'I want what's fair' 82 year-old in Gateshead refuses to pay rent until council home is repaired

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An 82-year-old woman from Tyneside is refusing to pay rent until repairs are done on her council home.

Margaret Henderson has lived in her house for 12 years and claims that no repairs have been carried out during that time.

Now she is refusing to part with anymore money until something is sorted.

She is dealing with a damaged roof, wood rot in the loft, crumbling paintwork and water coming through the walls.

Problems that previously existed have been made worst by damage from storms like Arwen and Malik throughout the winter.

She has not paid any rent since February and has been threatened with eviction since May.

She said "They never have evicted me. You've got a contract and the contract reads 'we are responsible for the windowsills, the guttering.

"I just want what's fair and what I'm paying the rent for."

It is not just Ms Henderson waiting for repairs to be done. ITV News Tyne Tees understands 6,000 homes in Gateshead are in need of repairs across the authority.

Gateshead Council said this summer 1,500 roofing repairs are scheduled to take place and has apologised for the delays.

It added that retention and recruitment of staff is an issue as they have had over 100 vacancies in its construction and services department.

Cllr John Adams said: "We have recently made a decision to invest £2million into the service including extra wages for tradesmen and tradeswomen."

It is not just Gateshead which has a problem. The pandemic has caused issues for all councils due to delays in supply chains and getting hold of materials.

Councils like North and South Tyneside and Hartlepool have cleared their backlogs quicker and have said the number of houses needing repairs are back to pre-pandemic levels.

In Newcastle, more than 2,000 homes are waiting for roofing and fencing repairs to be carried out. Many of these issues were caused by Storm Arwen.

Gateshead Council have been in touch with Margaret since ITV Tyne Tees filmed with her earlier this month and told the repair work needed will started next month.

Until the work starts, Ms Henderson has said she will still not pay her rent.

Judith Wood-Archer from Citizens Advice Gateshead told ITV Tyne Tees what people should do if they have problems with their housing and are thinking of going to the service.

Ms Wood-Archer said: "The process would be about how to report a repair and the importance of keeping records about having reported the repair.

"You need to collect evidence, like photographs of when you first notice repair needs doing, keep a diary of the impact of the disrepair.

"If it's mould and damp, is it affecting people in the household is it affecting their lungs or their chest?"

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