A mother-of-five was "enraged" when told the sewerage pipes in her home were broken and had been spilling out underneath her home for what seemed like 12 months.
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Two years ago, Stacey Whitton and her children were living between different motels around Orange, NSW.
But at the beginning of 2022, Housing NSW offered her a house. She took it.
Fast-forward to August 2023 and Ms Whitton was sitting outside when she heard dripping coming from underneath the home.
"I ended up going underneath the house myself and that's when I noticed there was a puddle of water right under my daughter's window," she said.
"Then I went a little bit further and the waste just seeped right into the soil."
After contacting Housing NSW about the issue, a plumber was sent out for an inspection.
"That's when he spotted toilet paper hanging out from one of the pipes," Ms Whitton added.
"It was more than a year's build-up."
Ms Whitton said she was told the sewer pipes and the shower pipes weren't properly connected and as a result, the water and waste had flooded underneath the house.
"I was enraged," she said.
"All of that stuff is seeping through the floorboards and it's all around the outside of the house. You can smell it, front, back, you can smell it all around."
Ms Whitton has asked Housing NSW to find her family another place to live, but said she was told there were no houses available and the best they could offer was more motels.
"The sewer pipes weren't connected at all. It's all just been washed underneath my home," she added.
"My kids have been constantly sick since I've been here. My two older girls have been unable to go to school because they're sick all the time.
"(NSW Housing) won't do anything about it. They just want me to live on top of it."
Government data released in August revealed there had been a 7.5 per cent decrease in the number of people waiting for social housing in the five months leading to June, but wait times were trending upwards.
More than 7500 families and singles were listed for priority assistance on June 30. This was up 1100 in the span of a year.
When contacted for comment about Ms Whitton's situation, a spokesman for the NSW Government confirmed the Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) had been notified on August 10 and that a maintenance contractor inspected the property the same day.
The contractor confirmed that a break in the sewer pipe was found, which was repaired, and advised that sewage had leaked underneath the house.
"We've worked in a thorough manner to rectify this issue, with maintenance contractors attending the property on August 17 to clean the sewage from under the house, which included the sanitisation of the area," the spokesman added.
"We take concerns about building quality extremely seriously and the health and safety of our residents is paramount."
IN OTHER NEWS:
When a property is vacant the LAHC undertakes renovation or restoration works and conducts compliance checks when the works are completed.
"An Incoming Property Condition Report is undertaken, which is also completed by the resident," the government spokesman said.
"Any maintenance issues are referred to LAHC to resolve. If the smell was not present or discharge was not visible at this time, the issue might not be identified."
