Tenant passed 'from pillar to post' over leak

Lisa Stocker says a leak in her specialised wet room took about six months to get a repair

A council tenant said she had been passed from "pillar to post" trying to get a leak fixed in her home.

Lisa Stocker said it took six months to get it repaired, despite regularly reporting the issue to Cambridge City Council.

Almost half of council homes in Cambridge do not have up-to date surveys on their conditions and carrying them out could cost up to £500,000, say recent reports.

The city council said surveys had not been "consistently prioritised" due to a range of factors, but it hoped to clear the backlog within a year.

A report at a council cabinet meeting said inspections were needed at about 3,000 of the city's 7,600 council homes.

The homes should be surveyed every five years so the authority can plan investment, prioritise repairs, or identify issues such as damp and disrepair.

Alongside the leak, Ms Stocker said she had "bad" damp and mould, forcing her to throw away clothes.

She said: "You get passed from pillar to post, just putting it mildly; they don't know who is doing what.

"They send a surveyor out; he goes round, has a look and that's the last you see of them."

Ms Stocker said the issue had sent her stress and anxiety "through the roof", and questioned if she had to wait until the ceiling fell down for a repair.

Gerri Bird said: "We hope tenants will let us know if they have problems"

Cheney Payne, a Liberal Democrat city councillor, said it was one in a "sequence of examples of Labour's complete neglect for their council houses".

"The council has a duty to act at as well as a private landlord, but for me as a city council it has a moral obligation," she said.

"These are some of the most vulnerable people in the city who are paying rent for their council home, so they deserve to know they can go back home to a home that is safe and well."

Gerri Bird, Labour cabinet member for housing, said the authority had lost two years due to Covid-19.

Following that, she said, people were cautious to let anyone into their house.

After the backlog of homes are surveyed, the council intends to check homes every five years.

"We hope tenants will let us know if they have problems," she added.

"We are doing our utmost to make sure they have a decent home and that's something I really want and push for because I am in social housing myself, so I understand how tenants feel if they have a problem and it is not done in time."