A woman has criticized her letting agent after she was told her flooded flat was “habitable” despite being “squelching” with waterlogged carpets and non-functional fire alarms. Emma Helliar, who lives in Cardiff, said a leak from the flat above left her own property soaked and mouldy. Firefighters had attended but the letting agent had set up a dehumidifier and advised Helliar it was safe to return four days later, she said. After arriving to find the state of the property unchanged and with mounds of mould, she said she was left “off-the-scale” angry.
Emails between Helliar and the letting agent suggested concerns raised about the property were not addressed. Despite asking for an electrical safety inspection report, Helliar was sent a copy of a report that had been carried out on 7 July 2023, several months prior to the flood. Helliar went on to allege that the letting agent’s treatment of the matter was “horrible”, and that the stress of the incident forced her to take time off work.
Kingstons Residential, which manages the flat, told the BBC it was working to ensure the property was returned to an acceptable standard. It stated that no repairs had been carried out until the landlord received further instruction from their insurance company following the leak from the flat above. An industrial dehumidifier was placed at the property by the letting agent to help prevent further mould growth, it said, adding that the fire alarms had been found to be working.
Helliar’s insurance company advised that her furniture, clothes, and her son’s toys needed to be discarded due to mould contamination. She said she was now concerned about the possibility of health effects from mould, particularly for her son, who is nine years old
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