This week is National Hoarding Awareness Week and to help raise awareness, we’d like to share a story of a tenant who was helped by our Tenancy Support Team to get back on track. The tenant’s name has been changed to respect their privacy.
Simon was referred to our Tenancy Support Team after rent hadn’t been paid for several weeks and he was living in a property that was in a very poor condition.
Simon was dealing with anxiety and depression and was prescribed medication to assist with his mental health, but he had stopped taking as he felt it wasn't working. He was living in the lounge, on the only section of floor not covered in knee high rubbish consisting of bottles, cans, bags of rubbish and clothes.
His bedroom was completely inaccessible. There were masses of damp and black mould visible throughout property and huge spiderwebs hanging from ceilings and walls.
Our tenancy support team applied for Bury Support Fund on Simons behalf for help with food and Gas/Electric and we contacted his GP to arrange a consultation. Following this, Simon self-referred to Healthy Minds and Achieve for support.
To tackle the condition of the property, we contacted Waste Management to discuss help with clearing Simon’s flat. They advised they would take extra each collection day and so, small steps were taken by Simon and our team to start the clean-up job to start the slow transition to a cleaner and healthier lifestyle.
We applied for Discretionary Housing Payment for rent and received the full amount to cover all the arrears to give Simon a clean start. We facilitated a visit with a cleaning company to support Simon through the actual deep clean of his property.
After the clean-up, there were several repairs’ issues to report before the property could be carpeted again so these were all booked in and completed. We also sourced a small amount of furniture sourced from donations to make the now completely empty flat habitable.
The work and support is ongoing but things are already looking up for Simon.
Our Tenancy Support Team as always here to help so if you or someone you know is dealing with issues like Simon was. Contact a member of our team and we can offer a helping hand.
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