Yorkshire Housing: Sheffield man left unable to lock apartment for 10 days in 'scary' ordeal

A Sheffield man has shared his annoyance and despair after his apartment was left unsecured with a broken lock for more than 10 days.

David (not his real name) has dealt with a number of issues in his apartment on Millsands in Sheffield city centre since he moved in, including two weeks without a working oven, five weeks without hot water and, most recently, over 10 days without a working lock.

Before the lock was eventually fixed, a concerned David said: "It takes one person to know where to look and everything is gone."

"I'm at work for 10 to 11 hours a day and all the time I'm thinking someone is going to be in my flat right now and I don't want them there," he added.

By the time he contacted The Star, David had been 'picking the lock' on his apartment for a week, which involved simply sticking his hand into the lock and pulling to get in and out.

He said at the time: "It's the same as if someone put my window through and then put a bin bag over it.

"I pay £700 a month for my flat and s*** like this happens. I'm told numerous times I'm a 'priority' but no one has been out to look at my lock."

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After being contacted by The Star last week, Yorkshire Housing's Head of Home Ownership and Commercial Assets, Sophie Gilligan, said: "We’re really sorry about the problems [David] has been having with his home and the inconvenience this has caused him.

"[David]'s door lock will be fixed today and we’re arranging an appointment to put things right with his shower as quickly as we can. We also installed a new oven in the apartment last December. We understand it’s been a difficult time and we’re sorry it’s taken longer than it should have to get things sorted.

 “We’re also investigating why these repairs weren’t made sooner so we can learn from what went wrong to prevent this from happening again."

David needed a new boiler fitting in late 2023 after going without hot water for five weeks. He said he was going to the local gym every day just to have a shower.

He said he now "resents" having to call Yorkshire Housing when he experiences an issue, adding: "It should be someone out straight away and fixing it.

Before the lock was fixed, he said: "It is scary. I'm scared to be in the flat alone and someone coming in... I'll be eating my tea and I will hear the building door go, people walk past my flat and I'll wonder are they looking at my flat. I don't think it will happen, I'm not that paranoid, but it could happen."

David confirmed to The Star that following the newspaper's contact with Yorkshire Housing, they repaired the lock on March 1.