Sheffield dad's fury as daughter's 'horrendous' leaking council house pleas are ignored for weeks

Mark Culf said his daughter Jessica, 28, who has two small children aged three and one, moved into her house on Weakland Drive in Birley in March and found that it was already in a bad state.

The house has progressively fallen into greater disrepair, with leaks and damp causing mold to grow. Now a large crack has formed in the kitchen ceiling and water is coming through.

Mr Culf says that the family have tried to get the council to fix the issues for months, to no avail.

"There are so many things wrong with the house that we have been trying to get fixed since before the first lockdown,” he said.

"The wood of the door frame in the kitchen is coming away from the wall because of the damp. The tap on the kitchen sink is just hanging off, and there is black mold all over.

"And now the leak has caused a big crack to open in the kitchen ceiling. That started about five weeks ago.

Tenants at thousands of Sheffield council properties have refused free repairs

"We contacted the council and they sent a plumber, who said it was a roofing issue. Then there was silence for weeks.

"It came to a head two weeks ago when she called me saying water was just pouring through the ceiling and going into the kitchen below.”

Mr Culf contacted the council again and reported the damage to the ceiling, however all that was sent out was a plasterer to plaster over the crack.

"That just won’t work until they fix the leak,” Mr Culf said. “Now there’s been silence again. Nobody has had the decency to ring Jessica and let her know what is happening.

"It is depressing. Jessica is worried and we are worried about her and the children.

"The council have just left a young woman and two kids to live in these horrendous conditions for going on five weeks. It is just a mess.

"Sheffield City Council’s idea of their duty of care is abhorrent. You hear about nightmare landlords on the TV but I think the council are just as bad."

Sheffield City Council have been contacted for comment.