Wagga resident fed-up with housing over unit complex conditions

Melissa Burden is one of the residents living at the Womboy units on Edward Street and said housing had placed a lock on the front gates on Friday which left residents with no way of getting in or out.

"We weren't given keys or informed about the locks," Miss Burden said.

"On Friday I came down and the gates were locked. I called the fire department and they offered to put a ladder up for residents to be able to get over the fence."

The fence towers over Miss Burden, and while they could find a way to crawl over from inside the premises using a brick wall, there would have been no way for them to get back over from the other side.

Miss Burden, upon discovering she was locked in, called "maintenance" and was allegedly told she would have to wait until after 9am on Monday to contact housing regarding the issue.

"I ended up getting my drill from upstairs and removing the lock myself - I wasn't going to spend the entire weekend locked in," she said.

A spokesperson for the NSW Land and Housing Corporation said the locks placed on the gates "were fitted with the same key used for laundry access, ensuring that all tenants had immediate access in and out of the complex".

"Following reports of unauthorised vehicle access and lawn damage, the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) received a request to install fencing and gates at the complex in Wagga," the spokesperson said.

"After receiving calls that some tenants were having issues with access, the locks were replaced with a latch.

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"The fencing and gates will remain without locks to deter unauthorised access and use of the common areas at the complex."

According to Miss Burden, this information was not given to residents until a locksmith was sent to the complex at about 9.30am on Monday.

It's not the first time residents at the Womboy unit block have contacted housing regarding an issue and "failed to get a timely response", according to Miss Burden.

"The building has black mould in its pipes coming up from some of the toilets which were put off by housing and not properly treated," she said.

"And it's currently infested with bed bugs for the second time this year after housing claimed they treated it."

The LAHC spokesperson said the entire complex underwent treatment for bed bugs across June and July this year.

"Recently a report was received that one of the units had seen them return and work is underway to address this," they said.

Miss Burden said a text message was sent to residents on Thursday apologising for "any inconvenience" relating to the gates over the weekend.

The text states "the issue has now been resolved" and directed residents to contact Wagga Housing for further discussion of the matter if residents wished to do so.

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