Basingstoke family forced out of home due to ongoing leak

Katy Eales, 30, of Bardwell Close, South Ham has been battling poor living conditions and what she describes as "a complete lack of communication" from Sovereign Network Group (SNG) since September last year.

The saga began when Ms Eales first reported a leak in her home three months after moving in June last year.

While SNG sent repair crews to address the issue, the leaks continued, eventually leading to severe damage in her children's bedroom.

Katy Eales and her daughter (Image: Newsquest)

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“The ceiling in the kids' room started to collapse at the start of this year,” Ms Eales said.

After further complaints, SNG conducted an asbestos test, which it initially reported as negative.

However, the situation took a dramatic turn on June 8 this year when another leak occurred in the same area, this time involving water dripping from lighting fixtures.

As it was a Saturday, Ms Eales called SNG for emergency repairs.

To her shock, the attending plumber and his manager advised her to vacate the property immediately due to the possibility of asbestos contamination.

“I was initially told by Sovereign that it was safe, but later I found out that was not the case. It was misleading and frustrating and I'm mainly annoyed about that,” the mum said.

Ms Eales and her children, aged three and five, were placed in a hotel, where they stayed for two weeks.

“Staying in the hotel long-term wasn’t suitable for my kids. They were bored, running riot, and it was just adding to the stress,” she said, explaining why she eventually decided to move in with her dad.

The collapsing ceiling at Katy's house (Image: Newsquest)

However, staying away from her home has caused significant disruption to the family, especially for her five-year-old, who had to endure long commutes to school during the initial phase of their displacement.

Ms Eales said the repairs have been slow, with only one of two damaged ceilings being fixed so far, forcing her to live with her father for nearly two months now.

The repairs even left her refrigerator damaged as the workers turned off the electricity for too long.

The ordeal has taken a toll on her mental health and well-being.

“If it wasn’t for my dad, I’d be having a full-on breakdown. It’s been emotionally draining, not just for me but for my kids as well,” she said, adding that her eldest daughter frequently asks when they can return home.

In response to the continued delays and lack of communication, Ms Eales has now sought legal action.

“I’ve been chasing them every day for answers, but I keep getting the runaround. I’ve asked for the asbestos report and other documents, but they still haven’t provided them. It’s not just about the inconvenience anymore; it’s about how we’ve been treated,” she said.

The repairs even left her refrigerator damaged as the workers turned off the electricity for too long (Image: Newsquest)

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"I wouldn’t have taken it this far if they had communicated and supported us, but they haven’t," she said.

“I just want my children to have a normal home again,” she said.

An SNG spokesperson said: “We are working to fix the ceilings in Ms Eales home as quickly as possible. The initial leak in the loft has been resolved but our teams rightly undertook further inspections and found unrelated further extensive repairs are needed to two additional ceilings. We expect these to be completed in the coming weeks, but we will do our best to move this forward if we can.

"Ms Eales' family was moved to alternative housing for their safety and comfort whilst we repaired the first ceiling, and now while the additional works are going ahead. We understand that any works on a home is disruptive and we have been talking to Ms Eales regularly. We are exploring different accommodation with Ms Eales to reflect the unexpected additional time the family has had to stay away from home. 

"An asbestos air test was made in the bedroom as a precaution and this was negative.”