Birmingham council tenants count emotional cost of repair delays

David Banner said his flooded flat left him not wanting to wake up

A council tenant has described how repair delays to his flooded flat left him not wanting to wake up.

David Banner, who lives in a block in Northfield, Birmingham, said he had reported a leak to the city council in July 2022.

He said after eight months it had been fixed, but the whole time he had lived in the "squalor" of flood damage - and continued to do so.

The city council said it was working to put things right at Shelley Tower.

A BBC Radio WM investigation found 428 council tenants in Birmingham were currently waiting for emergency repairs.

Mr Banner said the leak was caused by a burst pipe in the sprinkler system, but until solicitors got involved, when "I was at the end of my tether emotionally and mentally", he felt like "not waking up" and that he "wasn't being listened to".

While the leak was eventually addressed, he said water damage still needed fixing, with re-plastering required.

"I've been living in squalor for 31 weeks and I have been paying rent for it," he told the BBC.

The council said that since sprinklers' installation in 2021, it was aware of a number of problems with the system, adding they had been "dealt with as quickly as possible".

The authority said it was reviewing the work.

Figures released after a BBC Freedom of Information request, covering April 2021 to March 2022, showed the council received an average of 60 complaints a week about delayed or unsatisfactory repair work to homes.

There is a total backlog of 10,000 repairs across Birmingham's 60,000 council properties.

The council said most repairs were completed on time and on budget and in the case of Mr Banner's block and a neighbouring one, there were two outstanding repairs regarding leaks.

It said it was investigating and working with a contractor to put things right.

Mr Banner said the leak had been caused by a burst pipe in the sprinkler system

Kayleigh Kimberley, who lives in nearby Browning Tower, said she had been asking for a safety latch to be put on the window of her balcony for three years, after her five-year-old son nearly fell out.

She said: "My son has autism and no sense of fear and I got there just in time. When it comes to children, there are no words - the anger is just indescribable."

The council said all windows were installed by a contractor with standard safety latches, but "some tenants cut and removed the latches".

Ms Kimberley said she was also claiming compensation after work to repair "significant structural defects" lasted five years.

The council said that despite best efforts, "some tenants were inconvenienced and access to some properties proved difficult".

It said the work was also slowed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Kayleigh Kimberley said she had waited years for a window safety latch

Birmingham City Council said it had carried out a "thorough investigation" with contractor Fortem into the complaints.

It said it was "really concerned that some tenants have outstanding issues and we are committed to working with them to resolve their issues as quickly as possible".

Fortem said it carried out more than 93,000 repairs to council properties every year and "nearly all of these are completed on time".