Blackburn mum claims landlord refusing to fix house problems

Tasneem Patel claims her property in Norman Street, Blackburn, is uninhabitable, and says issues, such as the ceiling falling through, damp, mould, rats, and problems with the gas, have been left to deteriorate for more than a year.

Last January, the Lancashire Telegraph reported how Mrs Patel and her family had been told by Blackburn with Darwen Council that she did not need to leave her property after being served with an eviction notice by her landlords after complaining about the damp and rats.

The 31-year-old, who has a six-year-old daughter, has lived in Norman Street with her husband since 2018, but said since 2020 she has been experiencing damp inside the property which was causing her eczema and asthma to worsen.

Mrs Patel claims the situation in the property has not got any better since last year, and has been exacerbated by the fact her original landlord died in 2022, leaving no probate in place, which meant there was no-one liable for the property who could carry out the repairs until probate was settled.

The ceiling fell through in Mrs Patel's house (Image: Tasneem Patel)

However, Mrs Patel said her late landlord’s son, Mohammed Deen Adams, had now taken responsibility for her home, and despite having numerous conversations with him about fixing the problems, which the Lancashire Telegraph has seen, nothing has been done.

She said: “The mould growth has doubled in the kitchen and bathroom. It’s disgusting what they are putting me and my family through.

“They just won’t repair the property.

“I have told Mr Adams to do the work. Every time I ask, he says, ‘I will repair it’ etc but he doesn’t.

“We have a collapsed ceiling which fell through and above that is the bathroom, which has had a leak and he’s still not repaired it.

“It’s gone from bad to worse since last year.

“The council won’t help either. They came out in 2022 to assess the damp and I have asked them to come out again and revisit with a damp meter, but they won’t.”

Mould around the sink and window area and peeling wallpaper (Image: Tasneem Patel)

Mrs Patel says she has been offered alternative accommodation by the council but has been reluctant to accept, as the properties have not been in areas she wanted to live in.

Martin Eden, strategic director of environment and operations at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “The owner of the property died in April 2022 and no probate was in place.

“This has caused delays in the council being able to address the problems with the property, as there has been no liable party whom we could hold to account to undertake the repairs.

“This was clearly explained to the tenant both verbally and in writing.

Mould on the ceiling (Image: Tasneem Patel)

“We have contacted the two court-appointed administrators who have been appointed to deal with the deceased owner’s estate, notifying them of the defects we have identified at the property.

“We have asked them to deal with the repairs to the property as soon as possible.”

Numerous attempts have been made to contact Mohammed Deen Adams, but he did not respond.