SOCIAL HOUSING
Mum with human waste dripping down her kitchen walls wins gruelling two-year legal battle with landlord
It’s been two years since The Big Issue first revealed the shocking state of Dawn Page’s home after she was left with sewage running down her kitchen and bathroom walls.
The single mum, 52, and her 13-year-old daughter Jaycie were moved out to hotels as they waited for the issue to be fixed – but the problem has taken so long to sort out that work was only completed six weeks ago.
Page was so fed up with the horror conditions and the impact on her mental health and her daughter’s education that she took legal action against her landlord Clarion Housing Association.
Her 27-month fight finally came to an end in October when Clarion settled the case at Croydon County Court and agreed to pay Page £8,000 in damages.
That outcome has inspired Page to help others caught up in substandard social housing to take the fight to their landlords, much like housing activist Kwajo Tweneboa, who supported Page in court.
“I just want to give other people hope that they can do it. Just fight,” said Page, who has lived in the two-bedroom home for almost 25 years. I’m relieved, happy. But I was in tears because I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, there’s me so happy that I’m out of it now. How many people are still in it?’ If I can try to do something, I really want
