they turn round and say actually no it isn’t.”
She added: “I shouldn’t be penalised for this, I’m just trying to be a good mum.
“It is just nonsense and I don’t understand why they are giving me this stress over a window in my bedroom.”
A spokesperson for Wythenshawe Community Housing Group said: “This property was sold under our ‘Shared Ownership Scheme’ as a two-bedroom property.
“Garden City Homes is currently determining if the requested work meets with current building regulations and fire safety requirements, as the safety of our customers is of paramount importance to us.
“We will continue to work with our customer to assess if the requested alterations are feasible to take forward”.