4BC Drive has shared the story of a woman living in flood-ravaged home in Caboolture South, facing an uphill battle to receive support to fix the damaged walls and roof.

Listener Kristina Burford reached out to 4BC Drive to raise the plight of her sister and nephews, whose home has mould in the walls, a partially collapsed roof and dead rodents rotting in the ceiling.

They’ve been desperately pleading for repairs from the Department of Housing, who owns the house, as well as contacting local MPs to get it rectified and prioritised.

Kristina says her sister was moved into the house back in 2011, and it already had previous flood damage.

“Over the past decade, every time there’s a major flood event … water has leaked into the ceiling cavity which the Department has been made well aware of many times, and just brushed it off, basically,” she told Bill McDonald, filling in on 4BC Drive.

Contractors have been working at the house, but she says the damage has either been painted over, patched up with plaster or ignored.

“All they’ve done is just plastered over it … the contractors are only doing as they are told, with due respect to the contractors, they have been amazing. They have plastered over the areas that have come off or filled it with putty.”

Thankfully Kristina’s sister has been moved to temporary accomodation as of Tuesday evening, and she says they are thankful a structural engineer will be assessing the damage.

“It should not have come to this, but she has at least safe accomodation for her children and it’s getting dealt with,” she said.

“It shouldn’t have come to this – how many other Department of Housing tenants have been in the same situation?

“They are tenants paying rent to the government who is their lease and their landlord, and it has to escalate like this.”

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A spokesperson from the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy wouldn’t comment on the individual case.

“Where maintenance issues arise in a social housing property which affects the liveability of the property, the Department may offer tenants alternate accommodation while work is undertaken,” the spokesperson said.

“The Department actively works with tenants to ensure that any maintenance issues raised by tenants are addressed and rectified in a timely manner.”