A North London mum has described the emergency accommodation she has been forced to stay in with her two children as “horrible”. Brent council moved the family into the single hotel room last year after seeing the appalling state of her housing association property but the mum has claimed the new room is also covered in mould and they have been without hot water for five months. Candy Cole, 37, was moved into the single room in Queen’s Park in September of last year – alongside her son, 15, and four-year-old daughter - due to the severe levels of damp and mould in her Willesden flat.
She claimed her son, who has autism, was forced to sleep on a mattress in the front room as the black mould on his bedroom walls were making his asthma worse. However, Candy claims the hotel room also has a mould problem around the windows, which has been there throughout their five-month stay. She said: “I didn’t notice [the mould] at first because it wasn’t there, obviously it had been cleaned.”.
She added: “They’d just wiped it off but it came back within three weeks. I went away for the weekend and when I came back it was really bad. It’s been horrible”. Candy explained that they have also been without hot water since September. There is a shower in the single room that the family share but there has been no running hot water coming out of either the shower or a tap – which is also in the room.
She said: “It’s bad. I honestly didn’t think people were allowed to be in this kind of place.”. Candy expected to only be in the emergency accommodation for six weeks. She said that she thought Brent Council would have found the family something more permanent by now and claims the situation has really impacted their mental and physical health. She said: “It’s been horrible. We had the worst Christmas ever, we had no Christmas tree, we had nowhere to put the kids toys. It was really, really bad. [The council] has no intention of doing anything […] I think the way I’ve been dealt with by Brent is disgusting.
“When I was taken out of [the previous property] I was given a direct offer (meaning the council sources a property) but now I’m told they haven’t got any properties so I have to bid for one. They’ve moved me up a priority band, I’m in ‘Band A’ now, so [the council] think they’re doing me a favour.”. Brent Council said that it has advised Candy to allow the necessary works to be carried out and, whilst this is being completed, it is actively looking for alternative emergency accommodation for her.
It highlighted that Candy had been given ‘the highest priority’ on the housing register and the lettings team will ‘take into account her specific circumstances and needs’ when sourcing a long-term home. Cabinet Member for Housing and Residents Services, Cllr Fleur Donnelly-Jackson, said: “We are deeply sorry to hear of Candice’s problems with the provider of her emergency accommodation. Once aware of the complaint, officers were sent to investigate the concerns, and the provider is now working with the council to rectify the issues.”.
