House leak leaves young family ‘living out of suitcases’
MUM AND THREE KIDS STRESSED AND UPSET AT HAVING TO MOVE FROM ONE AIRBNB TO ANOTHER
A NOTTINGHAM woman and her three children were left ‘living out of suitcases’ and hopping from one Airbnb to another after leaks in their home.
Rebekah Millward, 30, has lived in the Bulwell property owned by Nottingham Community Housing Association for the past 12-and-ahalf years with her three children aged 12, nine, and three.
The issues started in October 2023 when Rebekah found a leak in her cellar. However, plumbers twice tried to locate the source without success.
The leak didn’t stop and a 5ft hole was dug in Rebekah’s living room, which is when the family had to move out.
Rebekah said: “I feel very stressed with the whole situation from something that was completely out of my control, my children are very unsettled as we don’t know where we are going to be living in a couple of weeks or when this nightmare will end.
“We are living out of suitcases and have no clarification.
“The whole situation has been very expensive, in the current climate with cost of living this is nothing short of horrific.”
The Airbnbs Rebekah and her children have stayed in were located in Bilborough, Sherwood, Beeston, and now Valley Road.
Rebekah said the range of locations has made the family’s lives “more difficult and expensive”, but has also had an effect on how long it takes her to get to work, as well as drop off her two younger children to school.
Rebekah, an aesthetics practitioner, said: “I feel like there’s no end to it. My son has been crying quite a lot because he asks me when we will go home and I don’t have an answer.
“My oldest was taking herself to school before we moved out but now struggles to get around because she just doesn’t know all the bus routes. I think the whole situation is really bad and I need somewhere to live permanently
The whole situation has been very expensive, in the current climate with cost of living this is nothing short of horrific. Rebekah Millward
with my children but I’m just not getting anywhere with it.” Rebekah was told there are no properties available in the areas close to her job and her children’s schools and was given the option to move into a private rented property for six months, paid for by NCHA. She turned down the suggestion however, saying she is scared she will be left in the property, having to pay triple her rent now. The mother added she was asked not to go into her Bulwell house without an NCHA member of staff. She explained: “I don’t have the time to set up meetings with their staff and meet them at the house just to get a set of clothes out. It was hard to take everything I own out of the house having three kids and having been given very short notice.”
She added her floors have been “damaged beyond repair” and will need replacing. She had her kitchen unit ripped out, floor tiles damaged and says she was advised that only £75 per room would be compensated for the damages.
A spokesperson for NCHA said: “We first became aware of the leak in Rebekah Millward’s home in December 2023. After initial inspections, for health and safety reasons, we made arrangements for Rebekah and her family to move into temporary accommodation.
“Once her home was vacant we were able to carry out extensive investigations and identified the leak was coming from the empty property next door, which is privately owned. The issue is now with our insurers who will work with the owners of the adjoining property to rectify the leak and make good any damages that have occurred as a result of the issue or the investigative works.
“We’ll continue to support the safety of Rebekah and her family by securing suitable temporary accommodation while her home is undergoing these major repairs.
“We’ll follow our policies and procedures in relation to any compensation owed.”