A couple say they are living in hell during a temporary accommodation placement in a hotel.
Liam Ricketts lives with his partner in Seascape Hotel in Torquay and says there are issues with drugs, mould and locks to their door not working.
The couple have called the hotel home since September and they say they have had to be moved four different times due to mould and faulty locks on doors.
Liam claims there are also instances of drug use - yet hotel management have flat out denied the claims saying they have a zero-tolerance drugs policy.
Liam, originally from Gloucestershire, says the situation is affecting their mental health and claims authorities aren't helping them.
The hotel has hit back saying many of the issues are down to the couple not taking steps to maintain their accommodation and are now 'fed up' with them.
Whilst the couple say the living space in the hotel is not suitable for children and that it is affecting an ongoing custody claim, reports Devon Live.
Liam said he has appealed to be moved to better accommodation but his efforts have not proved successful.
He also fears the council believe he and his partner have made themselves intentionally homeless.
To help deal with the problem of mould the couple said they contacted the Torbay and South Hams Council before Christmas - before representatives came to take photos of the problems.
Since then, the couple report they have not heard anything back from the visit and no work has been carried out.
Liam said: "Toilets have been leaking, and we've had mould in some of the rooms we've been in. The room we're in now in the bathroom above the toilet is covered in black mould in the corner, the walls are all pealing apart with air bubbles and holes in the wall. It's not great."
The couple say the mould has also been impacting their health. Liam said his partner has asthma and they both experience chesty and laboured breathing which has led to a trip to the doctor.
Liam said: "It has been reported but when we tell our housing officer, they contact the owner of the hotel and then they tell him a totally different story to what we tell them so they're going by what the landlord says."
He also said the room has no kitchen so they only have an air fryer and a kettle and aren't allowed a fridge due to insurance issues.
Liam said: "We can't be in here living like this, we want to be out of here and they say 'go private'. It's easy for them to say 'go private' but in a lot of places you need guarantors and we don't earn that much and nor do any of our family members."
What Seascape Hotel had to say about the claims
Seascape Hotel has responded to the couple's claims.
Manager Jenny said: "Since they've been here we've moved them three or four times and every room they've been to, it's exactly the same.
"They don't open the window, they take hot baths and showers in the room, damage the room, damage the bath, damage the sink, damage the lock. Everywhere they go it's exactly the same so we're kind of fed up with them now."
About the mould, she said: "It's condensation caused by them. Every room they've been through they do it exactly the same: they close the windows they take hot showers in the room and they don't open the windows so what would you expect is going to happen?
"It's condensation, they don't open the windows, they take hot showers or baths in the room and they keep everything shut. It's condensation."
Jenny claims they were the only people complaining about the hotel. On the issue of drugs she said: "We have a zero tolerance on the drugs."
She believes that the reason the couple came to DevonLive was to try to get a permanent flat to live in quicker and disregard the rules and policies the council has in place and jump the queue.
We put what Jenny said back to the couple. Liam claimed that they were threatened with being kicked out by the reception staff if their story went public.
Liam spoke about being blamed for the mould in the rooms through taking hot showers and not opening the windows.
He said: "That's not it at all, We've moved to four different rooms and the room that they've put us in, 55, we know someone who was in here before us and they had the mould in there already. There's no proper ventilation in the bathroom for the steam to go out of."
He added: "It's not our fault at all why there's mould and stuff in the room. Every room we've been in has had leaks. Obviously the window, yes, it gets very cold and we open the window until the waters come off the windows and then close it again."
Liam also responded to claims they were trying to get a flat quicker.
He said: "No, it's not an attempt to get a flat quicker. The council are working with us to try and find us somewhere but obviously, there is a lack of housing which we do know about so there isn't much social housing around.
"They said I can go private but, private, yes we could but need a guarantor which obviously no one we know earns the amount they ask for."
