Damp forces Hayley to throw out kids’ things
FAMILY OF SIX SLEEP IN ONE ROOM WAITING FOR ACTION
A MUM-OF-FIVE says her family are sleeping in one bedroom due to a damp problem in her home.
Hayley Birtley claims the problem at her Sneinton home is so severe that she recently had to throw away her children’s possessions.
The 35-year-old, currently on furlough from Auntie Anne’s Bakery in the Victoria Centre, first complained about the problem to Tuntum Housing Association a year ago.
Hayley, who has lived in the Trent Lane house since 2013, said her sons have had to move out of the damp third-floor room.
She said: “There are six of us in this house and currently all my kids are sleeping in my room.
“It absolutely stinks in the upstairs room where my ten-year-old and eightyear-old sleep and one of them has sinus issues. My daughters’ room stinks too so they can’t go in there.
“I’ve had to throw everything away that they’ve had since they were babies, including their beds, because everything has gone mouldy.
“I want Tuntum to see the appalling state I’ve been left to live in. It is disgusting.”
Hayley, who also suffers from asthma, said that Tuntum supplied two extractor fans but the situation had hit children Emini, 16, Monika, 13, Matteo, 10, Fabio, eight, and Lucia, three, hard.
She added: “It isn’t fair, I can’t live like this.
“It started off as a tiny bit of damp in the corner when I first reported it.
“I don’t know what to do. Why should we have to sleep like this? My kids just want their own space when they come home from school. They’ve got nothing in their bedrooms now because it has all been thrown away.
“It isn’t good enough. I am fuming.” Hayley has also contacted environmental health officers.
A Tuntum spokesperson said: “Tuntum Housing Association deeply regrets the inconvenience caused by the condensation and damp at the home of Mrs Birtley.
“The property was inspected in December 2019 and a specialist report was requested which was issued in February 2020 but unfortunately due to the lockdown the action recommended as a result of that technical report was suspended in March 2020 as it was deemed not to be an emergency at the time.
“An order was then raised on the 15 July 2020 with an external contactor, however, we were advised that access was not being obtained and as a result we decided to bring the job in-house and two new extractor fans were later fitted.
“Following a further inspection in October 2020 we accepted that this repair was insufficient and we have placed an order for a new roof and some repairs to the external brickwork, now required as a result of the additional damage caused by the delay during the lockdown.
“We will also make good any damage caused internally by the condensation and damp including decorating the room concerned.
“We are dealing with Mrs Birtley’s complaint in keeping with our policy and where appropriate we will provide suitable compensation for all the hardship caused. We are keeping Mrs Birtley fully informed of the various actions we are taking.”