The young mother and her two children were moved back to an apartment with no hot water, no heating, and no bed for her mother to sleep in. flood forced them to live in a temporary shelter for more than ten months.
Nicole Odafe, 33, and her two children, aged 10 and six, were forced to evacuate. residential house Last November, a pipe burst in an apartment in Greenwich, flooding the apartment with hot water.
The water damaged a number of their belongings and they were moved to a dilapidated hotel for two weeks before being placed in a temporary apartment.
However, they were moved to an old flat last week at the request of the housing association – the flat has no heat or hot water and no bed for Ms Odafe’s mattress.
When The Independent went to see their houses, the family poured a bucket of boiling water into the bath and used it for washing. Mrs. Odafe puts her mattress in the kitchen every night to sleep because her room is full of her family’s boxes and belongings.
Ms Odafe pays about £900 a month in rent for the flat and had to continue paying the full amount while the family lived in temporary accommodation, she said. She was paid £730 by the housing association to buy a new bed frame, but said she did not receive any additional funds to compensate her for time away from home or other damaged items.
She explained: “I’m trying to be strong for myself and my children, but I’m tired and very worried. My child does not do well in school and has low self-esteem. My daughter tries to put on a brave face, but she has a lot going on.
“I’m currently on medication for my mental health and my church has paid for therapy. I have nowhere to lay my head. You can live in an apartment, but there is nothing.”
Describing the November flood, he said: “The water level was very high, ankle-high and steaming hot because it was 80-degree water bursting from the pipe and triggering the sprinklers. I was in the bathroom when it happened. There were a lot of private contractors at the time because they were working outside my apartment.
“I don’t know what they were doing, but the pipe burst and the ground was flooded. Several guys broke into my apartment to save my things. Now they have painted the apartment and renewed the floor, but still many of my things are not repaired and thrown away.”
The housing association arranged for most of the flat’s flooring to be replaced, but when Ms Odafe was moved back into the flat, she found the repairmen had left it in a poor state, with the bathroom particularly dirty.
“They put all my things in my bedroom. They did not put things back where they were, they did not clean the place,” Mrs Odafe said.
After approaching independent, Moat Housing Association is “sincerely apologetic”, adding: “We are providing compensation to acknowledge our failings and will also be carefully reviewing our procedures to ensure that other families do not experience the same situation.”
Contractors also came to repair the hot water in the apartment, and the heating was partially repaired.
A Moat spokesman added: “We apologize for the distress and inconvenience this situation has caused our customer and their family. We fully understand how difficult and stressful it is for this family to live on a daily basis. Our service fell far below the standards they expected from us, for which we are truly sorry.
“We can now confirm that all repairs have been completed and we are in regular contact with the family.”