A family is suffering with health problems after battling with their landlords for 18 months over water leaks and mould.

Luke Hutson and his wife Sam live in Swallow Road, in Larkfield, which is owned by Moat Housing, with their three children and are expecting their fourth next month.

The couple have reported holes in the ceiling and water spewing from radiators, the boiler, and even light fittings to the housing association since May 2022. They claim the three bedroom property needs a whole new roof.

The damp and mould have ruined the furniture, leaving them with only a sofa and garden chairs in the front room, and health problems for the family.

Moat Housing has sent contractors to deal with the issues, even moving the family out for three weeks last April, but a new leak appeared in the bedroom in January this year.

Luke said: “We’ve had numerous surveyors and builders out and each one is telling us this house isn’t safe.

“I can see daylight through the tiles in the loft.

“Water is getting in everywhere, especially in the kitchen and bedroom.

The ceiling has come away from the wall in the airing cupboard."

Problems started in May 2022 with a leak in the kitchen. Since then, water has also got into the front room and the bedrooms.

Moat Housing moved the family into a hotel in April 2023 while the ceiling was replaced.

The family-of-five expected to be out for three weeks.

Sam said: “They hadn't started any work for two weeks. I went back to check what was going on because we hadn't heard anything.

"It was only then we were told to move all of our furniture because they were going to take the ceiling down.

“At the end of the three weeks we had to leave the hotel because they hadn't paid for longer.

"But when we got back to the house there were still wires hanging from the ceiling."

But towards the end of last year a radiator started leaking and at the start of this year water started coming through the ceiling and into the couple’s bedroom.

Luke, who spray-paints cars, has been chasing the company since then but claims he hasn't made much progress.

The 40-year-old said: “I feel like I am letting my family down as I cannot provide somewhere safe for them to stay.

“It seems one of us is always ill. I have asthma and so does one of my daughters.

“The twins are constantly coming out in a rash and my eyes are always irritated.”

Sam, 37, is due to have the couple's fourth child in March, but doesn't want to bring the baby back to the house.

The 37-year-old cashier said: “It needs a whole new roof on the house because all the beams are rotten as well, but they won’t touch that until spring.

“It's not good enough, especially when we've got a baby on the way.

“I came back from the midwife, went upstairs, and heard everything falling through because the ceiling was coming down.”

Since speaking to KentOnline the family has informed us Moat is looking to erect scaffolding at the home on Monday (February 19) but so far this hasn’t happened.

Mark Warner, Director of Property Services at Moat, said: “Our customers deserve to live in a healthy, well-maintained home, so we take reports of mould and leaks very seriously.

“Over the last year, our customers have reported a handful of repairs to us. We’ve visited their home promptly to fix each one and have also installed a new boiler and new carpets.

“We know how important it is to address and eliminate mould, so within the last year, we’ve replaced their guttering, installed new extractor fans, and carried out mould washes.

“Our surveyor visited the home in January this year and no reoccurring mould was evident.

“Some additional repairs were identified, so we’ll continue to work closely with our customers to carry these out and keep their home in good, safe condition.”