A couple living in a council flat at the Victoria Centre claim their home is falling apart as they wait for a leak to be fixed. Gary Brett, who lives on the ninth floor of the block of flats, says his Nottingham City Homes (NCH) property suffers leaks roughly every six months.
The 54-year-old trentbarton worker and his girlfriend Tracey Coombes, 58, are currently living with the smell of damp due to the latest leak. NCH says it originated in a privately-owned flat above and they are working to resolve the problem.
“It smells of damp. The council are waiting for it to dry out so they can come out and do the work," Mr Brett told Nottinghamshire Live. “The wall was wet through, it had gone down the walls and into the next floor."
Read more: Woman's ceiling caves in as 'stinking' water floods Victoria Centre flats
He and his partner were put up at a Premier Inn hotel in Arnold as a result of the leak, but after being transferred to another hotel they opted to move back into the flat because of safety concerns. The problem is not new to Mr Brett, who said he was faced with the "biggest leak I'd ever seen" after moving in seven years ago.
He also claims there are a number of other faults with the property, including a faulty radiator and windows. "I had a window fall out, it fell on my head," he recalled. "I can’t even open them properly as they’re hanging off. The flat’s terrible, it’s falling apart.
“In red hot weather you can’t breathe because it’s that hot and I can't open the windows. In the winter it’s freezing because the radiator doesn't work.” Mr Brett said the council came to repair the window but he claimed it was just a "quick-fix".
He has tried, but so far been unsuccessful in moving out. A spokesperson for Nottingham City Homes said: “We’re aware of the issues at Mr Brett’s property and have been working to resolve them to his satisfaction.
“The leak originated in a privately-owned flat above Mr Brett’s home and, once it was stopped, we supplied dehumidifiers to dry out his flat. Due to the noise these made, we offered to move Mr Brett and his partner to a hotel temporarily, but they felt that this was unacceptable. We are continuing to work with them to find a solution that is satisfactory.”
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