In Mark Smith's flat above a shop in Eccles, the wallpaper's peeling, there's black mould on the walls and there's a damp chill in the air. Welcome to the lovely flat he bought in 2014.
"When I bought it, the weather was dry so there was no indication of anything wrong" he recalls. Although the flat was bought on the open market, it was in a City West building and the company gave him what's known as a Section 20, itemising things it was going to do on the outside to make it perfect, like painting, sorting the gutters, window sills...and the roof, which was to be patch repaired...and Mark was handed a bill which he paid, including £495 for the roof.
"I asked why the roof was so expensive compared to everything else and they said that the product used was guaranteed for 25 years" he explains.
However, shortly after the work was done Mark noticed water trickling down the walls and complained but each time the company and its contractors said they'd repaired it, it wasn't solved. The water, the mould, just got worse.
"My independent insurance surveyor said the roof hadn't been done properly, but the City West surveyor said it was condensation" Mark recalls "However, the surveyor said it's not condensation."
This has been going on for three years, with City West doing drone inspections and repairs that haven't worked, and Mark constantly complaining. Then, recently City West decided that the place actually needed a new roof covering – and Mark says that the company is intending to charge him half the cost, around £6,000.
...Yet he has an email clearly stating that 'City West will not invoice you for repair work to the roof'..."They're now twisting that, saying 'It's not a repair, it's a replacement'...but what are they doing? Repairing a roof..." Mark insists...
"...If they'd said it needed a new roof at the time of the Section 20 I would have said 'You're right', but not after the event" he adds "It's out of order because they've not done the job right in the first place, or misdiagnosed it. And they've put me through three years of filth.
"We had a meeting and they actually said 'If we do a repair and it doesn't go right you won't be charged for further repairs'" he recalls "They could see what the roof needed, an independent surveyor pointed out clearly what needed doing...a proper repair."
Now City West has sent contractors in to put on a new roof covering and Mark is expecting to be landed with the bill...
"I told them I'm not paying" he says "They said they will take me to court and I said 'Bring it on'. You cannot expect someone to pay for your failures when you've been paid to do the job right in the first place..."
City West, for its part, has offered, as a "gesture of goodwill" to deduct the original cost of the roof repair - £495 - from the huge cost of the roof covering replacement... which, it could be argued, is in itself a kind of admission that the job was botched in the first place...
The Salford Star contacted City West Housing about this case and Managing Director, Matt Jones responded: "We are aware of Mr Smith's case and the complex circumstances surrounding it. Officers are continuing to liaise with Mr Smith to achieve an outcome that is mutually acceptable to both parties and we are committed to keeping the dialogue open to achieve that aim..."
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