Victim of domestic abuse moved between mouldy homes and ‘racially abused by neighbours’

A victim of domestic abuse has claimed she was racially abused while she was forced to move between temporary accommodations with damp and mould by her council while pregnant.

The 28-year-old woman from Lewisham, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been moved between five different accommodations by Lewisham Homes since August 2021.

At these different addresses, the woman, who also has two young children, said she experienced racial abuse from her neighbours, damp and mould in her child’s room, rat infestations and a major leak that damaged her own belongings.

At one of the shared accommodations she was housed in this year, the woman said she and her children were racially abused by neighbours.

She said: “I was intimidated and threatened by neighbours in front of my children and subjected to racial attacks including racist graffiti on the walls of our building.”

The woman said for four months during her pregnancy, between August and December of 2021, she was moved between several accommodations with her son, who was two years old at the time.

Because of her circumstances she needed a ground floor flat. To provide this, Lewisham Homes moved her into accommodation outside the borough days before she gave birth.

Then, days after a difficult birth, the council told her she was to be moved again. 

She said: “They told me I had to move or I’d be kicked off the housing list, so I did, despite my doctor’s letters saying I wasn’t healed or ready to move.”

 

In December 2021, the woman and her two children were moved into a two-bedroom house which they were told would be their home for up to 10 years.

She said: “I was so happy that finally we had a proper home.

“But as soon as we opened the door and turned on the light, the lights blew, there was damp and mould, and a leak in the kitchen.”

The woman said she lived with her two children in these conditions until February this year after a major leak forced her to move out for repairs to take place.

She was told that the property would be fixed in eight weeks, however it has been 15 weeks and the woman and her two children are still living in hotels.

A video of the major leak that caused the woman to move out of her most recent accommodation (Video: Supplied by victim)

She said: “My one-year-old has asthma, and an asthma pump recommended by the doctor to help him with his breathing. 

“He also has extreme eczema that has worsened over the course of living in poor accommodation since birth.

“No one has fulfilled their duty to care to us.”

Lewisham Homes told her that she could move back into the flat once repairs were completed.

She said: “We’re traumatised by that place, whenever I mention it my son says ‘it was raining in our home’. We don’t want to go back.”

A Lewisham council spokesman said: “We have been working closely with this woman to support her and her family with their housing situation.

“Like the rest of London, we are facing a housing crisis and rising numbers of families at risk of homelessness. 

“We use temporary accommodation to house families while we work with them to find a permanent home, with approximately 3,000 households currently in temporary accommodation and more than 10,000 households on the waiting list for social housing in Lewisham.”

Pictured top: Leaks and mould at the woman’s most recent accommodation (Pictures: supplied by victim)