Nicole, who did not want to reveal her full name due to safety concerns, has been living in her social housing home for 12 years now, 10 of which she says have been unsafe.

"Every downpour of rain we have, I think to myself, 'is this the one where the ceiling will come down on me?'," she said.

Nicole, who lives in the home with her teenage son, said the roof above the kitchen has a leak where rain has collected over 10 years, spreading through the walls and ceiling of the home.

Her mother, who also wished to remain anonymous, said they had reported the damage to the Department of Housing "many times" with no result.

"We've lost count of how many times we've approached the department, Nicole has given up now," Nicole's mother said.

"They tell us that it takes 20 days to process through the land and environment department, but I've heard that so many times now."

Nicole has been receiving chemotherapy for a cancer diagnosis since October last year, and both she and her mother fear for her health.

"There's so much dampness in the house, my son and I are always sick," Nicole said.

"Especially now with chemo treatment, my immune system is quite low so it's not hard for me to pick up a virus or a bug, I actually have a chest infection at the moment."

The mother and daughter said people had come to fix the issue multiple times over the years, but the problem continued.

"Someone from the department came out last week to put a new fluorescent light in because all the wires had rusted from the water," Nicole's mother said.

A spokesperson from the Department of Housing said their records showed the first mention of the incident to be in August 2019.

"A contractor attended the site, addressed the issue and the tenant requested that further works be put on hold," they said.

"A request was made by the tenant in early 2020 to re-commence those works, this includes the replacement of the roof, some sections of the ceiling and the floor coverings."