DISABLED TENANT IS TAKEN TO COURT
Social landlord launches legal proceedings over untidy home
DISABLED tenant Ian Fowell has accused Aspire Housing of failing to help him keep his home tidy - as he faces court action.
The social landlord has started legal proceedings against the 43-year-old over an alleged tenancy breach at his Newchapel home.
Ian has lived in his twobedroom High Street home for 19 years. He has cerebral palsy and is wheelchair-bound.
He said: “I am in a wheelchair and yet Aspire expects me to tidy up the property. They are taking me to court because I can’t bend over and clean. They are not helping me with the cleaning even though they know I am in a wheelchair. I do some cleaning whenever I can but I can’t all the time.
He added: “This has put me under a huge amount of pressure and I get nervous breakdowns.
“I’m on medication to control my mood swings. It can affect me physically and emotionally.
“They need to start helping me more than they are doing, I feel let down and disappointed by them.”
Aspire Housing says it has made ‘continued efforts’ to support Ian. It has no plans to evict him. Director of communities Alun Bragg said: “It is the responsibility of our customers to maintain a decent standard within their home, as outlined in our tenancy agreement. However, we will always work with customers to offer whatever support we can, particularly in situations where customers have mobility issues or other valid reasons that may make it difficult to maintain their home.
“We have made continued efforts to support Mr Fowell with his tenancy, including arranging skips to help clear out his home, making referrals to wellbeing support services, and offering to arrange external cleaning providers to visit his home.
“Unfortunately, Mr Fowell has chosen not to engage with this support, and as a result we have been unable to resolve the property condition issues.
“On this occasion, we were left with no alternative but to seek legal proceedings against Mr Fowell.
“Aspire Housing will only ever take these actions as a last possible resort. We are actively involved in our communities and will always try to work with our customers to resolve any issues.”