I’m a mum-of-four and our council flat is so damp I have to walk around in WELLIES – it’s degrading
A DEVASTATED mum has told she “will not survive another winter” after living in a permanently flooded flat for FIVE YEARS.
Joanna Vienesta, 44, says she is forced to walk around in wellington boots in her sodden four-bedroom home that’s been ravaged by an “unsafe” immersion heater and constantly leaking pipes.
The mum-of-four from Ongar, Essex, who lives with her eight-year-old daughter, claims the unliveable conditions have left the pair with crippling health issues.
Joanna says her daughter has even split her chin open after slipping over on surface water in a horror accident.
The mum is now pleading with the council that she simply “cannot go on” if she is forced to stick it out any longer in the property managed by Epping Forest District Council.
Crying over the phone, she told The Sun: “This is the hell we live with everyday, I cannot go on.
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“It is so degrading as a human.
“All I want is a house that is suitable. I just want a nice home for my little one.”
Joanna told how the problems happened soon after the family – three of whom have since flown the nest – moved in.
Chaos struck when the immersion heater, located above her daughter’s bedroom, caused a leak so bad that the ceiling collapsed – almost maiming her child.
Carnage followed at the property on Moreton Road as constantly leaking pipes – which sounded like “rain” when she spoke to The Sun – have caused mould so bad her blackened kitchen cabinets are falling to pieces.
Leaking in the bathroom – which has seen water stream out the toilet and lift up the bathroom flooring – means her loo can be “picked up” and moved around.
She now spends her time “emptying buckets of water seven to eight times a day” which are placed under leaky pipes to fight back the hellish tide.
Joanna pays £530 a month for her home and claims benefits while caring for her ill mum and dad who live nearby.
She says her life is a “living hell” and that the council, which is responsible for the flat, has failed to deal with the problems properly.
Work, which Joanna says she was promised would be complete in January, has not even begun.
The council now wants the mum and her daughter to move into a hostel – claiming there are no available houses for the pair.
But the council reportedly says she can’t take her two cherished dogs and adored cat with them – and that these need to be put put down or given away if she wants a chance at getting out of her sodden home.
She fumed: “This house is hell but that [hostel] is prison.”
The flooding, damp and mould is now taking a serious toll on the mum, who says she has contracted pneumonia and pleurisy and is now even having tests for “stage 4 asthma” which has got progressively worse over the years.
Joanna says she also suffered “cracked four ribs” falling over in surface water in her bathroom thanks to the flooding.
She also claims to lose her voice regularly and sometimes cannot speak because of the impact the mould is having on her.
Her daughter regularly gets ill from the mould and misses school as a result, and she is too embarrassed to invite her friends round, her mum claims.
This house is hell but that [hostel] is prison
Joanna Vienesta
Joanna is even concerned that if her daughter does get pals over, it will get out that she lives in a sodden home and she will be the target of bullies.
The desperate mum added how she has “lost count” of how much money she has spent replacing furniture destroyed by mould – a bill the council will not pick up.
On June 9, a plumber from the council came to her flat and said the problems – which have raged for five years – were her fault.
Cllr Holly Whitbread, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Community said: “Epping Forest District Council is committed to maintaining high quality homes.
“Our top priority is to support our tenants and create thriving communities where people want to live.
“Although we can’t comment on the specifics of this case, after numerous attempts to engage with Mrs Vienesta, our teams are working with her and her family extensively to resolve her housing issues.
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“This has included the offer of temporary accommodation while works are carried out.
“We will continue to work hard to support the family, to reach a resolution”.
