Joanne Davidson, Chair of Hastings Area Southern Housing Tenants Association (HASHTA) writes about her frustrating experience trying to get repairs carried out in her Southern Housing home.
The problems started with my kitchen as far back as 2006 when 1066 (as it was at the time) replaced the kitchen. You could see damp issues when they took out the old kitchen, and I raised my concerns then, but instead of addressing them they just fitted the new kitchen.
I had water coming in above the back door which was due to them not fitting a cavity tray above the door when, for some reason, prior to moving in they moved the back door from the back of the property to the side. But this issue was fixed and there were no more problems for a while.
In 2018 after going backwards and forwards with Optivo (it’s name after 1066 and before it became Southern Housing) for some time, they decided to address the damp problem by taking out the kitchen, removing the plaster, and damp proofing the wall. This did not work, and ever since I have had issues with rising damp.
The floor by the back door blew due to damp and the vinyl was pulled up. A dehumidifier was left in the kitchen for a few days and then the floor was screeded. They failed to replace the vinyl and despite trying to get this sorted they have still not replaced it.
Several contractors have offered solutions to the damp problem but are ignored. Twice I have had Target Damp do a survey and they have advised what is now Southern Housing how to fix the problem.
In January 2023 I requested a copy of the report from Target. This resulted in a call from a member of staff stating that they had said they would complete the work, but we would have to leave the property for a few weeks. I was ok with this but then heard nothing.
At the zoom meeting with Southern Housing in April 2024 these issues were raised and we were told it would be looked into. This didn’t happen. A new damp and mould team was set up off the back of this meeting – supposedly to fix these issues quickly – and instead they have stated they will not complete the work to the kitchen.
I had issues with mould in the living room on internal walls and instead of investigating, the answer was to paint over it with anti-mould paint. I have made a formal complaint and then had to escalate to level 2 as they have stated that the damp and mould team supersedes the Target Damp report. They also stated that I have refused to have extractor fans fitted, which is untrue.
The complaint is now with the Ombudsman as Southern Housing just do not seem to care about the state of their housing stock. I am a disabled woman and the house issues have caused more problems for me.