'My three-year-old asks if we can find a new home'

Paige Summers is one of multiple social housing tenants experiencing problems with her home

Residents of a housing association in Nottinghamshire say they feel let down after experiencing multiple problems with their homes.

Three tenants who live in housing provided by Metropolitan Thames Valley Homes (MTVH) in Rushcliffe say they have faced problems including a collapsed ceiling, mould, damp and fleas.

The housing association is responsible for some social housing in Rushcliffe after the borough council transferred part of its housing stock to the provider in 2003.

MTVH said it planned to spend more than £5m on homes in East Leake, and would "listen to residents" to address their concerns.

'At breaking point'

Paige Summers moved into her property in East Leake in 2023 and said her hot water and heating then stopped working after a few months and was not repaired for a year.

The 22-year-old told the BBC: "Some nights, me and my children would share a bed to keep warm. It was horrendous."

Ms Summers said her heating was repaired in November 2024, but the following month her kitchen ceiling "caved in" during her son's second birthday party.

She said: "The night before, water from the bath started heavily leaking into the kitchen.

"I warned them by saying it had gotten worse, and they said it wasn't an emergency. Look what happened. I was at breaking point."

Ms Summers' ceiling collapsed just weeks ago after she warned MTVH about a serious leak

MTVH has said it "could have identified the leak quicker" and has since made "initial repairs" to the ceiling.

Ms Summers said: "I'm scared it will take one of my children getting seriously hurt before they do anything.

"My son tells me he no longer wants to live with me... and my three-year-old daughter asks, 'mummy, when can we find a new home?'"

The housing association said it had visited Ms Summers' home several times over the last year, that it had fixed the leak and would work with the family to explore other options to improve the situation.

'Feel betrayed'

Chelsea Wood, 34, moved into her property in East Leake along with her three children in April 2024.

She said she then noticed bites on her son's skin and realised the house was infested with fleas.

Ms Wood added she threw personal belongings away in an attempt to get rid of the fleas and she "struggled to feel clean".

She added: "You're brushed under the carpet by them, and I feel betrayed.

"Renting privately isn't financially feasible. Sometimes, I feel like I failed my family by moving here."

An MTVH spokesperson said Ms Wood moved into her property as part of an exchange with another tenant, which was an arrangement where its involvement would be limited.

The spokesperson added the condition of the property was not reported to MTVH when the exchange took place.

Megan Kim said she had encountered severe damp and mould issues in her home

Megan Kim, 28, lives in Ruddington and has been a tenant with MTVH since 2022.

She says mould has always been a problem in her home as the trickle vents which help ventilate the property are broken.

Mrs Kim added: "My four-year-old suffered with coughs because of the mould in his room - it even went on his sheets.

"I've raised the ventilation problem with them multiple times and nothing's been done."

MTVH said it had visited Mrs Kim's home a number of times in an attempt to fix the mould problem and there were occasions where she waited six weeks for a response and it was working to improve the situation.

Mould had spread to sheets in Mrs Kim's property in January 2023

Rushcliffe MP James Naish said he had received 17 complaints about MTVH since he was elected in July and that he believed Rushcliffe Borough Council made a "mistake" when it moved housing stock to the provider.

An MTVH spokesperson added: "As a charitable housing association, our priority is ensuring that our residents are warm, safe and dry in their homes especially in the case of young families, older people and those with additional needs.

"Rushcliffe, which has some of our older homes, is a priority area for investment and we are spending £5.2m in East Leake alone to improve insulation and energy efficiency to lower energy bills and keep customers warm."

Rushcliffe Borough Council said it believed the housing association model "is the right one" and that directors at MTVH had provided assurances service levels were being met.