My Persimmon home is less than two years old, but is uninhabitable. A week after I moved in, in December 2021, I reported moisture gathering on the kitchen ceiling. Persimmon arranged visits and superficial remedial works, but the problem continued until, this summer, the ceiling was near collapse. It was a plumber, hired by me, who discovered a nail in a bathroom pipe, which had flooded the subflooring. Over 20 months, it has saturated the rooms downstairs and the resulting mould has affected insulation and my health. The waterlogged ceiling was only removed in August after I made a formal complaint. I was moved into an Airbnb for a week while a schedule of works was carried out.
The kitchen ceiling was restored after a drying process of less than 48 hours, soaked skirting was painted over, the bath was remounted on sodden supports, on waterlogged floorboards, and a moisture meter I bought showed damp levels throughout the house exceeded “industry limits”. By the end of the week, the kitchen ceiling was still leaking, two more leaks were discovered (although not officially detailed to me), and I’ve since moved between three Airbnbs.
