One woman says she's living in constant anxiety and embarrassment after her flat became riddle with mould.
"Because I was in a homeless situation, I had to accept the first property that came along and so I took the property. When I moved in, in August, it was very cold, even then, even on the hottest days of the week, I thought gosh this is going to be a chilly property." Louise maintained her property as much as she could through the winter, continuing to report issues she faced. Due to her efforts, she believed she had managed to keep the mould at bay for sometime, until she recently moved her furniture around only to discover large amounts of mould and damp patches behind them.
"I just feel so trapped, like I've not got any option. It's really horrible and I know I'm not the only person in this position but I just need to know that I can live somewhere where I know that my belongings are going to be safe and be able to take some pride in it," Louise added. Living in these conditions with nowhere to turn to, Louise says she feels her life is still on hold. After dealing with the death of her grandmother and then becoming homeless, she admits she still feels she isn't able to move on with her life.
"You can't think about decorating or making things nice or more homely when the stuff that I've got already has just been ruined and they're just not bothered. Imagine if that happened to them, they'd be upset too, but they just can't seem to show that at all."