Couple's 'nightmare' year in leaking council flat

A couple have said they have spent a year living in a "nightmare" with leaking ceilings and mould in their council flat.

Taylor and James Wilson said they had dripping water in the bathroom, kitchen and hallway at the ground-floor flat in Shirley, Southampton.

Southampton City Council said it apologised and would fully repair the flat once temporary accommodation had been arranged.

James Wilson said mould particles were found in swabs by hospital staff when he was hospitalised with double pneumonia and a collapsed lung in May.

The 43-year-old catering manager said: "You cannot sit on the toilet without being dripped on, which is embarrassing.

"I wouldn't want people visiting. If they wanted to use the toilet, we would have to get them umbrella."

The couple said the kitchen and bathroom leaks started four months after they moved into the flat in April 2025 and had "significantly worsened" since.

Taylor Wilson, 31, said he was forced to spend more time than he had wanted in the "nightmare" flat because of his autism and anxiety.

He added: "You sit on the toilet and it is constantly dripping on you every three seconds. That is just the bathroom.

"It moves along into the hallway where there is a crack, which drips in two places.

"It is directly outside our bedroom door and when it first happened, James came out of the bedroom and went flying.

"The other room is the kitchen where it is even coming through around electrics."

The couple, who live with a French bulldog, a budgie and a bearded dragon, said they had refused the council's offer of a hotel, which they said was unsuitable for their needs.

The council told them no other one-bed flats were available, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A Southampton City Council spokesman said: "Our maintenance staff have visited the property several times in recent weeks as we look to rectify this issue permanently."

They said a team was "ready to begin work on the property as soon as accommodation alternatives have been arranged for the tenant".

"We would also like to apologise for the disruption that the tenant has been experiencing."