A MUM of two has been left feeling ‘drained’ and ‘tired’ following a battle with her housing association over the poor living conditions at her family home 

Kayleigh Whitaker, 36, has been living in a flat in Strokins Road for the past three years.

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The issues first started in October 2020 after the temperature dropped and gaps in a number of windows on the property opened up allowing water to seep in.

The flat below was also flooded when workers on site were moving Kayleigh's boiler from the kitchen to the airing cupboard a month later.

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Kayleigh has also had issues with the kitchen extractor fan, and mould and damp as a result of a lack of insulation in the exterior wall of the building.

This has resulted in the temperature in Kayleigh's kitchen and living room dropping to an average of 4.6 degrees.

"We've paid over £4000 in gas bills within the last three years," Kayleigh said.

"More recently the roof was reinsulated, but how they left it resulted in lots of condensation and moisture building up in the loft. It's caused the roof frame to start cracking in places, and creating puddles of water which pool on our ceiling."

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The water sitting in the loft has resulted in big cracks appearing in the ceiling of every room, with some of the cracks above her and her children's beds.

Kayleigh said the current condition of the roof and ceilings have left her feeling 'nervous'.

She continued: “It’s been such an arduous process in the last couple of years. I’m forever going back and forth with Vivid over the same issues which don’t get sorted, it's draining. They have a duty of care to their residents but they don’t care at all. 

"I've been made out to be a liar about the issues and had to fight for any sort of resolution to the issues we've faced. We shouldn't have to put up with this."

Head of property services at Vivid Carolyn Munns said: "We have a clear process in place to manage reports of mould, where we work with the customer and keep a case open until the situation is resolved.  We are working closely with Ms Whittaker to resolve the issues in her home.  Any other customers who are experiencing mould are encouraged to call in so we can come out and inspect their home and we will work with them to resolve it.