Mum, dad and 3 kids still sofa surfing 4 months after Kew home flooded as it still feels like a 'septic tank'
A Kew mum and dad along with their three sons are still sofa surfing after their home flooded with sewage, more than four months ago.
Ami, 45, claims her family was told by housing association Metropolitan Thames Valley (MTVH) to return to the two-bed flat, at Maple House in Kew, in January after living in temporary accommodation since the leak in October.
However, the mum told the Local Democracy Reporting Service they can't move back as they fear it will happen again and can't face the "trauma".
Ami, who did not wish to give her full name, claims furniture in her kids' bedroom was thrown out due to damage from the leak and has also still not been replaced.
She told the LDRS she is unhappy with how the flat has been cleaned, describing it as "shabby", and claimed she can still smell sewage there.
Family members have asthma and Ami is concerned about the safety of returning after "all the sewage water been sucked up". She said MTVH has replaced flooring but "the work underneath, like the actual deep cleaning, we're not happy with because there is still a smell there" and that she gets "flashbacks of the flood" when she goes near the flat.
The mum said: "I've had so many memories attached to that flat in regards to my children growing up and my youngest one but now I don't see it as my home. All I see it is a septic tank and my youngest doesn't even want to go near the building."
She said: "We've had flooding before in our kitchen, I think about four or five years ago or roughly around then, and this is the second time it's happened. But this time it's been far worse… and we don't want to go back in with that dread – like having to sleep and worried about if it's going to leak where we're sleeping, are we going to get flooded again? That's the fear my youngest has in him – for him to go into the bathroom was a nightmare for him."
Ami claims there have been leaks in the building's underground car park, directly below her flat, and that MTVH have been "dismissive" of residents' complaints. The family is not "ready to face this trauma once again" if there is another leak, she added.
She said the family has not slept in the flat since being moved into temporary accommodation on November 1, 2022, after a leak in the flat's bathroom flooded the home with sewage on October 31.
Ami said there was "human faeces coming out" and "no one came out until about 10.30pm… by that time the bathroom started overflowing into the hallway and then into my children's bedroom".
MTVH carried out works on the home and told the family to move back on January 4. Ami said they left temporary accommodation and slept in their car the following night after their youngest son, who has autism, said he "didn't want to go back".
The family slept in their car for a total of four or five nights, in between staying with family, before moving in with a relative on January 16. They started sofa surfing on February 17.
Ami said the situation has affected her entire family mentally and she has struggled to get responses from MTVH – feeling concerns she has raised have been "ignored".
She added: "The other thing is we're overcrowded. There's five of us in a two-bed flat and the limited space is affecting everyone's health – kids can't study, there's no privacy and we've been on the housing waiting list for a bigger property for a while."
A MTVH spokesperson said: "Nobody wants to experience a serious leak and we fully appreciate the distress it has caused Ami and her family. That is why colleagues have closely supported and been in regular communication with the family since the leak in late October, to help ensure the family's wellbeing and their return home as quickly as possible.
"The blockage was attended to on the day it was reported. Within 24 hours, the family were housed in temporary accommodation which remained the case for the two months while we completed work on the home.
"During that period, we made sure that the family's home and much of their furniture was professionally cleaned and sanitised. Most recently, at Ami's request, we offered to carry out an additional clean of her home.
"Meanwhile, necessary repairs have been completed, including replacement of much of the flooring. We have also offered to replace the bunk beds, cooker, bath and toilet and continue to encourage Ami to coordinate their installation with us. Colleagues have inspected the home with Ami and in our view it is in a comfortable and decent condition.
"We will continue to work with Ami to provide support and address any outstanding concerns that she may have."
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