A POWYS pensioner has become locked in a war of words with Powys County Council over what he says are damp issues with his property.
Mervyn Davies, 85, has been living at his council house in Four Crosses for the last 16 years and says he has been dealing with issues related to damp throughout that time.
His property is on a hillside, and according to Mr Davies, water from the top of the hill is draining into the base of his property.
But Powys County Council engineers – and independent assessors – have been to the property, and a spokesman for the council said that those investigations have shown there is no issue with damp in the house.
Mr Davies said: “The property is very, very wet because the water can’t get away.
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"I have also got a lot of germs in the house that’s causing me with real problems with rashes on just the ankles from the carpets which are absolutely filthy."
However, a spokesman for Powys County Council said offers have been made of assistance, adding: “Officers from the council’s Housing Service have visited the property on numerous occasions over the years to investigate the reports made by Mr Davies about damp and subsidence.
"However, there was no evidence at all damp ingress to the property or of any subsidence.
“The council also commissioned an independent company to carry out a damp survey to the property, which found no evidence of damp.”
Mr Davies also said that the colder winter months could create additional problems, and that he has in the past measured the temperature of the living room of his house at below freezing.
He insists that his quality of life is being drastically affected, adding: “Because where you’ve got water running, it also fetches soil and silt and when you’ve got a lot of heat, which I have been doing to survive because the place is so cold, and because the water is underneath, the hot air rises and its drawing the dirt into my property.
“I don’t sleep with sheets on because everything is so wet, I would be wrapping myself in a flannel, so I just have to sleep in my clothes which is not a healthy thing to do but if I have something on me I am wetter still.”
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