A housing company has been blasted by a mum for repeated boiler failures at her flat in Reading which has destroyed her possessions.
Adrianne Lowe, 44, lives with her 20-year-old son in a flat at Luscinia View in Napier Road for 20 years.
The apartments are a mix of private residences and social housing managed by Southern Housing Group.
Ms Lowe has recently suffered ongoing problems with her boiler. Photo evidence she provided shows her flooring completely soaked.
She said: "It has broken down five times in the last six months. The first time my boiler failed was in April 2024.
"This should not happen, It's literally flooded my flat each time.
"I've had to replace furniture, clothes, shoes and possessions because I can't use them anymore."
Each time work has been conducted, the boiler has been repaired rather than replaced, with parts being fixed in hopes of resolving the issue.
While contractors visited on Sunday, September 22, she suffered yet another issue, as her door lock was accidentally broken.
Ms Lowe said: "The lock was broken when the engineer left my flat to get parts from his van to repair my boiler.
READ MORE: Eviction threat looms over retiree living in Luscinia View over rent dispute
"He tried to open the door with wet plastic gloves that caused him great difficulty in opening the door.
"I offered to open the door for him as I could see that he was having difficulties opening the door and he was struggling.
"The engineer told me that he couldn't repair the lock, because he didn't have tools in his van to do this. He said he would raise a repair for the lock to be repaired.
"I offered to ring a locksmith as the barrel of the lock was stuck in the frame of the door. The engineer asked if I had a flat sided screwdriver so that the barrel could be removed from the door frame and the door could be opened.
"I have never experienced any issues with the front door lock for the past 20 years. No repairs have been raised about it.
"The day before the engineer visited to repair my boiler the door lock was in perfect working order.
"This was also demonstrated by opening the front door to let the engineer in to repair my boiler and the lock was working perfectly with no issues."
Ms Lowe added that she has complained to the Housing Ombudsman about the boiler flooding in May 2024.
Ms Lowe said: "Repairs have always been an issue. For this boiler, the first week of it being replaced it was faulty, it flooded.
"After that I've had six months of constant issues."
A spokesperson for Southern Housing Group said: "Our contractor, TSG, visited Ms Lowe on September 22 and the hot water cylinder is now in full working order.
"Ms Lowe's hot water cylinder had complex repair issues and we're sorry for the inconvenience this has caused.
"We’ll arrange for independent heating consultants, GCS, to revisit to provide further reassurance and explore if there’s any other future action they need to take.
"The charge for changing the lock has been removed from Ms Lowe’s account and we apologise for this error."
Ms Lowe lives above Dave Jurgensen, a disabled man who also has complaints about the state of his property. She said that Mr Jurgensen has suffered with damp and mould in his flat, as well as accessibility issues.
Mr Jurgensen was relocated to a hotel in May while adjustments are undertaken at his flat.
He is due to move back in the coming weeks once the adjustments are made.
READ MORE: Disabled man's battle to get social housing flat in a liveable condition
The spokesperson said: "Redecoration works are due to be completed at Mr Jurgensen’s home next week.
"Our team remain in contact with Mr Jurgensen and will continue to support him when he moves back."
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