Bangor social housing residents living in 'unsafe' conditions

Residents at a social housing estate have said they are living in fear over their children's health due to major structural issues with their houses.

The majority of those living in Killaire Wood Lane in Bangor, County Down, are families, and many deal with complex mental and physical needs.

But some have been left to live with crumbling door frames and water damage.

"If we weren't on benefits would we be treated this way? I doubt it," resident Leigh Corbett told BBC News NI.

"When you're in social housing you can't just refuse to pay your full rent until issues like these are sorted, like you would if you had a private landlord.

"Most of us pay for our rent through our universal credit so we don't actually see the money - it pays the company straight from our benefits.

"But it shouldn't matter how the money is paid. You should have a basic expectation of a safe house."

BBC News NI has also spoken to another resident, the mother of a severely disabled child, who said her family were terrified that damp and mouldy conditions in the little girl's bedroom could result in her becoming sick before a major operation.

Single mother Leigh Corbett says residents feel let down by Choice Housing which, she says, keeps "fobbing" them off

Killiare Wood Lane was completed in 2018 by Choice Housing and there are more than 100 houses in the development.

Ms Corbett, who works as a classroom assistant and has three children, said she had to replace bedroom floors multiple times due to water seeping through poorly-sealed balcony doors.

Another resident phoned police to report that he thought his door had been "kicked in" but the damage was in fact due to a decaying wooden frame.

Choice Housing boss Michael McDonnell admitted to BBC News NI that the state of the tenants' homes was not acceptable and he apologised for the "unacceptable issues that they have to deal with".

'Keep fobbing us off'

"I don't think we're being unreasonable - we shouldn't be expected to live like this," said Ms Corbett.

"We're all houseproud people and we love living here but you can't keep your house nice when there's water running down the walls and you're worried about parts of your house falling down around you, or you or your kids getting sick.

"We've become accustomed to door handles falling off and then you just reattach it when you're going out - it's not normal.

"All we're asking is for Choice to replace the windows and doors as soon as they can, and to be compensated for the money we've spent fixing their mess, but they keep fobbing us off.

"There are a lot of people with mental health problems living here and this worry is making them worse."

Lena Andrews has had to replace her daughter's bedroom floor, at her own expense, due to water damage

Lena Andrews, who lives in Killaire Wood with her daughter, said she complained to Choice Housing about draughts in 2019.

As a result, some of her windows were sealed with silicone, meaning she couldn't open her balcony doors.

"Covid then hit so nothing was done for ages and I was using draught excluders and towels to keep the water out, but it was still coming in when it rained and the wooden floor in my daughter's bedroom lifted," she said.

"When lockdown lifted in 2021, a new foreman came round and was asking about all the problems that had been reported.

Residents have been trying to block water coming in through faulty balcony doors

"I let him in and showed him everything, including the silicone. He couldn't believe that the doors had been sealed like that because it was a fire safety risk so he had the silicone removed.

"We were then told the balconies would be replaced with big windows but that never happened so we're still in this mess."

Choice Housing admitted silicone was used as a temporary measure but said it was most likely removed as it no longer had the required effectiveness, rather than due to fire safety concerns.

On 1 November this year, Ms Andrews woke up to a puddle of rainwater in her living room.

It was coming in through her ceiling.

Choice Housing said it "regrettably" took months to fix a hole in a ceiling that was caused by a leak

She said: "I phoned Choice straight away and they told me to turn the electrics off at the mains and they'd put me down as an emergency but it would take four days.

"I put a load of pots and pans down to try to keep the water off the floor and wasn't sitting there half an hour when my smoke and carbon monoxide alarms started going off - the water was setting them off.

"So I called Choice again and they told me I needed to turn them off too. How is that safe? What if there was a fire?

"Their customer service just isn't good enough."

In a statement to BBC News NI, Choice Housing said its emergency priority repair time is 24 hours and that alarms have battery back-up for when an electrical supply has been switched off.

There are more than 100 houses in Killaire Wood Lane in Bangor, the majority of which are occupied by families

Choice Housing has apologised to residents and admitted "the hardwood components should not be failing in such a short timeframe".

"We also apologise that it is taking longer than we had hoped to replace defective windows and doors," it said.

"Whilst we had made some progress with the original contractor to remediate, the latter then went out of business.

"However we have now completed a survey of all properties and have progressed our own contract for these works.

"This will allow replacement of defective windows and doors to commence on site in February 2024."

Choice Housing said it would "expedite" repairs already reported and plans to be on the ground in Killaire Wood Lane this week, while surveyors will also check window and door measurements.

It added that affected tenants would not be "out of pocket for any loss incurred as a result of damage caused by these unacceptable defects".

Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox.