A Rainham family-of-four were unable to bathe their children or shower after their bathroom was left a “building site” for close to three months. 

Mayowa Adebiyi, 35, says he first noticed water seeping from beneath the floor tiles in his bathroom late on July 29. 

Mr Adebiyi, who lives with his wife, Gwen Adebiyi, 35, and two children, aged one and three, said he instantly contacted Clarion, the agency managing the property, to get an engineer out to fix the issue. 

An engineer ended up arriving at around 11pm that evening after Mr Adebiyi declined their request to send someone the next morning. 

However, due to the leak likely coming from a failed sealant on the bath, the family were told the engineer was unable to carry out the fix, as he was not contractually allowed to remove tiles on the floor. 

This scenario was repeated when the family called out another engineer on July 30, before the family turned to their contents insurer, NHBC, the next day when the leak began to spill into the flat below. 

This engineer removed some of the tiles to access the leak, while another sent by Clarion, called by the neighbour below, came up to shut off water to the bath. 

However, Mr Adebiyi said that due to the neighbour putting the call in, a separate job needed to be created to carry out any repairs. 

Romford Recorder: The tiles on the Adebiyi family's bathroom floor were left uneven, a danger to their young childrenThe tiles on the Adebiyi family's bathroom floor were left uneven, a danger to their young children (Image: Mayowa Adebiyi)

Since then, Mr Adebiyi said he has struggled to get any further support from Clarion, with a recent cyber-attack blamed for its lack of communication.

A plumber was able to come out on October 24, finally enabling the family to shower and bath, though this was paid for out of their own pockets. 

A Clarion spokesperson said a surveyor will be visiting the home this week, “to assess the situation in order to advise the family of the options available to them”. 

Mr Adebiyi added that another is issue is that as leaseholders they cannot hold buildings insurance, only contents insurance, which does not cover the leaks. 

However, he claims there are “snagging issues raised and other serious latent defects” which have not been dealt with and have contributed to the issue, including ongoing problems with pipes, for which he believes Clarion is liable. 

The result, Mr Adebiyi said, has been a “really frustrating” three months. 

He said: “Having young kids in the house and not being able to do basic things like give them a bath at night.” 

This has been compounded by the fact “the bathroom looks like a building site”, he added, with tiles sticking up and work left unfinished. 

A Clarion spokesperson said: “We are aware of the reported leak in Mr Adebiyi’s home, and he was correctly advised in August that since it is a shared ownership property all internal repairs would be their responsibility as outlined in the leasehold agreement.  

“We have agreed on this occasion to send our surveyor this week to assess the situation in order to advise the family of the options available to them.”