A mum says she is at breaking point over the condition of her damp council flat where she has been living for eight years. Sonia, 48, claims that she and her seven-year-old son have developed asthma due to mould in the one-bedroom ground floor flat.
She says she is desperate to move out due to the mould and an infestation of ants and other pets in her home in a council-owned block of flats in the east of Walthamstow, MyLondon reports. And Sonia says she has been forced to sleep in the same bed as her son in the living room as the bedroom is particularly badly affected..
Sonia says mould has grown throughout the flat so badly that some walls have been left completely black. And she claims to have seen ant infestations as they are able to get in through cracks on the ground floor and has had to fill in cracks with filler, as well as tape up other gaps in the house which could be used as entry points.
She told MyLondon: “I don't pay for [the property] now because they know I've got issues with my health, but they're not checking on my health. I haven't got a spleen. I had a hip replacement. I've got arthritis on my hip, I've got a swollen foot, because I was in a coma for two weeks fighting for my life, I was in Whipps Cross Hospital in 2017.”
While Sonia claims the property in Walthamstow has been labelled as “unsuitable to live in” by a housing surveyor, who was recommended by Sonia’s lawyer, the council are not planning to extensively fix the property as she wishes. She says they both are now suffering from asthma, which she believes has developed since living in the property. Sonia also has multiple other health issues.
The mum is worried about the impact the living conditions are having on her young son. She claims to have previously called a housing officer to fix issues, which she said was not followed up on, commenting: “I asked the woman, if you can get the repair people to fill the cracks because of the ants, the lady give me a reference number. No one I turned up. I don't like being here. My son hasn’t got anywhere to play and it's not good for his age.”
Describing the bedroom, which they are currently unable to use, she said: “They're trying to say that the flat, there's nothing wrong with it. And I'm trying to get out of here, because it's too small for me and my son for a start, and then for my health as well. Because when I came back from the hospital, I was on a TPM machine and half of this part was a hospital part.”
Sonia told MyLondon about additional issues in the bedroom, include a plant growing through the wall, which has been taped up, as well as white mould on the floor. She also claims there are dead flies in the room.
Sonia explained that she has been supported by her neighbours, who have all been left shocked by the state of her home. Sonia said: “My neighbours come here, I'm crying. I'm stressed out. I can't sleep at night, because I keep looking to see if there's any ants coming. About two months ago I woke up from my bed. I opened the patio door and the whole carpet was full of ants, all over the floor there, and the kitchen.”
Sonia told MyLondon that she is wishing to move nearer to her elder son in the borough of Barking and Dagenham. He does not live at the property, but was helping his mum out when we went to speak to her.
He told MyLondon: “It's not even as if all the neighbours in this building are going through the same thing, they're not, this is completely different. When they hear what's going on here, they're like woah, they're shocked that my mum is going through this.”
Some work is being scheduled to be done on the property later this month, but Sonia says it is not enough. She claims to have been told there is “nothing wrong with the property” by a housing officer, adding: “All they're going to do is just to clean the damp, paint it and that's it.”
Sonia added: “The lawyer sent a surveyor over and I asked him, do you think this property is suitable for me to live in, and he said no. He said one, it's not good, two, there's no space. But the housing officers still want to work around it. They want to paint and clean this in front of me and my son for two days. My son and I have to sleep here while they paint and clean up the damp.”
Cllr Ahsan Khan, Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration at Waltham Forest Borough Council, told MyLondon: “We have been in contact with the resident to arrange a visit to the property to assess the problems this month. We offer pest control services to all council tenants that can be quickly and easily booked through our website.”
MyLondon also contacted Barking and Dagenham Borough Council for comment.
