Martine Blommen, aged 54, has been living in social housing in Rumst since 2007. Recently, she was informed that she had to vacate her house as it was deemed uninhabitable. However, Martine decided to renovate her house instead of leaving it. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Martine was born without a left arm and lost her husband seven years ago. However, with the help of family and loved ones, she decided to strengthen her resolve and do some renovation work to continue living in her house. Although everything has been renovated, Martine still has to leave her house as she has two cats, two dogs, and two parrots, while she’s only allowed one pet in her new location. Martine hopes that experts will inspect her house once more so that it is no longer deemed “uninhabitable”.
Martine Blommen is 54 years old. Since 2007 she has lived in social housing in Rumst. She was recently informed that she was going to have to leave it because it had been deemed uninhabitable. But she didn’t want to leave her house, so she decided to renovate it.
Unfortunately, not everything goes as planned.
“It was small and in poor condition, but my financial situation forced me to be content with it,” she told the Nieuwsblad. Martine was born without a left arm, and seven years ago she lost her husband. The widow therefore made the difficult decision to stay strong and do some work to continue living in her house.
She was lucky to be surrounded by her family and loved ones to help her on her journey, but she had no idea that she would not be at the end of her troubles once the work was finished.
“Almost everything has been renovated, the bathroom, the kitchen, the electrical installation, the fire alarms, the veranda, the stair railings, everything has been redone. Only the roof remains, the tiles are ready”. But Martine still has to leave her house. “My daughter and my son now live near me in Rumst. In Hemiksem, where they want to relocate me, I only have the right to have one pet. I have two cats, two dogs and two parrots. So I have to part with it. »
In his commune, it is judged that “this affair should never have gone so far”. Indeed, the owner of the premises did not intervene before the renovations, which makes this case very complicated. Martine was supposed to leave for March 1st.
An idea that does not delight Martine, who hopes that experts will come to inspect her house once more so that it is no longer deemed “uninhabitable”.
Martine Blommen’s story is a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit. Despite facing significant obstacles, she refused to be separated from her home and embarked on a daunting renovation project. Unfortunately, her efforts may have been in vain as she is still facing eviction. We can only hope that a solution is found that allows Martine to stay in her beloved home with her furry and feathered companions. Her story also highlights the importance of responsible property ownership and the impact it can have on people’s lives.
