Young Coventry couple forced to live in 'house from hell'

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A young family in Coventry claim they are living in a rented “house from hell” with exposed electrical wiring, asbestos and even human poo.



Couple Sarah Lamb and Lee Carnell were desperate to find a home as they are due to have their third child together in just eight weeks.

After handing over £1,750 to secure the house in The Chantries, Hillfields, three weeks ago they say they moved in to find:

* exposed electrical wiring in the house and garden

* human faeces on a radiator and skirting boards

* asbestos dumped in the garden

* three doors – including the front door – off their hinges

* the toilet not plumbed in

* used tampons and bathroom waste

* an old settee on the front lawn

* mould throughout the house



“It makes me feel sick,” heavily pregnant Sarah, 23, said.

“I’m pregnant and I can’t rest. I hate it here.

“I don’t feel safe in this house but I’ve got to live with it because I can’t take the kids in to a bed and breakfast just before I give birth.

“I’m getting so stressed.

“If any more stress comes along I’m scared I’m going to go in to early labour. I’m already getting the pains.”

The couple paid £1,750 up front to Mayfair Letting in Walsgrave Road, Ball Hill, to secure the house.

They insist they were told refurbishments would be carried out by the time they moved in. But Mayfair Letting says the couple promised to carry out repair work themselves as they were desperate to move in as soon as possible.



A spokesman also claimed to the Telegraph the couple “wrecked” the property themselves in the first two days after moving in.

Ward councillor Dave Nellist has called for Coventry City Council to declare the building a ‘statutory nuisance’ – claiming it’s the worst he has seen in 30 years as an MP and councillor.

Sarah and Lee paid £550 for a month’s rent up front as well as a £550 deposit and further admin fees.

They are currently damp-proofing and painting walls themselves before the baby arrives.

Lee, 21, who works as a mechanic on a travelling funfair, said he had struggled to find a home as he did not have proof of regular income.

“I was desperate to find somewhere because of the baby and I told the letting agent I didn’t have a guarantor,” he said.

“They said that’s alright, we can come to some sort of arrangement.”

The family have two children, two-year-old Aiden and Imogen, three.



Imogen has cut her feet on broken glass in the house and the couple say they are worried the children may fiddle with loose plug sockets.

An emotional Sarah said the family have been going through “hell” since moving in.

“If they gave us the money back we would move happily, but they won’t do that,” she added.

“So now we’re having to battle to get the house in to a state where my kids can be safe and walk around freely.”

An electrician was sent to the house by the letting agent on Tuesday night.

Coventry City Council said it would have issued the landlord with a statutory notice if this work was not done.

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They insist they were told refurbishments would be carried out by the time they moved in. But Mayfair Letting says the couple promised to carry out repair work themselves as they were desperate to move in as soon as possible.

It seems to me there's been a simple misunderstanding here or a breakdown in communications. It's common practice for properties in need of repairs to be let early on condition that the new occupants do the repair work themselves, even the council does it. A lesson for anyone else thinking of letting or renting a property in that condition, get it in writing first!

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Coventry family may be evicted from Hillfelds 'house from hell'

THE young Coventry family in a bitter dispute over a rented home dubbed the “house from hell” in Hillfields are being evicted.

Sarah Lamb and Lee Carnell have been served with legal papers beginning eviction proceedings – just seven weeks before she is due to give birth to their third child.

“I can’t believe they are doing it,” Lee, 21, said. “Me and Sarah feel like the lowest of the low.

“They are basically trying to kick me out for damaging the property. They are saying I smashed the house up in two days.

“I could not have been in the house for two days and put all those electrics in and put damp all around the house. It’s a joke.”

Jonathan Nuttall, who runs Mayfair Letting, said the Section 8 notice to evict was served by the landlord.

He said: “We don’t manage that property. We just found the tenant for the landlord, he is dealing with it now.

“Everything is finished and the house is looking gorgeous now.

“But for how long? Who knows?”

The Telegraph was unable to contact the landlord directly.

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Dave Nellist: Eviction bid is 'petty revenge'

A COUNCILLOR has labelled the eviction bid “petty revenge” and called on the council to investigate further.

Councillor Dave Nellist (St Michael’s, Socialist) said: “I’ve been in touch with senior housing enforcement officers who have issued the landlord with a schedule of work to be carried out.

"If the landlord has responded by serving an eviction notice, on the face of it it would look like petty revenge.

“I think the council should further investigate this case and support the family against the actions of the landlord and letting agent.”

Steve Chantler, of the city council’s housing department, said most required building work had been carried out.

“We met there last week with the landlord and tenant.

“They had a second builder in on Friday. Most of the work has been done now and it sounds like it is progressing nicely.

“From our point of view, the property should nothave been let in that state, but the landlord has been very co-operative.”

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Coventry 'hell house' landlord in bid to become city councillor

A BOSS at an estate agents which let out a Coventry 'hell house' is standing to become a city councillor.

Kamran Asif is co-director of Mayfair Estates letting agency which let the dilapidated property in The Chantries, Hillfields, the Telegraph has learned.

Sarah Lamb and Lee Carnell are now being evicted from the house after complained of live electrical wiring, doors hanging off hinges and asbestos in the garden. The couple are due to have their third child together in six weeks.

The Telegraph reported last month how the council had threatened to issue the landlord with a statutory notice if urgent work was not carried out to make the property safe.

Kamran Asif is standing for election as the Labour candidate for Upper Stoke Ward on May 3. He is co-director of Mayfair Letting and also has interests in businesses in Leicester, Derby and Birmingham.

When contacted by the Telegraph at Mayfair’s offices in Walsgrave Road, he declined to comment.

He is standing in the same ward where his father once served as a councillor.

His father Raja Mohammed Asif lost his seat after pleading guilty to falsely claiming £14,000 in housing benefits in 2010.

The case involved Raja Mohammed failing to identify his son, Kamran, as the owner of the property he was claiming benefits to live in.

Lib Dem councillor Russell Field, who is the sitting ward councillor in the area, said: “Labour have been crazy to put him forward as their candidate.

“The council helps people get housing advice and deal with problem landlords. That’s part of the responsibility of the council – and councillors.

“He should be helping people who are put in this kind of situation – not being part of the problem.”

The Telegraph reported last month that Sarah, 23, and Lee, 21, paid £1,750 up front to secure the property through Mayfair Estates in Walsgrave Road, Ball Hill.

They claimed they moved in to find mould, faeces, pug sockets hanging off walls and the toilet not plumbed.

Mayfair claimed the couple insisted they would carry out work themselves as they were desperate to move in straight away.

The agency also claimed the couple further damaged the property in the first few days after moving in.

Mayfair sent electricians around to repair faulty wiring while workers for the landlord then cleared rubbish – including asbestos and an old sofa – as well as necessary repairs.

Labour councillor Jim O’Boyle – a member of Coventry City Council’s cabinet – said that the property should never have been let out to the young family in that state.

Zishan Khan, who owns the property in the Chantries, agreed the property should not have been let out by Mayfair.

He said: “It was not clean, it was dirty – the property should not have been let.”

A misleading headline in my opinion as Asif is not the actual landlord, merely the landlord's agent!