Family claim their new three-bedroom home has started crumbling around their heads – forcing them to live in a Travelodge and Airbnb

• Jade and James Partington moved into a housing association home in May 
• The property near Radstock, Somerset had a long list of problems from day one 

A family say they have been forced out of their new home after it suffered a series of serious faults – including collapsed walls, exposed wiring and crumbling plaster.

Jade and James Partington moved into their three-bedroom housing association Aster property near Radstock, Somerset, in May.

But they say they quickly found a number of issues with the ‘dangerous’ home which ‘started falling apart around’ them.

They say it has collapsing walls, crumbling plaster, exposed wiring, rooms without carpets, loose pipes and poor plumbing.

The family say they were burned by plug sockets, a cupboard fell off a wall, had a blocked toilet and peeling wallpaper.

James and Jade Partington and their three children, pictured, moved into a housing association house near Radstock, Somerset in May

Inside the property, the couple were confronted with large cracks on the walls and peeling paint

There are areas where the skirting board is missing and there are exposed wires

The couple, who have three children, say they knew the property needed some ‘TLC’ – but they were unaware of the extent of the disrepair.

Ms Partington, 33, who is recovering from a spinal surgery, claims when pipes came loose from her kitchen sink she was told to use the one in the upstairs bathroom.

They say a surveyor was sent by Aster, who deemed the home ‘dangerous’ and installed extra support poles on the ground floor as an emergency safety measure.

She claims that the breaking point was when their bedroom wall partially collapsed.

Aster arranged for the family to stay in a Travelodge but they struggled with the lack of space so were able to move to an Airbnb instead.

Ms Partington said: ‘We knew the property needed a lot of TLC, but we were talking about painting, decorating, putting carpet down – it wasn’t supposed to be anything more than that.

‘Within a week of moving in, lots of stuff was already going wrong with the property.

‘I got burnt on a plug socket on the landing.

The cable leading to the plug socket on the floor is exposed after plaster cracked from the wall. Under current building regulations, you are not allowed to install electrical sockets so low to the ground

‘A cupboard fell off the wall in the kitchen – I don’t know how I didn’t get injured from that.

‘We decided we were going to start decorating, and so we peeled off the wallpaper – and we didn’t expect to find that level of damage to the walls.

‘The plaster is blown in most parts of the house. We’ve had exposed electrical cables.

‘We’ve got really severe cracks in the walls, and walls that are actually crumbling away.

‘Our youngest son is 19 months old – what if he’d managed to get out of his room and grab an exposed cable?

‘We had an incident in the front room where he’d found plaster and rubble that had fallen from the walls, and he was trying to put it in his mouth.

The family claim the entire house needs to be re plastered and the electrics sorted out

The family have since moved out of the home while repairs are made. They are currently in an AirBnB but have to move out shortly before Christmas

‘No one seemed to see the urgency. We’ve had a lot of dealings with Aster, but it never seems to be urgent to them.

‘After one of the surveyors called the housing association and told them that the situation was really bad, they agreed to let him try and do repairs.

‘He was there for four days, and we thought everything was going well – we had no complaints.

‘But then I tried to get into my bedroom, and there was a massive piece of rubble that stopped me from opening the door properly.

‘I walked in, and our bed was absolutely covered in plaster. Our floor was covered, our clothes were covered – the wall had started falling through in our bedroom.

‘My husband and I spoke to the builder, who said the wall would need to be rebuilt and made structurally sound.

‘With that, he told his boss that he wouldn’t work anymore until we were out of the property, because it’s too dangerous, especially for our children.’

The couple say they are still in the dark about how long repairs will take.

They required to leave the Airbnb just days before Christmas – but are now unsure if they’ll have anywhere to go for the holidays.

A builder is currently at the property, but the family have no idea how long the repairs will take

Ms Partington said: ”We’re still in a limbo with what’s going to happen if the property isn’t actually completed by Christmas – and what state it’ll be in when we go back’

She added: ‘Our eight-year-old son is panicked – he’s completely frightened of the house, and even said he didn’t want to go back because of how bad it was’

‘We’re still in a limbo with what’s going to happen if the property isn’t actually completed by Christmas – and what state it’ll be in when we go back,’ said Ms Partington.

‘Our eight-year-old son is panicked – he’s completely frightened of the house, and even said he didn’t want to go back because of how bad it was.

‘It’s been an absolute nightmare. We didn’t have a choice to leave the property and we’ve not been kept up to date with what’s going on.

READ MORE: Mother of three wins £5k payout and apology over ‘uninhabitable home’

‘We were told that our things would be boxed up and looked after – but that’s not what’s happened at all.

‘Our boys’ belongings have been dumped in our bedrooms; their mattresses have clearly been dragged through filth and not covered.’

‘I want a house that is safe to live in because we can’t carry on living like this.

‘This has been detrimental to our health. I’ve not recovered from my spinal surgery the way I should have, and my middle son is terrified of the house.

‘There’s just been no compassion from them at all.’

A spokesperson for Aster said: ‘We are very sorry for the inconvenience this situation is causing our customer and their family.

‘As part of our mutual exchange process, where customers can swap their homes with other customers with our agreement, our surveyors checked the home and found it fit for purpose.

‘This survey does not go into great detail such as potential plasterwork issues but does check the structure of the property.

The family fear the house is not structurally sound with major cracks in the walls 

The family said they would like an assurance from the housing association that their home would be fixed for Christmas

‘Following conversations with our customer, we conducted a further survey this week which again showed the home and outhouse to be structurally safe.

‘Understandably, our customer has chosen not to remain in the home while improvement works are being carried out.

‘While these works are ongoing, we’re providing a range of support.

‘This initially included temporary hotel accommodation, while we have now found somewhere more suitable that meets the family’s needs for the short-term.

‘We have also provided expenses to cover food and other essentials.

‘We’re confident that the customer and their family will be able to move back into their home before Christmas.

‘In the meantime, we’re in regular contact to ensure they have the support they need.’

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