LOCAL mother, Fallon Lake, has “had enough” of the Department of Family and Community Services (FACS).
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She said for the past four years she has had to constantly fight to get basic repairs done to her rental home in Sullivan Place.
“Last month our bedroom ceiling roof caved in, and only half an hour before it happened I was lying down where it caved with my young daughter. I contacted FACS and still nothing has been done,” she said.
Ms Lake said they told her to shut the door and to not enter the room until the roof had been fixed.
“That is our bedroom! How do they expect us just to not go in there? This is something I thought would be of high priority,” she said.
Two weeks after, the bathroom ceiling also collapsed leaving Ms Lake with no bathroom or bedroom.
“I called them (FACS) to tell them a second incident had happened and a few weeks later someone arrived and cleared away the mess in the bathroom but didn’t fix the ceiling. They also dumped the rubbish in our front yard,” she said.
Ms Lake said she felt like any time she reported an incident or made a request to FACS it would “go nowhere”.
“When we first moved in I asked them for a gate because I have young children, and someone came to get the measurements. Four years later we still don’t have a gate and I am constantly worried about the children running out onto the road. They told me it wasn’t a priority because my house wasn’t on a corner,” Ms Lake said.
“On top of all of this, they are trying to kick us out of the house completely by May 1. Where are we supposed to go?”
A FACS spokesperson said following a report of a water leak to the property an order was raised on January 23 to replace the flashing to the roof.
“Records indicate the work was completed for the replacement a week later,” the spokesperson said.
He said on March 26, the tenant reported further water leaking, this time dripping from the bathroom ceiling.
“It appears that the initial work has not rectified the problem and a further order was raised for the contractor to inspect and identify the cause of the problem,
“A Land and Housing Corporation project manager has also inspected the property and ordered a full replacement of the roof which should be completed by the end of May.”
The spokesperson said the project manager would personally visit the property and inspect it with the tenant today and agree with her the rectification work required.