A YOUNG mother says she was almost made homeless after being misled by a landlord.

Chloe Hunton spent days cleaning a “filthy” house on Main Street in Frizington, after being told by the landlord that she would be able to move in there with her young daughter.

But after the 22-year-old had cleared up piles of rubbish, rotting food, maggots and excrement, he told her she could no longer have the property as he was going to put it up for sale.

Chloe, who lives at Moor Place in Frizington, said she had asked a friend to pass her contact details on to the landlord when the house on Main Street became available.

“I need to be closer to my family being a single mum with a little girl, for help," she recalled.

“I got a call from the landlord - he said if you want it, you can have it. The property is fine.

“I went in. There was rubbish everywhere. I had to rip up carpets on my own. I found human poo, dog poo, dead rats, maggots, fleas on the dog beds. The fridge had rotten food in it.

“My little one-year-old cut her knee. She had to go to the doctors to be checked because there was broken glass everywhere.

“One of the plug sockets had been burned. He told me he couldn’t afford an electrician.

“That was just the inside. Outside was ten times worse.

“After I got all the rubbish out, my stepdad sorted the damp. The damp was really bad.

“I sent him a message saying I’ve had to clean all this by myself. He wasn’t bothered.”

Chloe said she later received a message from the landlord, who lives in Portugal, saying he was selling the house.

“I said to him, that’s fine, it’s your property, your choice. But I’ve spent two or three days in there cleaning that. If you could pay me for cleaning it, that would be fine. He just ignored me.

“I had to give notice on the council house I’m in now. Luckily enough, I had enough time to ring them and say I’ve been let down. Otherwise, I’d have been homeless with my little girl.”

The landlord is listed on Copeland Council’s private landlord directory and it is understood he has a number of properties in the area.

A spokesman for Copeland Council said: “We keep our private landlord directory under constant review and if we receive a complaint about a landlord listed, we will investigate the complaint to see whether it is appropriate for the landlord to remain on our directory.

“We would strongly encourage anyone who becomes homeless or is at risk of becoming homeless – for whatever reason – to contact us immediately as we have a number of ways in which we can assist.”

The News & Star contacted the landlord for comment but could not reach him.