UPDATE: Ria has today, Wednesday 12 February, confirmed that the council has now placed her in a Travelodge for four - six weeks after she approached them in person.

Ria Dalton was living in a hostel with shared facilities through Kingston council since June 2022 with her three-year-old daughter who has special needs. 

The mother and daughter were living in Saxon House on Athelstan Road.

Ria told Kingston Nub News: "Ever since we moved into the room it has been issue after issue with damp and mould."

Other issues to the room include caving and cracking in the ceiling and water dripping from the ceiling.

Over the past two years, Ria contacted Kingston Council numerous times seeking help regarding her living conditions but felt that the council had been "negligent" towards her.

However, on Monday, 10 February, Ria Confirmed with Kingston Nub News that the council was placing her and her daughter in a Travelodge before moving them into another hostel next week.

Ria also said that the council told her she will get the next available two-bedroom property once its available.

Yet, while the news may have seemed like a positive, Ria and her daughter were not placed in a Travelodge and were instead placed in another hostel, which she says is in "disrepair".

She has found the hostel's kitchen to be in "disrepair" (pictured below) and reports that when informing the hostel manager about the issue, they "found it funny".

Ria has found her new hostel's kitchen to be in 'disrepair' (Credit: Ria Dalton

Speaking about her current situation, Ria told Kingston Nub News: "I have called the council five times, left a voicemail when they didn't answer, and emailed them four times, but have had no response.

"I have, however, had an email back from the councillor who previously supported me, and the council stated in December that medical evidence found Saxon House unsuitable and that I should have been moved, but I wasn't advised."

She continued: "In October, I had a suitability review for my room in Saxon House and the council told me that the damp and mould wasn't a problem, but it clearly was. 

"The disrepair of the new property is awful. How can they deem that as suitable when there are two, two-bed, self-contained properties next door, which they claim they don't know are vacant?

"I am just outraged at the moment. The council said on Monday it would keep me in a Travelodge until the "repairs" were done on the room, but yesterday, I found more disrepair and they are ignoring me again even after all of this."

A Kingston Council spokesperson said on Monday: "We are committed to doing all we can to ensure residents have safe, warm places to live.

"The national housing crisis is a critical situation and there is an acute shortage of social housing nationwide.

"In Kingston we are providing close to 1,000 families and individuals with temporary accommodation, who we have a legal duty to support. 

"We recognised the tenant couldn't remain in this accommodation under the current circumstances and we have offered alternative temporary accommodation, which has been accepted. 

"The tenant has also been allocated an officer who will be a single point of contact going forward, to ensure she receives timely updates about her case.

"We are reviewing contact arrangements between residents and the community housing team to try and ensure better communication. 

"Given current levels of supply of homes and ongoing demand we recognise households in temporary accommodation can face lengthy waits for a move.

"We are working hard to ensure they are supported and are made aware of the services available to them, particularly families with children, but we understand it is a very challenging situation to live in."