Cardiff mum told her soaked and mouldy flat is habitable

A woman was told that her flooded flat was "habitable" - despite having "squelching" wet carpets and broken fire alarms.

Emma Helliar said a leak above her Cardiff flat left it soaked and mouldy.

Her letting agent set up a dehumidifier and said it was safe to move back in days later - which Ms Helliar described as "atrocious".

Kingstons Residential said the issue was being dealt with and "actioned as quickly as we can".

Ms Helliar, 40, said she and her nine-year-old son William faced an "off-the-scale" flooding incident on 3 November, with water from the flat above streaming through the ceiling into every room. 

"The amount of water that came in was horrendous," she said, explaining how the carpets were "squelching" underfoot and almost all of her son's things were drenched.

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Firefighters were called to the scene in the Whitchurch area of Cardiff. 

She said they left behind warning stickers which stated that the electricity should not be put back on until an inspection had taken place.

The flooding could be seen in the brickwork around the windows of Emma's rented flat

Ms Helliar and her son moved in with friends temporarily.

On 8 November, Ms Helliar received an email from Kingstons Residential, seen by BBC News, which said "the property has been inspected and deemed habitable".

But when Ms Helliar visited the flat, she found the carpets were still squelching underfoot and there was a heavy smell of mould. 

She said, as far as she could tell, no repairs had been carried out and the carpets had not been taken up.

She said the power had been switched back on and a dehumidifier set up in her lounge.

She also said that the flat's two fire alarms, in the kitchen and passageway, were not working and she was concerned about whether the electricity had been made safe.

Emma Helliar says she and her son are staying with friends after their apartment was flooded

"How [the letting agent] can say it was habitable is atrocious," she said. 

"It's not reasonable to move back in," she added, explaining how her biggest fear was whether the mould could affect her son's health. 

She said her insurance company had advised that their furniture, clothes and William's toys would need to be binned due to mould contamination.

"It's really hard trying to explain to a nearly 10-year-old that everything you own has got to go in the skip," she said.

"It is not a safe environment, with the mould and no fire alarms and they can't guarantee we won't get an electric shock," she added. 

After the flood, firefighters put a tag over the breaker switch saying it should be inspected before the power is switched back on

Emails between Emma and Kingstons Residential over the next two weeks suggested these concerns were not addressed. 

She asked in one email for an electrical safety inspection report, but the letting agent sent back a copy of a report carried out on 7 July 2023, months before the flood. 

"Is it still safe now after tonnes of water have flown through the electrics?" she asked.

"They are only saying it's habitable but they didn't reply to that question."

She said she also wanted to know if the ceiling contained reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) that could be structurally affected by the flooding. 

'Horrible' treatment

Kingstons Residential said an "industrial dehumidifier" was put in the flat to help prevent mould and the fire alarms were found to be working at that time.

But because the leak came from another property, it said: "We are awaiting further instruction from the insurance company as to what other action can be taken to restore this property to our usual standards."

It said the landlord of the flat had been advised to carry out a new fire inspection, which was "being implemented".

"Whilst we understand the inconvenience and the matter at hand this issue is being dealt with and actioned as quickly as we can."

Emma, a trainee pharmacist, called her treatment by the letting agency "horrible".

She said the stress of the experience had forced her to take time off work. 

"My little one is really struggling not being in his own space and not having his things," she said.

"I'm just lucky I have a support network around me."

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