I’ve been reporting issues to my landlord for 11 years but my house is getting worse – I just don't understand
A woman says repairs on her home have not being completed by a housing association more than a decade after she first reported them. Zara Rhodes has lived in a property on Canning Street in L8 for 11 years.
A Your Housing Group tenant, Zara shares the building with other renters in four flats. She moved into her home in January 2015.
Zara, who lives alone, said some of the repairs that are still outstanding she reported on the day she moved in – 11 years ago. She added this is despite granting access to workers on more than 70 occasions.
In images seen by the LDRS, Zara’s home has been riddled with issues including mould in a communal basement, leaks and tiles falling off in the bathroom. This is all despite paying a service charge to Your Housing Group for maintenance and regular inspections of the building.
On one occasion, Zara had to stay in a hotel for more than a week, thinking work would be completed. To her disappointment, it wasn’t.
She said: “They’ve come around and looked so many times, it’s never their fault, it’s always my fault. We have had a leak in the basement all over electrical units for a decade, it isn’t safe.
“To me it seems obvious someone needs to take the boxing off and look at the pipes, but they don’t. My bathroom is worse than ever.
“I don’t understand how they’ve made things worse.” Zara said on one occasion when contractors visited her property, she was told because they didn’t have plaster to replace a leak repair, they would just paint over it.
Zara has ended up in a lengthy legal battle with Your Housing Group, securing a default judgement against the company after they failed to file an acknowledgment of service. Your Housing Group has attempted to have this set aside.
Despite this, work still hasn’t been sorted for Zara in her home of more than 10 years. She said: “They keep turning up without any notice and then say I denied them access to the building.
“It’s like there’s an expectation I’m going to sit around all day waiting for them to turn up. I’ve given them access 79 times.
“On one occasion I ended up being put in a hotel for eight days and they still didn’t deal with it. Some of the issues I’ve been complaining about, the previous tenant was bringing up 15 years ago when she was here.”
A spokesperson for Your Housing Group said: “We take all reports of repairs seriously and always aim to resolve them as quickly as possible. We have always tried to engage constructively with Ms Rhodes so that we can fully assess any issues and have attended this property on numerous occasions over the years in response to reported repairs.
“We have recently been in contact with Ms Rhodes to request access for this week, so that we can complete a further inspection and book in any follow‑on work that may be required and we remain committed to working with her to reach a positive resolution.”