Mohammed
Mohammed and his family were living in unsafe asylum accommodation and, despite making a complaint, he had received no help from accommodation provider Mears when he reached out to Positive Action in Housing.
Water had leaked from the sink in Mohammed’s family bathroom in his asylum accommodation. He was worried it would flood the kitchen and electrical system. There was also a lack of suitable beds for his children. His previous complaints 3 months before to the accommodation provider, Mears, hadn’t resolved this.
Mohammed called Positive Action in Housing for help. We gathered photographs and video evidence of the leak and damage in the bathroom and his previous correspondence with Mears. Knowing how the accommodation contract worked, we advised Mohammed on his rights to urgent repairs and basic furniture in asylum accommodation and we sent a complaint to Mears, who subsequently fixed the leak and provided a child bed for Mohammed.
We tried to get through to Mears and Migrant Help repeatedly to get repairs done in our home. We asked Mears Housing (Home Office accommodation contractor) repeatedly, but no one took us seriously. After strong representation from my caseworker at Positive Action, the repairs were sorted out. We had someone on our side who understood and I’m grateful