Mother still worried after bedroom ceiling collapses on daughter in Thornlie rental home

An 11-year-old Perth girl has had a narrow escape when she became trapped when her bedroom ceiling collapsed on top of her.

Summer escaped serious injury but her mother wants it to serve as a warning to other renters, with the family out of pocket and out of home after the incident.

“I had no idea what is was until I seen the dust come down the hall way,” Summer’s mother, Sarah Mulder, said. “Then I come down and Summer was underneath it all screaming.

“It fell on top of her, she was really lucky that the chandelier didn’t hit her on the head it only just missed it could have been disastrous.”

Summer had been playing in her bedroom when all of a sudden the ceiling above came crashing down.

“My friend who was with me lifted the plasterboard and stuff off her and even he found it really heavy to even get it off her so we were really lucky that she wasn’t badly injured,” Ms Mulder said.

The ordeal happened inside their Thornlie rental property over a week ago.

The situation has been particularly tough on Summer who suffers from a rare genetic disability which causes ADHD, asthma, epilepsy and other behavioural issues.

“Nightmares, not sleeping well at all, wetting her bed, outbursts, emotional outbursts and she’s getting anxiety about the possibility of having to move houses,” Ms Mulder said.

She called her property manager right away. Hazards such as exposed electrical wiring was fixed within 24 hours but the clean up and repair has taken more than a week.

“They expect us to stay with this dust and even the builder won’t be around it without a mask on so, I don’t know how they expect us to have to be around it,” Ms Mulder said.

She say she has no choice but to move out until it was fixed.

So far it has cost her $830, the real estate agency has offered nine days free rent.

“I want to be compensated for the accommodation costs, I want to be accommodated for the school uniforms I had to go out and buy and for any damage that has been made to Summer’s stuff,” she said.

Ms Mulder been told she should claim damages on her contents insurance but she does not have any.

“A lot of landlords will have landlord’s insurance or building insurance and certainly public liability is part of that so if a tenant’s property is damaged by a falling ceiling for example in this case, then the tenant may have a claim against the landlords insurance,” Paul Maher, of Consumer Protection, said.

Consumer Protection says unexpected incidents like this can be tricky to navigate and must be judged on a case-by-case basis.

“It really comes down to whether or not the damage is classed as an urgent repair or it’s just something that reduces their amenity within the property and they might just have to move out of that bedroom until the repairs are done,” Mr Maher said.

The estate agency says it dealth with the situation expediently, keeping the tenant informed at all times, and in no way deliberately delayed the repair or removal of debris.

Adding it was merely an unfortunate event that was unforeseen and there were no prior signs or indication that the ceiling would come down.

“I don’t feel safe at all with ceilings that could go at anytime, not so much for myself but for Summer, I don’t want to put her in danger,” Ms Mulder said.

The agency says they’ve been advised the other ceilings are safe but the owners will repair them if that is the recommendation from expert advice.

Consumer Protection recommends all tenants to check the I Rent WA app for any advice.

“It provides all sorts of general information as well about what your entitlements and right and obligations are, it’s also very useful for landlords as well because the opposite is true for them in terms of who’s responsible for what,” Mr Maher said.

As for Ms Mulder, her’s is not the first ceiling in Perth come crashing down, nor will it be the last with building experts urge people to check wear and tear on their homes.