By Ben Lynch
A resident of east London, who lives in a house with water and mould damage and is requesting that he be moved out to make way for necessary repairs.
Chris Udunna lives with his four children and wife in Connett house in Tower Hamlets. His wife is a nurse working at the Royal London Hospital.
LondonWorld previously covered flooding problems experienced by Connett House residents. Many tenants including Mr Udunna told us that their homes suffered severe leakages every time it rained heavily, leading to extensive damage, black mold and other issues.
Tower Hamlets Community Housing, which manages and owns the building, said that it had identified the cause of the flooding and fixed the issue. Connett House residents are not convinced and will wait to see whether there is any further leakage.
LondonWorld previously visited Mr Udunna, who highlighted the damages to his house, including mould, exposed pipes, and wires dangling where there used to be a ceiling light.
He said that THCH has replaced the light since then but the rest of the issues persist, and some date back many years.
We aren’t happy. “We are not happy,” said he. I wrote them a note, and my son did the same when he wrote to them in 2020. He was around 12 or 13 years old. He’s 16 now. “My parents and my mother in particular put their lives on the line for Covid,” he wrote.
His youngest child, a girl aged six with autism, has particular difficulties, although all his children are “already terrified”.
THCH spokesperson said that the housing association was trying to schedule a date with Mr Udunna for him to begin work to redecorate and repair his house.
But Mr Udunna insists that he, his wife and their six-year old daughter, who has autism, should be relocated until the work is completed.
They have to remove the mold, install new plasterboard and renovate the bathroom. This is a huge job. “This is a tiny flat that can only accommodate six people,” said the man.
THCH, however, has refused to move the building temporarily. They claim that the renovations and decoration tasks are “not extensive enough” for a temporary relocation.
The spokesperson stated: “Hotel accommodations are only offered when vacant properties are required by the works. A small landlord would find it difficult to afford or reasonable to offer hotel accommodation for all families facing the same decorative work. We must ensure that all customers receive fair service.
Our contractors will try to minimize any disruption.
In addition to requesting a temporary rehousement while construction is carried out, Udunna hopes that THCH can move his family and him into a bigger property on a permanent basis, something they’ve been urging for over a decade.
He said that the lack of space in his two-bedroom apartment, where six people live, got worse with age. He said that his children are unable to do their studies because they have no space. This is especially difficult for the eldest who, at 16, wants to attend medical school within a few years.
The private rental market is too costly for Mr Udunna who works at a building site. “I have kids.”
He hopes that THCH will be able to move the six to a larger, new home.
We will only move if there is a home for us. “We will pay for them,” said he, adding that the family does not receive any benefits.
THCH spokesperson said that they had inspected Mr Udunna’s house and arranged for treatment of the mould and damp issues. We are aware of the potential comfort that a new house could provide to the Udunnas and we have offered advice about joining the Local Authorities Housing Register and exploring the possibility of a mutual swap.
We will monitor the situation carefully and complete all necessary remedial works as soon as possible.
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