A ‘wounded’ mother called for reform to the system, after her family have been forced to move 14 times after their builder went bust leaving their home renovation unfinished.

The Nygaard family feel that they have been ‘let down’ by the system, following a five month ordeal, costing them over £25,000, and leaving them unable to return to their family home.

Naomi Nygaard, a mother of two, says that the experience has been ‘extremely stressful’, and that she has seen ‘clear signs of emotional disturbance’ in her two children, aged two and four. 

The family found a builder to work on a £40,000 development on their Fulwood home, including the building of a conservatory. 

The project was supposed to be completed within a month, however five months later the house remains completely unsafe due to structural damage caused by the work. 

In January, the builder declared insolvency, and either resigned or was removed by TrustMark, a government endorsed quality scheme for trade work in and around the house. 

Mrs Nygaard also discovered that the builder’s insurance was ‘backdated’ to early September, after he stopped paying his public liability policy in November, ‘voiding’ his coverage. 

The Nygaard family cannot re-enter their home, and are still living in ‘garden shed’ temporary accommodation near Derby, where they do not have a washing machine, and have to commute over an hour to work in Sheffield. 

The Nygaard family have very few legal options, and are now calling for more support from the government endorsed Trustmark scheme while they try to ‘rebuild their lives’.

Mrs Nygaard said: “Our builder was Trustmark registered, but then he resigned, and it folded. What kind of assurance is that?

“Any builder can say ‘I’m just not going to do it’ and then the homeowner has no security at all.” 

Mrs Nygaard is now pushing for change so that other families cannot end up in a similar position to her. She said: “When there is homelessness, and children being affected, there needs to be a system that can step in. 

“There should even be a system where, if someone goes insolvent or bust like our builder said he did, even offer temporary housing or some kind of financial help.” 

Mrs Nygaard said that her family ‘just really want to go home’, and are crowdfunding to be able to afford short-term measures to facilitate this. 

Link to support the Nygaard family: Fundraiser by Naomi Engelkamp Nygaard : Sheffield family displaced after builder leaves home unsafe