Leigh Park couple blame housing provider for 'bodging' work causing massive water leaks and leaving house condemned

Mum-of-four Natalie Robinson, 35, has been ‘struggling to cope’ after her Leigh Park home was left uninhabitable after water leaks spread throughout the Guinness Partnership property – forcing her to move out.

After first noticing water coming in from the ceiling in one of the bedrooms last March the situation has deteriorated to the point where the ‘ceiling is on the verge of collapsing’.

Buckets are now spread throughout the Highwood Lawn address as leaks have spread to bedrooms, stairs, hallway and kitchen.

It has left carpets ruined, walls stained and mouldy, and furniture having to be thrown away – amounting to around £2,500 worth of damage.

Luke Young, Natalie’s partner, said: ‘There was a leak in one of the children’s bedrooms last March that got worse in October.

‘No-one turned up until January this year – I wish they didn’t come out now. When they came out they made the situation 100 times worse.

‘We had an electrician who first came out and he said roofers were needed to sort it out. But Guinness just sent normal workers who totally bodged it.

‘We started off with one leak and now there are leaks everywhere. I have to keep going back to empty buckets of water. The ceiling looks like it is about to collapse but they still haven’t started work even though Natalie and the children have been forced to move out.’

Luke, who lives at a separate address in Leigh Park, said their predicament has been compounded after Guinness insisted on moving his partner to a house in Southsea, not one closer to home.

‘Now Natalie has been moved she is having panic attacks and struggling with anxiety as she struggles to be away from family and those close to her,’ the 28-year-old said.

‘As we don’t drive it is a bit of a distance to get to now and she feels stuck and can’t cope where she is. We asked for somewhere nearby but they said she had to go to the place in Southsea.’

Luke said the move had taken its toll on the children too. Natalie’s 14-year son, who has special needs, is now unable to get to school in Leigh Park and they are struggling to get their three-year-old daughter to nursery.

He added: ‘I can’t believe it took Guinness so long to look at to the point they had to condemn the house. They don’t care about Natalie’s mental wellbeing.’

A spokesman from the Guinness Partnership said the company was ‘sorry’ for the ‘problems with leaks’.

‘We visited the property last March, August and November and carried out repair works. The leak appears to have persisted and worsened. Our roofer attended again this January to carry out more extensive repair work to the roof, but was unable to get access,’ he said.

‘While further roof repairs are carried out, we agreed with Ms Robinson that a move to alternative accommodation would be the most appropriate and comfortable option for her and her children.

‘Due to the lack of available, short-term housing in Havant this involved moving a little out of the area to a fully furnished property. Regrettably we were not aware that any of Ms Robinson’s children were currently attending school, given the lockdown.’

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