A GROUP of students living with a huge hole in their roof say they’d warned their landlord before the whole ceiling collapsed.
The tenants moved into their seven-bedroom home in Cathays, Cardiff, in September and had noticed a number of issues that needed attention.
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They claim they’d notified their landlord about the growing crack in the roof as well as the concerning “spongy and damp” bathroom floor above it.
The property’s management company, CPS Homes, said the landlord’s contractor recently performed work that was expected to resolve a leak in the bathroom above the kitchen – but appears now the issue was either misdiagnosed or wasn’t correctly resolved.
One of the tenants says a repairman who last came to the home used plywood to cover the crack as a quick-fix.
They said: “Each time we reported this to CPS Homes, the most recent time being around two weeks ago, they sent a contractor to put filler in the crack in the kitchen ceiling.
“We became concerned because the floor in the bathroom is spongy. It felt like it wasn’t safe, so we decided as a house to stop using the shower.
“We told them that the floor in the bathroom was not safe, and they responded by putting some plywood over it.
“But this has been going on for years and so surely it was all rotten and was just a matter of time until this would happen.
“We think because this was a big job which would have cost a lot of money they decided they didn’t want to sort the issue properly.”
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Now that it has fallen through, their bathroom has been left with a huge hole on the floor next to the bath and shower, and the ceiling of the kitchen-lounge.
One of the young women living at the home say they had fears the ceiling was going to cave in for some time.
She said: “It was an accident waiting to happen. The ceiling was drooping. It’s been drooping since we moved in with evidence of water being held in the ceiling.”
The group is now sharing one shower and one toilet to avoid a safety issue, but one of the tenants has left the property due to its condition.
A tenant said: “We have one other bathroom. There are seven girls living here. How can you expect seven girls to use one bathroom?
“The shower in there doesn’t even work properly. They said we could use the shower right on top of the hole in the ceiling which I just find mind-boggling.”
‘IT IS NOT SAFE’
A contractor has visited the home since the roof fell in and put a tarpaulin across the hole, but cold air is getting into the home.
She said: “How are we meant to live in this house? It is not safe. Surely they would offer an alternative place to stay in the meantime.
“Besides the issue with the hole in the ceiling, there is mould on the walls throughout the house, the boiler is broken, it stinks of damp throughout, the bedsheets are cold and damp, the shower is cold, the toilet doesn’t flush properly.”
A spokeswoman for CPS Homes said it was sorry to hear of the situation when it was brought to their attention.
It appears, they said, that the issue was misdiagnosed or the repair carried out wasn’t sufficient and caused plasterboard to come down.
The spokesperson: “We extend our apologies to the tenants for this and, since being made aware of the issue on Saturday, have worked extensively with our landlord client, their contractor and the tenants to have everything resolved as quickly as possible.
“Clean up work and initial making good was carried out within four hours of being reported, with full repairs commencing on the next working day.
“We are continuing to liaise with the landlord on the tenants’ behalf to secure them the compensation they deserve for the inconvenience caused.”
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