A mum-of-two has been living without proper heating in her council flat for almost five years due to failures by scandal-hit East Kent Housing.

Jodie Feist, from Margate, says there have been problems at the High Street property since she moved there in 2016, when she had no heating at all for more than two years.

Now, three of the rooms in her damp-ridden home have been fitted with temporary storage heaters, but Thanet District Council bosses admit this is not sustainable.

The 31-year-old, who lives with her one-year-old daughter and son, 14, says her pleas had been previously ignored and it is only now, after contacting North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale, that something is being done.

"We have six rooms and because of the heating issues, every one of them has damp," she said.

"Even when I wipe it clean and repaint it, it comes back. I've been asking for it to be sorted out for a long time.

"My daughter has been ill with chest infections and my son, who is autistic, has kidney problems which is affected by the cold.

"This has had a lot of impact on us, it's really depressing.

"If this wasn't a council flat and privately rented, it wouldn't be [classed as] fit to live in."

Ms Feist says when she moved into the property she was told there was to be an upgrade to the heating system.

But problems started when East Kent Housing (EKH), which was previously responsible for the management of council homes until being ditched last year, started work to install gas central heating.

Despite work been carried out, Ms Feist says with no gas line in her property, it couldn't be connected.

In an email to Sir Roger, seen by KentOnline, Thanet council admits there have been difficulties with the heating of the flat, caused by "failures of EKH to manage the installation of new gas central heating properly".

The authority says it has had to arrange temporary electric heating for Ms Feist, which "is not sustainable for any length of time".

The council said: "It has all taken too long though and we have escalated the matter to the relevant director level with the contractor to try to speed things up."

Ms Feist says three of the six rooms in the flat are currently heated with the storage heaters but that her electric bills from these are through the roof.

She added: "Since moving in I've had to use an emergency heating cylinder for water, too, which is really expensive.

"It's been really difficult dealing with this with two children.

"Work has now started to sort it out, but it's been a hard few years."

A Thanet council spokesman said: "Since October 2020, when the management of our council properties was brought back in house to our new Tenant and Leaseholder Service, we have been working hard to address any legacy issues for our tenants.

"Gas central heating installations are undertaken by our contractor and where a property previously has no gas supply, it is required that the network provider fit a meter first.

"The waiting time for this can be a number of weeks.

"While there isn't gas supply, alternative provision such as electric storage heating which can be used like radiators, will be installed by us as an interim measure.

"If there are issues with a property such as damp, tenants are advised to contact our Tenant and Leaseholder Service directly by telephone or email so that plans can be made to address the matter."

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