A WOODLEY resident has “had enough” of living in an overcrowded council house.
Karla James lives with her partner and four children in a two-bedroom property.
According to Cllr John Kaiser, the council’s executive member for housing and finance, they are one of more than 350 families currently living in an overcrowded council home.
Cllr Kaiser gave this figure in a Wokingham Today article published in January, and said that “unfortunately the demand far outweighs the supply”.
When asking her housing officer about a bigger home, Ms James said that they told her “some people sleep in their living room”.
Ms James said that since moving into the property around three years ago, she has had numerous issues with its quality.
At the moment, she is particularly concerned with mould that “keeps coming back” in her home.
She has 10-week-old twins who were born prematurely at 34-weeks and kept in intensive care.
“The walls are mouldy, damp and dripping,” she said. “I had to get the extractor fans changed in the bathroom and kitchen.
“Then the council said the mould was because there wasn’t enough loft insulation,” she said. “They sent someone out to fix that, but all of the mould has come back.”
Ms James said that her partner almost fell through the bathroom floor into the lounge around a 17-months-ago. He was holding one of their newborn children at the time, when “rotten floorboards” broke beneath him.
Ms James said that a water pipe stopped him from falling all of the way through.
After this, Ms James had hoped that the borough council would replace the floor.
“They just over-boarded it,” she said.
She is concerned that if the new floor is attached to the “rotten” one, it may also fall through.
Ms James said there have been countless other problems in the home, from silverfish to cracked ceilings, leaks and rats.
“I’ve had enough of the way that people are treating me,” she said. “I’m sick of it. The council needs to take this house back and tear it down before they put another family in here.
“Nobody is willing to help us. They say we have to wait our turn.”
In January, Cllr Kaiser said that there are more than 2,000 households currently on the borough council’s housing register.
“Each case is assessed and awarded a priority banding in line with our allocations policy based on the applicant’s current housing situation and need,” he said. “There is a limited number of council and partner housing association homes within the borough.
Cllr Kaiser, said that residents who apply to join the Housing Register can continue to access advice and support from the council’s homelessness and housing needs team who will explore all housing options available to every applicant.
“This could include registering for Homeswapper and looking for a mutual exchange or supporting applicants to submit medical or social priority applications if appropriate,” he said.
“We are in the process of adopting a new housing allocations policy to reflect current legislation, take account of shifts in demand and ensure we are allocating social homes to those most in need.”
As part of this, Cllr Kaiser said that the borough council will be introducing a new five-year local connection test.
This will prioritise residents in the borough for social housing.
“We recognise that overcrowding is a significant issue for residents and have made provision within the new policy to award appropriate priority to those living in overcrowded homes.”
He added: “We ensure our properties are kept in a good state of repair, comply with all relevant legislation and are fit for purpose.”
