A Silva Homes resident has suffered two injuries resulting from the ‘poor maintenance’ of his housing association building. 

Priestwood Avenue resident, Matthew Robinson, has lodged complaints relating to outstanding repair work to the property, dating back over ten years, which left him with cuts to his head and leg. 

Mr. Robinson first moved into the property in 2012 and says the problems started “immediately.” 

READ MORE: Wokingham care home effectiveness ‘inadequate’

He has suffered two injuries during his time at the property; a cut to his head after a loose piece of concrete fell from the “poorly maintained” roof eaves. He has also been left with a “huge scar” on his leg after tripping over the 70mm threshold on his front door. 

According to building regulations, the upper leading edge of the door threshold unit should be no higher than 15mm. 

Mr. Robinson also claims that the plaster was coming away from the interior walls causing them to “bow,” the kitchen pipework was incorrectly fitted leaving black mold to form behind the sink unit, the loose paving slabs to the front of the property are a constant trip hazard and UPVC windows were fitted to the property to replace the original steel framed ones – which were “fundamental to the structural integrity of the building.” 

The repair work is still yet to be completed, according to Mr. Robinson.

READ MORE: Wokingham's 130 houses and dementia care home development plan

Silva Homes, previously called Bracknell Forest Homes, has also been chasing the resident for what they claim is unpaid rent for September and December 2018.

Mr. Robinson strongly refutes this assertion and claims his rent is paid directly to the housing association by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).  

“Even after going through the citizens advice, and getting the scheduling from the DWP, Silva Homes still refuse to acknowledge that they had received the money. It is unacceptable,” he said. 

READ MORE: Ascot attempted burglary sees neighbour try to confront intruders

A statement from Silva Homes said: “Silva Homes inspected the property most recently on April 28 2022, and on May 10 2022 the customer received dates and plans for several repairs.  

“We are also having a full structural report carried out on the property to determine the cause of internal and external cracks in the walls. This has been carried out within a stage one complaint and all matters raised with our resolution team are being addressed within our complaints policy.  

“Regarding the concerns expressed regarding rent payments, we have discussed this with the customer directly and offered support to explain and clarify what has happened.” 

READ MORE: Berkshire residents who have appeared in court - May 2022

In response, Mr. Robinson said the statement was “not at all helpful.” 

“Yes, they have been out but the only reason they came out was because I did a stage one complaint, they were not interested before that point. This has been going on since 2012,” he said.