VANESSA

The property had untreated wooden doors at the front and back. They were cold and not safe— you could hear the wind coming through, you could see daylight under the door and people walking past. My cat used to sit there watching people go by.

There were holes in the walls and the landlord had just put boxes of sanitary towels in to fill them up. There were six of them in the door frame when I moved in. I kept telling them and they kept ignoring me, because they only cared about getting the rent.

There was no flooring, no carpet and no lino, just the slats they built on, bare and untreated. I lived like that for a couple of years – I couldn’t be living like that again … They never cared about safety or anything.

Once I walked out of the front door and three bricks fell out and nearly hit me … I had a very weird experience, because I felt