A DISABLED mum whose house was wrecked by workmen brought in by the city council says she is now struggling to get a mortgage on a new home and may have to move in with her parents.
Derby City Council has apologised to Zodie Bonnett for the distress she has suffered from the damage to her house caused by workmen brought in to build her an extension.
It has offered to buy the house in Cambridge Street, Spondon, using £100,000 of taxpayers' money and give her a relocation grant of up to £30,000 to help her move house.
Mrs Bonnett, who has difficulty walking because of back and spinal conditions, had agreed to the extension because her bedroom and bathroom are on the first floor and she has difficulty climbing the stairs.
But, six years since the saga began, she is now struggling to get a reasonable mortgage for a new home as her family does not have enough cash for a deposit.
She says this is despite the relocation grant, the total amount of which has not yet been confirmed and part of which would be needed for solicitor's fees.
She said this means she will have to get either a high-interest mortgage on a bungalow or move into her parents' home with her family while they save up.
Mrs Bonnett said: "I'm a 27-year-old married woman so I don't want to be moving in with my parents.
"My parents' house is a bungalow so I wouldn't be stuck in the same situation but I would be living on the ground floor and my children in the converted attic. I wouldn't be able to tuck them in at night."
She said her family had enlisted a financial adviser to try to find them an affordable mortgage but that the only option that seems possible has a high interest rate.
This would mean, she said, that payments of about £800 a month would be needed instead of the £560 they have been paying on their Spondon home.
After the extension was finished, a surveyor found that the walls were cracked, the "first-floor structure" suffered from "movement and disruption" and water had come through leaks caused by the extension.
The city council says the house is not "significantly damaged" and that, once fully repaired, it will be added to its social housing stock.
The authority was yesterday asked if it could do anymore for Mrs Bonnett. It referred the Derby Telegraph to its previous statement from Councillor Mark Tittley, cabinet member for adults, health, and housing.
He said: "Various options have been discussed with Mrs Bonnett, to remedy the situation and enable her to move to a more suitable home, which are now being progressed. An offer has been made to buy the property at current market value, as well as providing Mrs Bonnett with a relocation grant."
The firm that carried out the work has not been used by the council since November 2012 and has been suspended from its approved tender list pending the end of an investigation.
Mrs Bonnett wishes to thank companies who helped her with the damage to her home for free. These include Eco2 Window Systems, AJH Plastering Services and Anderson Electrical.
