A FAMILY in Bransholme say they have been forced to live in squalor after Hull City Council failed to carry out essential repairs on their home.
Karl Wood, 45, and his partner Kirsty Love, 33, moved into a larger council property in Perran Close in July but quickly found out that its bathroom tiles contained asbestos.
The council took immediate action, but improvement works have left the couple without a ceiling and floors in their kitchen and bathroom for over two weeks.
Mr Wood said: "It's been no end of problems since we moved in, but the fact is that this house is just not safe to live in at the moment.
"The kitchen has been caked in dust and cobwebs from the open ceiling and it's been completely unusable.
"We are living like tramps and life has just been miserable for everybody."
The couple's eight-year-old son William has struggled to cope with the chaos.
"Our little boy is only young and it's dangerous for him to be wandering round the house.
"It's also not a very hygienic environment.
"It's traumatising William because he doesn't feel safe in his own home."
The couple say problems with their hot water, electrical sockets and flooding have made the past few months a nightmare. "Everything is happening at once – it's an absolute shambles," Mr Wood said.
"The council has wasted a lot of money sending surveyors and workmen here but they have all left without anything being done about it.
"What I'm most upset about is the fact the council should have checked these things before we moved in.
"Some of these things would have been discovered with very basic checks, so I can't believe they were carried out properly."
Mr Wood thinks the situation is particularly unfair since the couple have invested time and money in trying to make their home a nice place to live.
He said: "We spent lots of money decorating our son's room, only to be told the floorboards will need to be taken up in a few weeks.
"Now the room will have to be ripped apart, so that's just money down the drain."
The self-employed handyman is also angry he has lost ten days of work after the council missed several appointments.
"I almost lost count of the amount of times the council said they were going to show up but then didn't," said Karl.
"It's outrageous behaviour to have left us in this position for so long.
"I don't think anybody should be forced to live in these conditions, but obviously somebody at the council thinks it is acceptable."
Laura Carr, city neighbourhoods and housing manager, said: "We are unable to comment on individual housing cases.
"However, a number of structural and asbestos surveys are undertaken to fully identify what work is needed.
"Once the level of work required is established, we will work closely with the tenants to ensure they are completed as smoothly as possible."
