Many people who've read my first article have been asking about Barry - he's fine!
So am I... thanks for asking...... and the roof has been partially fixed so Miss Noel no longer smells of damp! Hoorah!
HOWEVER...
Because the roof renovations have now been discarded due to issues with building control, our house is currently leaking and one of my housemates in literally living in a sand castle.
(I've always wanted to live by the beach! In London ANYTHING is possible!)
It's depressing to think that I kill myself to work in order to pay rent for a house I despise and I do wish that I could be a barrel of laughs today, but since writing my first post, I came across an article in The Telegraph:
According to this moron from The Telegraph, there is no renting problem to fix because there is very little evidence that rents are unaffordable.
The Government get to dictate how little I earn which consequently affects the kind of home I can afford to live in which currently is this:
A rodent infested home. A home where the walls and ceilings are covered in mould and living with a roommate called Barry. A bedroom where the windows whistle (LOUDLY) as the draught blows through the gaps. A home which causes me so much stress it triggers my epileptic seizures.
But what do I know? There's no problem right? It's all in my head surely?
The moron from The Telegraph goes on to blame the increase in renting on the surge of immigration (this guy must be a bezzies of Nigel Farage!) According to him rent is also getting cheaper (WHERE??????) and Landlords are hard-done-by due to the rising costs in maintenance. My Landlord had not carried out any maintenance in years until I persistently called and texted to moan about Barry (poor him) forcing him to take action and the roofers upon inspection estimated that apart from some dodgy patch up jobs here and there, the roof hadn't been touched since the 70s.
Our Tory Government recently ruled that the standard of rented homes was no cause for concern as it was reported in The Guardian that Landlord MPs do not care if homes are fit to live in.
They argue that doing so will either push up rent prices or cause unnecessary burdens to Landlords.
Which means that when we can eventually afford to buy our own homes (I'm not holding my breath) I'll be stuck with Barry and the rodents OR if my Landlord decides that the upkeep of his shoddy house is too big a burden to carry, there's always places like this to move too!!!
Before I retire to bed with Barry, I'll leave you with this final tale of woe. A friend of mine, who was evicted from her previous house (for no logical reason) was forced to find new accommodation as quickly as possible. She sent me this message towards the end of February:
"When I moved into my current flat my deposit was £1080 plus one month's rent in advance. I haven't had heating since I moved in in Jan, and only yesterday they sent the repair man to install some cheap radiator which doesn't even give off much heat. Plus the fridge doesn't work properly and my window doesn't close well so a cold draft comes in. I'd like to move when I get a break in contract in 6 months but it feels like being trapped! I can't afford another 1000+ for a deposit on my salary!"
She cannot keep food in her fridge because it will rot. She has a sheet over her window to try and keep out as much of the winter wind as possible. My friend has since told me that she recently spent time in hospital with bronchitis - brought on by the dire conditions of her housing. She already has a chronic illness and to add this ailment on top left her bedridden. And yet, her calls and emails to the Letting Agency have gone IGNORED.
Having a chronic illness makes it all the more difficult and you either end up too ill to stand up for yourself, or out on the streets with nowhere to go - either way you're vulnerable. Currently my Epilepsy is out of control and I don't know if this is due to the ineffectiveness of my new medication, or due the stress of my current living situation. I think it would be fair to say that it's definitely a combination of both. However regardless of pre-existing health conditions, living in London seems to be a battlefield of endurance that puts a strain upon everybody's mental state.