'It's a constant battle with the housing association': Residents of Banbury maisonettes complain about poor living conditions

Several residents of the maisonettes on Newbold Close have complained their homes are cold, damp and mouldy and excessively shake when vehicles pass by.

Many of the residents also claim the damp living conditions have resulted in them or their children suffering from asthma and say they don’t feel safe living there.

One resident, Ian, says he has been battling with Stonewater Housing Association to resolve the issues in his flat for around six years.

Ian said: “All of my neighbours have the same problems with damp but Stonewater doesn’t acknowledge the issues or take the complaints seriously.”

Ian says that he now has bug infestations during the summer because of the damp and his flat feels constantly cold throughout the winter.

He also adds that his flat shakes, sometimes several times a day, and that cracks have appeared in the walls and ceilings.

Ian said: “Everything was ok for the first few years, but after some time I started to notice how my flat was always cold, there are frequent big shakes and cracks were appearing in the walls and ceiling.

“One day I woke up and I thought there was an earthquake, it was such an aggressive shake I thought the whole building was going to collapse.

“I spoke with the housing association and they said it’s normal and it’s just lorries driving past on the Bankside Road below but the whole block feels them at all times of the day, so I’m not sure that’s right.”

According to Ian, the only advice Stonewater has given him regarding the mould was to leave the window open.

Ian says he asked the housing association to send a structural surveyor to his property to check up on what may be causing the shakes, but he claims they only looked at the building’s roof.

Another resident, Sarah, has been living in the flats for almost 13 years and says she has become embarrassed inviting friends and family over because of the constant mould and dampness.

Sarah said: “We have been having problems with mould ever since we moved in. We even have it in our daughter’s bedroom, which has caused her to have breathing difficulties.

“Not only has it affected our physical health, but it has also affected my mental health. Living here stresses me out and I feel embarrassed and ashamed to invite people here. No matter how much I tidy up I feel like it’s never quite right.

“It's a constant battle with the housing association to get anything fixed.

Sarah also says she feels the shakes inside her flat and has noticed small cracks appearing in some of her rooms.

She said: “The shakes feel like a mini earthquake, the whole place vibrates even the windows and floors. They seem to vary when they happen and some days it seems like it is going on all day long.

“We just wish they could respond to our complaints and do the necessary repair work and give us peace of mind that the property is safe.”

Angelo lives with his two-year-old child in the flat below Ian and says he too has persistent problems with dampness and the building shaking.

He said: “I have a small child who is struggling with asthma because of the damp. We have been advised by the environmental health officers to move out because of my son’s breathing problems.

“When we put this information to the housing association, they just gave us a dehumidifier. This is not a healthy place to raise a child, the walls are full of mould.

“It has caused a lot of mental stress for my family; I don’t want to live here anymore and I try to avoid being at home as much as possible because it feels unsafe.”

Daniel and Amy have also been battling with Stonewater Housing to fix the mould issues in the flat where they live with their young son.

Despite the couple complaining to Stonewater and having multiple contractors out to look at the mould, they say the problem is as bad now as it was when they first moved in four years ago.

Daniel said: “There is so much damp in our flat that it has actually blown my son’s bedroom wall four times since we moved in and we still have leaks from the bathroom even though they have been out five or six times to fix it.”

The couple was moved out by Stonewater in 2023 so that contractors could complete work on the flat to help with the mould.

However, since the couple returned to their home, they have been once again plagued by constant damp, mould and cold.

Daniel said: “Every time they say they have fixed the problems, the damp and mould always come back in a few months.

“They moved us out for two weeks to supposedly fix the damp, but all Stonewater seems to have done is paint over the mouldy patches.”

In response to the resident's complaints, a spokesperson for Stonewater said: “We are really sorry that customers living in our homes in Newbold Close have been experiencing damp and mould.

“A recent structural report we commissioned has confirmed that there are no underlying structural issues at any of the blocks.

“While there is some damage to the exterior render and minor cracking, the report found that this is purely superficial. Repairs to rectify this, along with work to address the impact of damp and mould, are planned for later this month and early April.

“The survey didn’t specifically consider the vibrations the customer is experiencing when heavy goods vehicles pass by, but it is not uncommon for residents living near a main road to experience such vibrations.”