A MUM has told how she has been trapped for seven years in a flat so moudly that you can see the bricks through the wallpaper
Carly Cardene and her two children had just a carrier bag each when they arrived at the Fenton emergency accommodation in 2016.
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But they had to report a leaking roof on their first night and they say the property has been riddled with issues ever since.
The 40-year-old said: “The state of the property was so bad. I was here for four or five days and I had a breakdown.
“I’m not from Staffordshire, I’ve got no family. I contacted the housing association Sanctuary saying, ‘Please help me’.
“We had lost everything, we came here with a carrier bag each. We were dumped here and for seven years I’ve been screaming for help.”
Carly has had four inspectors visit the property over the years. The latest inspection checked electric, damp and mould issues.
Carly added: “The house is not damp proof, it’s just brick walls, there’s no plasterboard. Down the side of the outside walls, you’ve got mould running all down the hallway and the carpet is black.
“There are leaks in the roof of one of the rooms, my girls can’t sleep in there. All three of us are in my room, which is the smaller room. It’s affecting my youngest one quite a lot in her education, she constantly gets ill.
“I pay my rent but why should I? I’m only using one bedroom. We’ve been completely failed. The system has failed us.
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“I’m just broken now. What else can I do? I have no support. I can’t pick up my kids and take them somewhere.
“Why am I paying this rent? I take pride in what I’ve got, we lost everything before. We want to take pride in what we have.
“I work hard, I’d give anything to buy my own place, I’d do anything. I don’t want to be in a housing association. I would rather buy my own but I can’t.”
Sanctuary says it has already ‘carried out significant work’ at the property.
A Sanctuary spokesman said: “We are committed to resolving the issues raised – including any mould and damp – as soon as possible.
“We have agreed a number of additional repairs with Miss Cardene’s solicitor following a recent inspection and a timeline to complete this work is now being put together.”
