Sheffield family 'forced to rearrange furniture and camp in their living room' due to leaks want compensation from council

A mother and her 13-year-old son had to rearrange furniture and camp in their living room on Ironside Road, near Gleadless, following battles with the council’s housing service.

Problems started before they had even moved in when the council wrongly kept the family off the council house waiting list claiming that they had £2,000 in rent arrears.

The family challenged this after seeking professional support and the debt was eventually wiped.

They moved into the property in April 2019 and spent £2,000 in savings on decorating and furnishing.

Later that year, heavy rainfall started leaking into the boy’s bedroom.

The council said it was a communal problem and assured it would be fixed.

After a month of no contact, the mother asked the council again to stop the leak and was told they would visit.

While waiting, the leak worsened and the boy had to sleep on a camp bed in the living room.

Meanwhile, the leaking spread to the master bedroom and was running down the walls and dripping from the ceiling and caused a light to break.

This forced the mother to move furniture, place towels down to protect the floor and sleep in the living room too.

She was told the case would be upgraded to urgent but no one ever visited or contacted her to arrange a visit.

The leaks caused mould and damp and while they subsided slightly during summer, they returned the next winter.

The family was told by one council worker that the roof was supposed to be replaced no later than 2017.

The mother’s partner, who lives with the family, said: “Our end of the contract has been upheld (during this entire ordeal the bedrooms have been habitable for only approximately a third of the past two years, and only then because the mould appeared to recede due to the warmer weather). This includes every rent payment being paid on time and in full.

“Strictly speaking, the rooms shouldn’t have been slept in at all since the first rainfall, and even now we all suffer with frequent chest and sinus issues whilst living in the property.

“Sheffield Council has characterized itself as ignorant, incompetent, and unwilling to uphold their responsibilities whilst we have not only done everything required of us but gone above and beyond in regard to our responsibilities and allowed the council more than enough time to fulfil their duties.”

The family called for a formal apology, to be moved to a properly maintained home, a review of how repairs are handled, a rent refund of around £3,504, compensation of £160 for the cost of running a humidifier to minimise mould, £200 for repainting bedrooms, £40 for damage to suits and a total of £492.72 for the holiday days the family took for visits missed by council workers.

Janet Sharpe, director of housing and neighbourhood services, said: ‘We’re really sorry for the delay on this repair. We are aware of the complaints that have been raised about this property and we are working through the issues that are outstanding as a priority.”