A mum living in a 'mould-ridden' house from hell claims she was ignored for five years by her landlord and council. Selenawit Asfaha alleges that she has developed asthma from living at the property.
The mother moved into the Bristol flat seven years ago and continued to live there after her son was born. However, things started to go wrong at her home, five years ago, when the ceiling caved in water began to come into her son's room.
Selenawit now has asthma, a condition she alleges occurred from living in the ground floor flat she had privately rented from MG Properties. The company is owned by Melvin Walters, who is believed by the tenants, to own several properties in the area, reports Bristol Live.
Selenawit said: “The leak started about five years ago. [Mr Walters] said he would fix it but when he came he put in silicone and it would then start again after a few months. The baby couldn’t sleep because there was noise and shouting in the night and sometimes the fire alarm would go off at three in the morning, it was very very bad.
“Many times the health visitor would come and take a picture but nothing would change. I don’t know the rules in the UK and when I asked the landlord for help he ignored me.
“I went to the council but they said they couldn’t do anything because it is a privately rented house. Sometimes I would stay with a friend on the weekend because there were a lot of people coming in and out, drinking and I couldn’t sleep there.
“It was hell for me. I have asthma, I got it from living in this house."
The mother also alleges the house is cold in the winter and riddled with mice who 'come in every day'. Selenawit added: "There is a lot of mould and the house isn’t [secure] so in the winter it’s very cold.
"In my flat there were mice because my door and the entrance door are not closed. There are many shops around the house and the mice would come in every day.
"My son is not confident and when he hears a noise he immediately runs to me, he is scared. The mother alleges that the landlord is to blame for the continuous problem after ignoring her calls to fix the issues with her abode.
Selenawit continued: "I can never move back to this house because it’s not only the house that is a problem but the landlord too. He has ignored everything, when I text and call him he doesn’t answer.
“Then when he does come to the house he uses a key to open my flat in the morning [without warning]. All the workers have keys and they never change the key so for me it’s very dangerous.
"It’s not safe for me and my son. After five years he hasn't done anything, it’s terrible for me.
"I don’t want this landlord because he has no respect, when the ceiling fell down he didn’t answer my calls or messages.” Mr Walters says he plans to have the house refurbished at the start of next year.
He said: “The place needs refurbishing and it was going to be refurbished in January or February anyhow so the tenants would have to move out for the refurbishment but now they will be moving out earlier. There’s two flats and mysteriously water has gone downstairs.”
A friend of Selenawit, Solomon Kifle, says he called the Environment Agency himself after being ‘shocked’ by the living conditions of the family. He said: "I was shocked when she first sent me the videos of her house and I contacted the council after she told me they had been ignoring her for five years.
"When the Environmental Health Agency visited they decided to remove her from the house and then things were sorted very quickly. For me it was a priority to get the child out of that house because if the ceiling fell down the kid could die.”
Following the intervention of Solomon, the mother and her son were finally moved out of the house last month. Bristol City Council has now referred Mr Walters to the Licence Enforcement Unit claiming it was due to his alleged failure to comply with instructions over repairs, damp and mould.
A spokesperson from Bristol City Council said: “We have continued to provide advice and support to this private tenant in response to their concerns and requests to find alternative accommodation. Following an inspection of the property earlier this year, a schedule of works needed to make repairs and resolve damp and mould was issued to the landlord along with a request for relevant safety certificates.
“During a recent re-visit to the property we have seen that some of the works have not been completed within the deadline set and those that have are of a poor standard, as well as further disrepair. Although safety certificates were received, there are deficiencies noted on some of them.
“We have therefore handed the case to our Licence Enforcement Unit for them to review and determine if any enforcement action is appropriate.”
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