As the UK eased out of lockdown and day-to-day life started to return to normal, household repairs and maintenance issues for renters should, of course be back in full swing.
However, for some people like our client, Stephanie Clark, lockdown meant isolating in an unsafe property, with major disrepair issues going unresolved by her landlord.
The 52-year-old first complained to her landlord, Hyde Group, about damp and mould at her home in Croydon more than a decade ago.
But despite our team settling the case and agreeing a schedule of repairs with Hyde Group in May 2019, no action was taken. That’s where our repairs team came in to ensure that the case was reopened and resettled.
Stephanie had been forced to isolate during the Covid-19 pandemic in a property so damp that mushrooms began growing in her bathroom.
Phillip Scott, repairs solicitor at CEL Solicitors, said: “While it’s important to remember that many landlords – across both the social and private sectors – have been incredibly supportive to tenants during lockdown, there are a handful who have allowed their properties to become uninhabitable.
“But, what is most concerning is that some landlords have tried to use the pandemic as an excuse for refusing works to be carried out.”
He added: “It is particularly worrying for those tenants who are classed as vulnerable and have therefore been ordered to ‘shield’; essentially forcing them to shield their health in what is deemed as an unsafe home to live.”
For the full article, visit: Mirror.co.uk
