Worthing Homes tenant moved into 'filthy' flat in Goring

Sam (not her real name) moved into a Worthing Homes property last summer but said she could not live there for a month because it was ‘filthy’.

Worthing Homes owns and manages nearly 4,000 properties in Sussex, providing social and affordable rented homes to more than 10,000 people and says it is ‘committed to providing great places to live’.

But pictures show mould, bugs, and dirty flooring at Sam’s property, which she says she has had to pay to fix.

The job seeker says dealing with maintenance issues ‘takes up all my time’, adding that her ‘stress levels are really bad’.

“I have spent literally all my savings to get the flat up to letting standard because it was an absolute dump,” she said.

“I couldn’t move in straight away – I had to get my own contractors in to get it all up to a decorative good standard.

“The flat was filthy and had cigarette staining throughout.

“It was a battle to get Worthing Homes to do anything.”

Sam claims repairs and redecoration cost ‘thousands of pounds’.

“I’ve got all the photos of how they gave me the flat,” she said, “I want to publish them because I want people to know the state that they give their flats out in.

“We’re then the ones that have to sort it out because they put it all down to decorative.”

In a recent letter, Sam was told that she was contacting WH too frequently about her issues and that, if this continues, the housing provider could consider ‘restricting’ contact.

A Worthing Homes spokesperson explained this was because Sam had contacted them ’40 times in 65 days’.

“We have not told the resident not to contact us but we have written to her warning we might have to restrict her contact with us if it is not reduced,” they said.

The spokesperson said WH awarded compensation to the tenant and is ‘working closely’ with her to fix existing maintenance issues.

“The resident was awarded the property in July 2021 and for various reasons this property was not to the standard we would usually let a property in,” said the spokesperson.

“However we acknowledged and apologised for this along with offering compensation.

“We will continue to address any concerns she raises with us but it must beaccepted that there are some works we will not carry out, because they are not our responsibility or because they are not appropriate.

“We are working to get everything resolved as quickly as we can for her, so wehave asked that she allows time for the issues to be raised and the contractors to come out before chasing.”

The spokesperson said Worthing Homes has since ‘reviewed its minimum letting standard’ and has ‘significantly increased’ the budget for empty homes so they are re-let in a better condition.