Southampton mum has leaking roof at Vaudrey Close flat

Agnieszka Zimniewska has endured water pouring into the bedrooms of her home in Vaudrey Close, Shirley.

There is "mould everywhere" at the property where she lives with her two young children, aged ten and one.

The 36-year-old has lived in her top-floor flat since 2009, and for the past two years has had a constant leak in her roof that’s spread throughout her home.

She told The Echo: "It might not be safe, I'm worried the ceiling might collapse.

“The water is coming through everywhere, next to the front door, upstairs and it's going on the carpet, so I’ve had to repaint the wall with mould paint and change the carpets.

“It is difficult to live like this.

Agnieszka and leaseholder, Warwick Newson, have contacted Southampton City Council, which owns the freehold on the building multiple times over a two-year period. 

However, they say they are yet to receive a satisfactory outcome.

READ MORE: Thousands of complaints about leaks, damp and mould in social housing in England

Warwick said: “The flat has had water leaks for over 20 months.

“The council has been aware all this time and has yet to repair it or give a date.

“Water is now pouring into the bedrooms, making them uninhabitable.

“There’s black mould everywhere, the council need to pull their finger out.”

Roofers were called out to fix the leak at the flat in November 2022.

Warwick added: “A company was hired months ago to fix the situation.

“I hadn’t heard anything, so I assumed it had been fixed.

“It turns out that the workmen surveyed the situation and decided the job was too much for them, so they just left.”

The scaffolding from the incomplete job still surrounds the building.

A spokesperson for Southampton City Council said: "We’re aware of some maintenance issues at this address and we’re sorry for the inconvenience this has caused residents.

"As part of a wider programme of works to improve council homes across the city, we are currently developing a long-term solution, which tenants and leaseholders will receive more information about in due course.

"In the meantime, we are in close contact with affected residents and our team will be visiting them this week to discuss further and carry out some repairs.

"Where issues are causing concern, we encourage tenants and/or leaseholders to submit a report via our website at southampton.gov.uk/repairs and we will investigate as needed.”

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