OUR family moved to our current SFA in Larkhill in December 2011. On move-in it was apparent the property lacked any form of shower, not even an over-the-bath type. This is not a sufficient reason to turn down an SFA, so we accepted it. We immediately requested for a shower to be installed but it was rejected on the grounds of non-essential work.

Over the next two years we put in further requests for a shower to be fitted and each was rejected as non-essential. In 2014 new water tanks were installed in the SFAs in our area; smaller and more efficient, but unfortunately too small to fill a bath. We raised a fresh request for a shower only to be told no, as no requests could be made until the new contractor took over.

In February, a request was made to CarillionAmey, but they didn’t even respond with a ‘no’ in their prescribed 30-day decision cycle. A CarillionAmey representative did say I could pay to have the work completed privately, but would be unlikely to receive recompense.

Are we to believe something as basic as a shower is not an expectation of a modern house? Why, despite reporting near-miss scalding accidents as a result of the small water tank, has no one been out to inspect the property?

I am currently in the process of submitting a Freedom of Information request to the MOD, to establish how many SFA are devoid of showers.

Name and address supplied


Response from DIO SD Accommodation: CarillionAmey has no record of reports of scalding, poor pressure or lack of a shower at this address so it appears there has been an error with recording your complaints.

You have raised some issues that concern us and these are now being investigated. We would not expect an SFA customer to be advised to pay for work on their Service property.

A request has now been raised to add a shower to the property and check the water temperature. Funding is limited and we have been focused on major improvements such as targeting damp and mould.

We are constantly looking for ways to improve the service we provide and subject to available funding, we plan to introduce a revised move-in standard, including a “Decent Homes” benchmark, later this year. This will help identify the sort of issues highlighted.

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