Lewes council flat resident shares his struggle with damp and anti-social behaviour

Resident Andrew Briault said: “Saxonbury House was in the papers as a success story for the council. It was supposed to be an amazing block that had been rebuilt to a high standard and a place me and my wife would be comfortable. We thought we would be safe.”

Andrew had made complaints when they first moved in three years ago regarding a loud neighbour, but he says there was nothing done by the Council to tackle the issue.

The couple also made complaints about the damp, which has now ruined their bed and other furniture, and has gotten into the bedroom plugs. Because of this, Andrew says that he has received an electric shock from one of the outlets, and is unable to use his sleep apnoea machine in the bedroom. Sleep apnoea is when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep. Without this machine, Andrew is at risk of suffering a heart attack, so he is having to sleep in a different room of their “extremely small” flat.

Andrew said: “When we asked about compensation we were told this would be down to us contacting our insurers. Since then we have lost a wardrobe due to damp and we now have a mattress and side tables falling apart due to the damp, and some of our clothing is wringing wet with damp. We have no other place to store this due to the cramped conditions.”

He added: “After sending all our medical evidence… we were told after an 8 month wait we “were suitably housed” and refused to be put back on the list.

“My wife is registered disabled. I suffer from PTSD bipolar. We both have sleep apnoea so have a machine which we can’t use in our bedroom as electricians came out to cover up the plug sockets. They can’t give us access to the plugs until the damp issue is resolved.

"We have water dripping down all of our front room walls, the bedrooms back wall is colder than an external wall and or rooms have 90% humidity.”

He added that is it “costing a fortune” to run the dehumidifier in their “extremely small and expensive” flat.

According to a statement from Lewes District Council: “We are sorry that there is some evidence of damp at the property and are working to resolve the issue. This has included repairing and realigning the gutters and a downpipe at the building after a surveyor inspection concluded this was the likely cause of water ingress.

“We have also investigated the concerns relating to a socket in the property and while our electrician considered it safe, as a precautionary measure the socket has been isolated. Subsequently, a specialist damp contractor recently fitted sensors to monitor and collect data, including levels of humidity, and we are expecting a report back from the contractor next week. We will carry out any required work as soon as possible.

“In regard to the noise complaint, our senior case worker has advised a neighbour about limiting noise in their property and our team remains available to discuss the situation if any issues continue to cause concern.”