A family of six are desperate to get home in time for Christmas after repairs to their roof turned out to be more complicated than expected.
Nicholas Webster, 30, and his family were removed from their Woodside Road council maisonette in Heartsease in October after a leak in the bathroom developed into a full bedroom ceiling collapse.
Nicholas and his partner Izzetta, 24, along with their four young children who are aged between seven and six months old were put up in a nearby Travelodge initially.
The family was then moved to a property in Heathgate while repairs were carried out to their home which they were told was because teams had discovered asbestos in the ceiling.
According to Nicholas, Norwich City Council said most of the home's carpets and furniture needed removing for fear of contamination - including bedframes and mattresses - but the clean-up would be completed in three weeks.
"It's very, very concerning because we lived in the property during a kitchen refit in September," Nicholas said.
"Workers put holes in the ceilings for gas lines and told us there was no asbestos. But now they do find asbestos and have had to pull out all of the ceilings."
Six weeks passed and the family said they still had not heard word of when their home might be safe to return to.
"Our housing contact is no longer answering calls or responding emails," Nicholas continued.
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"I've become so frustrated that I went to City Hall to speak to someone but they said I needed an appointment and turned me away.
"We just can't get hold of them."
Concerns are also growing as Christmas approaches which will place a greater strain on the young family.
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Nicholas is a stay-at-home father while his partner works as a full-time carer for their eldest son.
He said: "The housing officer said most of the furniture in my boys' room was destroyed and that to have them replaced we need to show proof of purchase.
"But we no longer have the receipts and it will cost more than we have to buy everything again."
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Nicholas added: "With everything going on it's been a major disturbance for our son who is struggling a lot.
"We just want to go home."
However, it seems the family's hopes of being home for Christmas could yet be realised.
A city council spokesman said: "We’d like to reassure Mr Webster and his family that the safety of our tenants is paramount which is why we felt we needed to move them out and into a hotel while further investigations and repairs took place.
"Unfortunately, we found that on closer inspection that there was a lot more remedial work required than we initially thought and making these repairs was made all the more difficult by the persistent rain, so we moved Mr Webster into temporary accommodation while these repairs were made.
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"We are doing all we can to ensure the family can move back into the property as soon as possible and have been in regular contact with Mr Webster throughout this process and will continue to do so until it is resolved.
"Norwich City Council staff members have accompanied Mr Webster into the property on several occasions to collect belongings, and to feed his fish, and have under instruction from Mr Webster also been feeding his fish in his absence.
"We are pleased to say that the family now has access to the property and are receiving support from staff in claiming for damages to property through their insurance."
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