Living in water damaged property
Hey guys. Needing advice 😞
I’ve been renting in West Melb for the last 2 years with dffh. I have 3 children ages 5, 4 and 1yrs. I’m a single mother and I don’t have any support, friends or family here. I’ve been reporting maintenance and trying to get things done for 6 months. Done everything housing has asked me to, completed mould assessment which they lied on, and I have support letters from the children’s hospital/family support worker/our family gp. They denied me a priority transfer for months only sending it to me last month so my application has only been put in 2 weeks ago. I’m hearing that on average a priority transfer can take 13.5 months and it doesn’t sound like there’s anyway to fasttrack this. Which is quite upsetting with the current condition of the property in which we live 😭😭 I can’t even imagine living here that long like this 🥺🥺 especially for my children who get sick constantly.
The current situation of the property is:
* Failed damp proof - Rising damp
* Broken Eaves and roof in one corner at front of the house
* Broken gutter and downspout in opposite corner (both a result of someone hitting the corner of the roof)
* Rain has reached the entire ceiling and which has caused the ceiling to warp in the kitchen and bathroom, water marks and bubbles and plaster joints are all visible when it rains, getting worse overtime
* The walls now have penetrating damp. Discovered with a flashlight that the joints look like they are swelling in the middle of the walls
* The house has a concrete slab, carpet and underlay so everything that touches the carpet grows mould so we have lost nearly everything we own and cannot have furniture in the home unless it’s plastic or metal so most of our belongings are stored in the dining area and walkway where there is laminate flooring.
* Can’t have anything touching the walls. We can’t use any of the wardrobes or any cabinets/storage spaces. Even we store as much as possible in plastic bags and containers. Even our car seats and vaccum got mouldy from being on the carpet, so I had to replace and keep in the laminate floor. My children can’t have anything wood, no books and only allow 3 plush toys/teddies.
* Electricity shorts out and lights flicker. Phone doesn’t charge properly. Internet randomly cuts out. 2 lights in the kitchen no longer work.
* Bathroom reeks of Mould and the water stains are the worst in this area. Our hygiene suffers because of the risk to our health and we don’t know when the ceiling is going to cave in.
* The kitchen benches need to be fully replaced and are covered in mould underneath.
* Have had a look into the manhole and it smells like mould and appears like there’s white mould growing on the structure that is right next to the man hole
I’m not even sure what to do, I’ve contacted all of the recommended places and there’s not been a single thing come from it. I made a 2nd formal complaint last week and expect to hear from them sometime this week. If things aren’t resolved by that then I will apply to vcat.
What I’m stressing about now is how do we actually function living a year in this property? And what kind of life is this for my children? 🥺