Family Rehoused After This Site Featured Its Story
Deaf mother-of-three and her children had been put in hazardous flat
Stacey Watson holding Hunter, 4, next to Bella, 8, and Leona, 14 . Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon
March 1, 2025
A deaf mother-of-three has finally been rehomed from a dangerous flat after we told her story. Stacey Watson had been living in a mice-infested, mouldy, property in Ealing that is riddled with fire hazards.
Despite years of pleading with her landlord and Ealing Council, she was not moved and the issues remained unresolved, despite the flat being considered ‘uninhabitable’… until we told her story. When speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) in February, Stacey said she felt she wasn’t taken seriously because she was deaf and easier to ignore.
The family has now been moved by Ealing Council from the dangerous, leaky, fire hazard two-bedroom flat to a new three-bedroom house. The LDRS had questioned and pressured Ealing Council to take action after years of delay.
Stacey told the LDRS, “I am so happy, thank you so much for your support. Me and my children will be so much safer now.
“Our new house is much better and bigger. We are so excited and we are ready to start our new life. Finally, no more worry and stress.”
Leaks from pipes in the council owned building Stacey had previously lived in meant her flat was at risk of electrical fires. The leaks also meant flooring had to be removed, however it was never replaced, and the family would repeatedly cut their feet on the floor.
Ealing Council originally told the LDRS: “The flat itself is privately owned but sits within a council-owned block. That means that the council is responsible for maintaining the block’s communal spaces, and the council’s property regulation service deals with the private landlord’s responsibilities for the flat itself.”
However, they did not provide any alternative accommodation, instead the local authority agreed issues had been raised, and said future works will be undertaken. The LDRS questioned the council, asking who was responsible for the leaks, and why the authority was not providing alternative accommodation.
The landlord refused to pay for measures taken to deal with mouse infestation. Picture: Stacey Watson
A few days later, the council told the LDRS, “After extensive investigations, the source of the leak has been found to be a communal waste pipe that runs internally through the building. It is therefore the council’s responsibility. Our surveyor has deemed the property as uninhabitable, and we will be in contact with the resident today to discuss temporarily rehousing her and her family while her landlord makes repairs to the property, via the building insurer. We will do everything we can to provide her a suitable alternative place to stay which meets her needs.”
A few weeks on, the family was told they are to be rehomed entirely, instead of being housed in temporary accommodation before being sent back to the flat which had caused them so much stress and difficulty.
Philip James Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter