Delays to the opening of a revamped block of flats in Penrith led to fears for one prospective tenant that he may be left homeless.
Paul Murphy says that after he was told to terminate his existing tenancy, a move date to the new property did not materialise.
Mr Murphy says that in October last year he was offered a property at Players Court, in Castlegate, Penrith, operated by the housing association Home Group.
He was then advised to end his tenancy at his current flat. He says he did this but still does not have a move-in date. His current tenancy was set to run out on January 12. Fortunately, this week he has been able to extend it for a further four weeks.
“I soon found out that the property at Penrith wasn’t actually completed. It still needed the meters putting in,” said Paul. “However, the housing manager hinted that it would be sorted out by December. It wasn’t. She advised me to extend my tenancy by a couple of days, though I could only extend it by two weeks.
“That two weeks passed and I still hadn’t been given a date for moving in. This time, my landlords said I could only extend my stay by four weeks, taking me to January 12. I have now needed to extend my tenancy for four more weeks.”
Mr Murphy says it is frustrating that he has not received a full explanation for the continued delay. Initially he was told by his current landlord he must move out on December 15.
“So I was really feeling that I would be homeless,” he said. The stress of the situation has also affected his mental health.
“It is not being told why. The property was finished on September 4. They keep giving me the same phrase, ‘we are chasing up the developers’.
“At first, I didn’t like to mention my mental health. It really set me off. I am a bit better now, but in November, when nothing was working out, it really got to me.”
Mr Murphy, who has a history of anxiety and depression, added: “That is the ironic thing about Home Group, it is supposed to be for people with difficulties, not only physical difficulties but mental health difficulties. It makes it quite ironic doesn’t it?”
He also told the Herald he would be happy to speak with other prospective tenants, who are affected by the delays.
Mr Murphy said Home Group have now told him that the property will not be ready until the end of January, and probably not even then.
The building at Players Court was formerly a furniture salesroom, and also a theatre for Penrith Players, but has been empty since 2017. Home Group renovated the four storey building and converted it into eight self-contained flats. Home Group announced in September, 2024, that “first customers are expected to move into Players Court shortly”.
As well as renovating the internal elements of the building, Home Group, which has around 10,000 properties across Cumbria, also carried out work to restore the historic facade of the building.
Sarah Dunning, senior operations manager at Home Group, said: “We completely understand the frustration these delays have caused, but they relate to an issue with the utility supply to the communal areas which, until it is resolved, means we cannot receive handover of the property.
“We are working with the utility provider to get it resolved as quickly as possible, but we do not control the timescales on this. Until this issue is resolved we are not able to move our customers into the property, and we share our customers’ frustration.
“We would never want to see one of our customers finding themselves in a difficult situation, and therefore we would urge them to get in touch with ourselves as soon as possible.”
