'˜Disgusting' leaks coming up through floors at flat in Derry '˜a nightmare'

A local woman has said she has been living with a constant nightmare due to persistent '˜disgusting' odurs coming up through the floors of her flat.
Water leakage onto the floor in the bathroom.Water leakage onto the floor in the bathroom.
Water leakage onto the floor in the bathroom.

The woman and her son expressed frustration over the response from Radius Housing Association, which run the social housing flats complex at Glenabbey Road, and said they did not believe the problem was confined to just their flat but also others in the immediate area.

However, Radius Housing said they working with the tenant to resolve the issue.

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The woman first spotted the problem a month ago but believes that the problems have been going on much longer than that.

The woman, who has lived in the flat for three years, said she has now been forced to leave her home as a result of the problems.

“There was a really bad smell and there were flies. We couldn’t figure out why there were so many flies,” she said.

“There has been a plumber who came out and fixed it apparently but its not fixed because it is still leaking.”

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Her son said the problem seemed to be stemming from plastic, as opposed to metal, joints affixed beneath sinks and baths.

“The way we found it there was lino down on the house, with underlay and then boards underneath the lino.

“There was water lying on top of the lino and it was seeping through so every time you were walking on the lino it was coming up in bubbles and your feet were getting wet. It was constantly happening and we were cleaning the floors, but it just keeps happening.

“They even sent a man out to put down lino on top of the leak without fixing the leak. The leak is still there,” he claimed.

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The family said no matter what they did the problem has persisted and expressed dissatisfaction with the response from the housing authority.

“Every time you ring in they don’t do anything for you,” the woman said. “I’ve been in the office four times, I have left messages and they say will get back, but they never do.”

She said that this was also the case in relation to antisocial behaviour in the area.

“Someone burned my bin and that has been laying there a couple of months now and they keep saying they are going to get it lifted.

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“There is glass spread around everywhere and there are young people causing havoc running around the streets.”

Her son said: “The Housing Association have been telling us they will get the bin lifted, but they actually came out with a new replacement bin, but didn’t lift the damaged one.”

His mother, who said she had spent a lot of money decorating the flat prior to the problems becoming apparent, added: “I was getting a lot of torture there, children pressing my buzzer at all hours of the night.

“Kids know the codes to get in and they were banging and kicking our doors. The Assocation was supposed to change the codes, but they haven’t done that.

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“The kids pushed our bin against the main door and set it on fire with my two-year-old granddaughter in the flat,” claimed the woman.

She said she now wants out of the flat given the current issues.

“They gave me a humidifier but theproblem is still there. The smell is disgusting. The whole flat is stinking of dampness,” she said.

Responding to the concerns raised by the resident A spokesperson for Radius Housing said: “Radius Housing and our contractor are working with our tenant to ensure that this issue is resolved as quickly as possible.”

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