A West Belfast family of six claim they are being made homeless after their landlord allegedly decided to sell their house following complaints about mould.
The family, who do not wish to be named, said that over the past few years they have had problems with mould and damp in their property and that mushrooms had begun to grow in part of it due to the issue.
They said that they contacted the landlord in order to have the mould and damp issue addressed, however no action was taken and they eventually contacted Environmental Health.
Read more: Belfast Holyland HMO licence turned down but landlord considering legal action
They say that the landlord was told to fix the property due to the issues that had been found following an investigation, but instead of doing that, the house was put up for sale instead with the family having to leave.
The family say that after being told about the sale of the property they contacted the Housing Executive seeking help, but were only told that hostel or hotel accomodation outside of Belfast would be available for them.
They say that this would not be suitable for them due to the special needs of one of their children, all of which are young.
Speaking to Belfast Live, one of the parents said: "For the past few years we have had problems in our house with it being riddled with damp and mould. It got so bad at one point that we had mushrooms growing out of the floor and no matter what we said to the landlord, nothing was ever done about it.
"After desperately trying to get the problem sorted, we eventually contacted environmental health and following an inspection they told the landlord that the damp and mould needed to be addressed and fixed.
"But instead of sorting out the problem, we received notice that the house would be sold and that we would have to leave.
"Since then we have been trying to get new accommodation with the Housing Executive, but have been told that nothing is available for us and that the only place we could go is a family hostel or hotel which would be outside of Belfast.
"This is something that we are just not able to do due to my partner and I's jobs and it would be highly disruptive for our children, particularly our autistic son who would find the sudden changes very difficult.
"We just hope that some suitable accommodation can be found for us soon and I will not be leaving this house until there is."
A Housing Executive spokesperson said; “This applicant approached us recently seeking alternative temporary accommodation support as their landlord has given notice and is selling the property.
“We’ve explored several options with them and will continue to provide support in the coming days.
“This will include options such as family hostel access or non-standard accommodation and we will also offer storage for household items.
“The family have a high number of housing points, however, their areas of choice are in high demand areas, with low housing turnover.
“We will continue to work with them to provide a suitable housing solution.”
READ NEXT:
Belfast Council votes against new student block after locals appeal
Belfast Council agrees £25,000 spend for King's Coronation celebrations
Major Ballymurphy social housing development gets green light
Stormont asking Belfast Council to “animate” Writer’s Square with street trading sites
Belfast Council asking Stormont why University Road footpath to be 'abandoned'
Belfast St Patrick's Day "turning into St Patrick's Week", Councillor says
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.
