A South West London mum is trapped ‘in limbo’ with her three-year-old son as she claims the home they were offered was pulled by a housing association after she complained about the ongoing state of the property.
Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) told Melissa Peacock-Jones the home, in the borough of Richmond, was ready to let and no more work would be carried out just five days before withdrawing the offer – citing ‘issues’ that had arisen.
Ms Peacock-Jones, 28, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service MTVH handed her an ‘ultimatum’ to accept the home on April 27, although she had asked for repairs to be completed.
She accepted the offer, hiring a van to move and putting belongings in storage, but claimed ‘everything changed’ when she told MTVH she still wanted to pursue the matter and submitted a subject access request for information on works carried out since her request.
MTVH’s decision came after eight months of waiting for the home to be ready, she said, adding it has taken “quite a heavy toll” on her wellbeing.
She was initially offered the home through Richmond Council in August 2022 and it was withdrawn by MTVH on May 2 this year. She said: “It’s just been horrible. It’s emotionally draining. Some nights I can’t sleep, some nights I sleep too much and wake up exhausted.
“I’ve gained weight from it. I’m a personal trainer so I’m not able to work as much at the moment. I’m in limbo and since I got offered the property it’s been in limbo.”
She added: “It’s very stressful, it’s very depressing… I’m trying to be together with my son to make sure that he’s ok, it’s stressful for him… he’s been acting out a little bit lately because he doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going.”
Ms Peacock-Jones said she is being moved as her current property, owned by a different housing association, was incorrectly allocated to her by the council and the authority is helping her to find another home.
Ms Peacock-Jones first viewed the MTVH property in November 2022 and said work was still being carried out, with “debris all over the floor”.
She claimed there was mould around the windows, damp under the kitchen sink where she believes there had been a water leak, rotten shelves and damage to a wall behind the boiler.
She said kitchen cabinets were “falling off” and there was a “massive patch” that “looked like damp” in the living room.
MTVH told the mum outstanding work would be completed, she said. But when she viewed the property again in January this year, she said work still needed to be done which she asked MTVH to complete. She said: “They finally turned around and said yes we’ll do it, it will be done in a few weeks.
“I handed my notice in at the beginning of February with the housing that Richmond had put me in [previously]… and it was just going on.”
Ms Peacock-Jones said when she asked for updates on the work she was told there were “delays” and it was not until April she could view the home again. She said there was still damp and outstanding work, which she asked MTVH to carry out.
But, she said, this was refused and she was handed an “ultimatum to accept the property”. In an email dated April 27, MTVH told her a surveyor had visited the home, “it has been confirmed the property is ready to let, and no further work will be completed” and she had to confirm her decision by 2pm the next day.
Ms Peacock-Jones said: “I’m having health concerns of my own, my son had some chest problems last year. So I was like, there’s no way I can move in until it’s sorted and I was getting a load of pressure from them for it and then… they sent a message saying we’ve had a surveyor in, you’ve got 24 hours to say yes or no… I said yes within an hour, [I] didn’t hear from [them] till I think it was like 2.01pm the next day, so past the time, to say OK we accept this.”
While accepting the offer on April 27, Ms Peacock-Jones told MTVH she was going to pursue the matter with the Housing Ombudsman and submitted a subject access request for information on the property and works carried out since her request, along with the date of the surveyor’s inspection.
Then, on May 2, MTVH sent Ms Peacock-Jones an email which read: “Due to a number of issues that have arisen with the property, this is no longer available for us to re-let. At this present time, we are unable to confirm if the property will become available to let again, or if the property will be disposed of.”
She said: “I was like well that’s ridiculous. I think because I put a subject access request in, it’s changed everything.”
The mum said: “I hired a van to move… a lot of my stuff is in storage as well so I’ve paid out to move into this property because it’s been accepted and now all of a sudden I’m now in limbo.”
She said: “I haven’t heard anything else about the property or what’s going to happen to me.”
Ms Peacock-Jones said she just wants a “suitable” home, adding: “I just want it safe for myself and my son for our health. I’m not asking for a lot.
“I just want the bare minimum which is no mould and damp and just let it come in a position where I can start instead of being stuck.”
A spokesperson for MTVH said: “We fully appreciate how frustrating this period has been for Ms Peacock-Jones and apologise that it has taken this long to reach a conclusion.
“She raised a number of concerns and having taken this period to consider them carefully, we agree that the property is not appropriate for her.
“That is why we took the final decision to withdraw the offer to house her at this address.
“We will only offer to let a home that we are absolutely sure is right for the incoming resident.”
