Published at 08:31, Wednesday, 04 July 2012

A man whose flat is infested by carpet bugs and has a hole in the ceiling says he’s waited weeks for any action on repairs but his landlord says it’s fit to live in.

Grant Moffat surveys the hole in the ceiling

Grant Moffat spoke out after his doctor supported his plea to be rehoused on medical grounds by the social landlord Riverside.

The organisation says it has responded to Mr Moffat’s complaint and in May contractors inspected the Carlisle flat and found it safe and habitable.

The 42-year-old tenant, who suffers from anxiety depression, says conditions in his flat at Burnett Road, Old Harraby, are now so bad that he can no longer live there.

For the past few weeks, he has stayed with various friends and has considered moving into a tent.

“The ceiling fell in six weeks ago while I was decorating,” said Mr Moffat. “There had been a leak, and I could see a bulge in the ceiling. When I tried to push it upwards, a box of books that was being stored in the attic fell through.”

To add to his problems, said Mr Moffat, he then discovered that the flat was infested with carpet beetles, and mites, possibly from bird droppings left by starlings which have been living in the loft.

He believes the birds got in through a hole in the wall which was not filled in when an old boiler was removed.

He said: “I’ve not felt able to live there for weeks and have lost one-and-a-half stones in weight. I had the new carpets lifted because of the carpet bugs. The place feels dirty.

“I reported the problems to Riverside two weeks before the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee but it hasn’t been sorted. That’s why I asked my doctor to help.”

In her letter to Riverside, Mr Moffat’s GP Dr Stephanie Siddle said: “...it may be that Mr Moffat will need to be rehoused on medical grounds, even if the bug situation is completely resolved.”

Paul Taylor, assistant director of operations for Riverside in Carlisle, said the landlord is now processing Mr Moffat’s request for a housing transfer, received last week.

He said Mr Moffat moved into the flat in March as part of a mutually agreed exchange.

“This means that he viewed the property himself and requested a swap from his previous home.

"We inspected the property before he moved in. There was not a hole in the ceiling at this point.

“Mr Moffat called us at the end of May to complain about a hole in the ceiling.

“Our contractors visited the property on that day to confirm that despite this new cosmetic repair, the house was safe and habitable.

“We also informed environmental health on his behalf of the carpet bug problem.

“The carpets were left by the previous tenant. We understand that Mr Moffat agreed to take them as part of the mutual exchange.

“These have now been treated."

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