A Bermondsey mum says has spent two years in a damp Aylesbury Estate flat, which is now infested with cockroaches and vermin.
Mother-of-two Georgie Howell, 22, says her children’s clothes are covered in mould and her kids are terrified of the “beasties” crawling around her home.
Both her children have developed asthma since living there and her three-year-old daughter was hospitalised with respiratory problems in October last year.
Tearful Georgie said: “I’m just fed up – I just want a home. Some people want a nice big mansion but I just want a home for my kids. I never have time with them. I have to spend all my time cleaning the house which means I end up shouting at them and that’s not what I want.
“It’s just really hard – I just feel like giving it up.”
The Aylesbury Estate where Georgie lives was built in the ‘60s as part of Southwark’s slum clearance – then regarded as a sparkling example of modern social housing.
But the following decades saw it fall into disrepair and in 2015, developers Notting Hill Housing Group got permission to demolish and redevelop it.
Despite removing most residents, Southwark Council are using some flats for temporary accommodation in a bid to ease the 17,000-person waiting list.
In May 2021, the council said these flats would “help meet the high demand for good quality temporary accommodation for local homeless families”.
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Georgie, who is also battling mice, has covered the flat in mouse traps and bug spray in a bid to rid her home of unwanted pests.
She says the heating is temperamental, and her children’s feet sometimes change colour from the teeth-chattering cold.
When Southwark housing officers visit, she says they are visibly reluctant to sit down because of the damp, mould and bugs.
It’s not her first time in unsuitable accommodation. Before being moved to the Aylesbury Estate, she lives in temporary accommodation in West Dulwich. There, water poured through cracks in the ceiling when her upstairs neighbour had a shower with the bathroom ceiling eventually collapsing.
Georgie’s flat is temporary accommodation while Southwark help her find a new home. According to homeless charity Shelter, temporary accommodation should be meet basic standards.
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This means homes should not need major repair works and not be unsuitable for people’s health needs.
Cllr Darren Merrill, Cabinet Member for Council Homes & Homelessness, said: “I am very sorry for the distress this is causing Ms Howell. A number of steps have been taken by the team to get this resolved, while we look into alternative temporary accommodation for Ms Howell’s family.
“We have arranged a technical inspection to make sure we cover all the works that are needed. Once the surveyor is given access to the property and we have their report, we can arrange the repairs. Our pest control team is due to revisit the property this week.”