Mum who fears for family's health in mouldy home 'offered £100 to buy paint'
A mum has claimed she was shockingly offered a mere £100 to paint her mouldy apartment, as she has revealed she fears for her family's health.
The mother claims that her housing association has only sent her a letter of apology about her living conditions and their offer of a 'compensation' is "not a solution".
She says she now wants "to get out" of her home, despite only living there for three months.
Lucy Tilley, 35, moved into her housing association flat in Salisbury, Wiltshire, in October last year. But since then, her family's health has deteriorated as mould has spread all across their bedroom.
Despite sending letters of complaint to the association - which is managed by Stonewater - about the water, dripping mould and loft draft, she says little has been done.
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The 35-year-old mum is worried for her family's health (Salisbury Journal/Solent News)The 35-year-old is now living in fear for her five-year-old daughter's health, as she suffers from asthma.
She also said that the mould and damp are "destroying" their possessions, despite using an immersion heater for all her hot water needs.
However, the mum says that running this heater is eating through her pocket, as it costs upwards of £40 a day to run.
Tilley moved into her housing association flat in Amesbury, Wilts, in October (Salisbury Journal/Solent News)While Stonewater has reportedly offered £7.50 daily compensation, the mum says that this is not enough.
Speaking to Salisbury Journal, the mum says: "It gets so cold in here that you can see your breath and it's costing a lot, especially when we have to run hot water for a bath".
Meanwhile, Stonewater has also blamed a broken solar panel for the lack of cost-effective electricity in Miss Tilley's flat and has said that it is waiting for a part from overseas to get it fixed.
The 35-year-old said she has sent complaints about water, dripping mould and loft draft to Stonewater (Salisbury Journal/Solent News)However, Miss Tilley has been left fed up with her living conditions.
She says that despite living in her new home for just three months, she wants to leave again, adding: "I should still be enjoying a new home, but I just want to get out."
Following the mum's complaints, Stonewater reportedly sent a letter apologising, and offered compensation for the the trouble caused.
They acknowledged the mum's concerns regarding the mould in her master bedroom, and offered £100 to "cover the costs of the paint" to decorate the ceiling.
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Part of the letter that was sent reportedly by her housing association (Salisbury Journal/Solent News)
The housing association reportedly only offered her £100 to re-paint the bedroom (Salisbury Journal/Solent News)But, Miss Tilley says that that this is "not a solution" to her living conditions.
She said: "It's not a solution, the mould would be back in a couple of days. This is something they should have fixed before somebody moved in."
Speaking about the issue, Assistant director of operations at Stonewater Ann Brookes said that "no mould was present" during an inspection in December.
The mother says that the damp and mould are 'destroying' their possessions (Salisbury Journal/Solent News)She added: "We have also organised for one of our contractors to visit the home to treat the mould that has developed since we last visited and advise on if we need to look at improved heating or ventilation to stop mould from reoccurring.
"A heating engineer visited Miss Tilley’s home on January 10 and explained how to use the thermostat to keep the temperature in her home warm and comfortable."
John Glen, member of parliament for Salisbury, added: “I was concerned to hear of Miss Tilley’s situation and I have confirmed to her that I have approached her housing association to seek an urgent solution for the issues in her property.”
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