Couple told royal blue paint used to brighten up their Wolverhampton home must go
A couple has been left feeling blue after they were told to remove the bright colour from their front path.
Paul Ryder lives with his partner at their home in Pendeford and decided to paint his front path blue after completing other decorative work in their back garden.
Three weeks later, the couple received a phone call from their landlord Bromford Housing in which they were told to remove the paint within four to six weeks or they will face a minor tenancy breach.
Correspondence they have received has left the pair somewhat confused as to how things will progress.
They have been told they should have asked for permission to complete such work.
Paul said: "We were told to remove the colour or paint it grey to follow suit with everyone else in the area.
"We have tried to make our home our own and feel like they are controlling what we can do.
"We were told we had four to six weeks to remove it, but I looked at my tenancy agreement and there wasn't anything about the garden.
"I asked what would happen if I don’t change it and they told me I would have a minor breach of tenancy."
The pair, determined to keep their home how they want it, asked the landlord to confirm in writing it must be removed.
The Bromford housing association email to the couple read: "After our discussion last week regarding the painting of the path and edging I wanted to see if there was anything we could do to help as you said you couldn’t afford to buy the paint to paint it grey.
"I can confirm that we received no complaints from neighbour’s in regard to the paint and that it was a Neighbourhood Coach that was covering for me when I was on leave that bought it to our attention.
"All we would say is that permission should have been asked for prior to doing this and we would ask that you do not paint any other external part of your home, including paths, walls, doors and windows."
Paul said: "We have had people say they love it, the fact it doesn't look like everyone else."
A gofundme page has since been set up as Paul tries to make a positive out of a negative.
The money raised on the page will go to Alzheimer's Society and can be found at justgiving.com/fundraising/paul-ryder14
The housing association has been contacted for comment.
