A homeowner claims she is still waiting for the Bermuda Housing Corporation to correct a botched refurbishment of her home - more than eight months after she first complained.

Jennifer Simmons said she has been forced to sleep in the hallway of her Paget home after the contractor failed to follow the plans, and instead built her bedroom inside another bedroom, meaning there was no natural light or air circulating.

She said she paid BHC $200,000 to complete the work, and is now taking legal action to get the matter resolved.

Ms Simmons claimed BHC had admitted responsibility for the botched work and had promised to meet with her and her lawyer Alan Dunch, but she said had experienced extreme difficulty in reaching anyone from the Government housing agency. She said none of her calls to the corporation's acting General Manager Richard James had been returned. She said work on her home began in March last year, forcing her to move out, and was not completed until November.

But she said the work was not what she asked for and now, in July, she is still waiting to have the refurbishment work corrected.

"I told the contractor repeatedly while he was doing the work to just stick to the plan," said Ms Simmons. "I made numerous complaints while the work was on-going. But here we are, more than a year on and it is still not sorted out.

"My bedroom is not where it was supposed to be. The electrical is still not hooked up to the meter properly - the wires are going across the door."

Ms Simmons said she had had a meeting with BHC and claimed they had admitted responsibility for the problems. But she said she had made numerous calls during recent weeks to arrange another meeting, none of which were answered.

In desperation, she called The Royal Gazette this week.

The Royal Gazette tried to contact Mr. James repeatedly over a three-day period in connection with this matter, and another relating to BHC, but was unable to reach him for comment.

Yesterday, the corporation finally called Ms Simmons and offered to arrange a meeting with her and her lawyer for tomorrow.

Ms Simmons said she bought the house on Cobbs Hill in Warwick with her daughter and son-in-law. They live upstairs with their three children, and she lives downstairs with her son.

She said BHC offered her a loan to refurbish the property, which she accepted, but she said checks should be in place to ensure work is being carried out correctly.

And the grandmother said the stress of the situation, and the fact she was unable to sleep in her badly ventilated bedroom, was beginning to cause her great concern and some sickness.

Health and House Minister Nelson Bascome was not available for comment yesterday. Shadow Housing Minister Michael Dunkley urged the BHC to resolve the matter as soon as possible.

But he also asked why calls to the BHC were not being returned promptly.

He said: "I have been aware of Ms Simmons' situation for quite some time. As she was approached by the corporation in good faith to do this work, and they have now let her down, it is their responsibility to fix it.The poor lady has been having a hard time getting to make an arrangement for a second meeting. Clearly for the work to be done, it will prove even harder."

But Mr. Dunkley said he believed there would be other people in this situation and the BHC should take steps to rectify them quickly.

He added: "I think they should have a special crew to rectify these problems. I support these programmes to help people renovate their homes, but there has to be accountability."