Bolton at Home: Mum's frustrations over housing repair delays

Kelly Reynolds, 48, who lives on Cherry Tree Avenue, says that there was damp and mould in her kitchen, which was especially bad in her living room.

Kelly was compensated for the delay by Bolton at Home – which has since carried out “extensive” damp and mould repairs.

This meant they needed to plaster her walls, and remove the wallpaper, but Kelly says she is frustrated over the "state" her house has been left in.

She said: “It’s really upsetting because I have lived here for 22 years.

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“All of my memories are here.

“It’s soul-destroying going through this.

“It’s made my mental health a lot worse.

“I am not one for complaining but they need to communicate better and respect people’s homes.

“I’m a single mum and I work nights."

Kelly was moved to a temporary house for three weeks in February until the work was completed.

The living room with no floor covering (Image: Public)Work also needed to be carried out on her floor downstairs after it “collapsed”, but when Kelly returned, she says her flooring had not been replaced in her living room, although Bolton at Home say this issue is being resolved.

Kelly says she has also had to deal with other issues in the house, including work being done on her skirting boards, which now means her blinds blocking a vent on the window, preventing her from opening it.

Kelly says that she did not receive a response for a while after lodging two complaints over her living situation, and she was “frustrated” that some of the work being carried out was not discussed with her.

Kelly has said that some wallpaper has also only been partially ripped, while some has been completely removed.

Some of the plastering, with missing wallpaper (Image: Public)Bolton at Home say that they are continuing to work with Kelly to complete all the repairs still needed, and any outstanding issues as soon as possible.

A spokesperson for Bolton at Home said: “We have carried out extensive damp and mould repairs at the property and this required re-plastering works and the removal of some wallcoverings.

“We are working with our customer to complete all repairs and resolve any outstanding matters as quickly as possible.”

Bolton at Home previously said that they had been dealing with more reports of damp, condensation, and mould last year, than they had in the past.

Noel Sharpe, the group's chief executive officer, said: "We believe this has been due to a combination of factors.

Some of the wallpaper Kelly says was ripped during the work (Image: Public)

“These included delays in inspections and non-urgent repairs caused by the repairs backlog from the pandemic, higher fuel costs leading to underheated homes in some cases, and greater awareness of damp and mould health risks following the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who was found to have died from prolonged exposure to mould in his Rochdale home.

"We understand that living with damp, condensation and mould can be distressing and concerning.

"I want to reassure you that we’ve worked hard and made good progress in catching up on our backlog of inspections and we’re making several organisational improvements, including forming a dedicated Damp and Mould Team.

"Other measures include a better system for classifying and managing damp-related repairs and additional support for our technical staff to be able to diagnose and remedy issues more quickly.”

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