A concerned mum says that mould and damp problems at her South Belfast apartment are causing her daughter to develop serious health issues.
The mother of two young children has raised concerns about her flat in the Port Building on Annadale Embankment, saying that she has had issues with mould and damp developing in it for around three years.
She says that the mould problems have got so bad that they have started to cause serious health problems for her asthmatic daughter, who has had to go to the doctors 27 times in the past few years as a result of it.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, she said that she has been asking for the mould and damp to be dealt shortly after moving into the flat and that she was the first tenant there.
She says that Clanmil have previously made attempts to deal with the mould problem, including using industrial dehumidifiers, but the mould and damp has only come back worse every time.
The mum claims that she was last told by Clanmil that the mould shouldn't be a problem and "was not active", and that other parts of the building are having mould problems such as the car park lift area.
She said: "For the past few years I have been desperate to get this mould problem sorted in my apartment but nothing seems to be working and it has begun to give my daughter serious health problems as she already suffered from asthma.
"It has been forming all over our apartment, behind appliances and cabinets, behind picture frames and the entire area underneath the lino flooring was completely covered in it.
"There are also problems with it all over the building with large plots of it forming on the walls in the car park area.
"Doctors have told me that I need to leave the apartment because of the damage that it is doing to my daughter, who I have had to take to the doctor 27 times in the past few years due to issues with her chest.
"I was the first person to live in this apartment and have done all that I can to try and make it a safe place for our family, but the damp and mould just keeps returning."
The Port Building, which is run by Clanmil Housing Association was opened in 2019 at a cost of £6.6million.
An inspection of the property by Belfast City Council Environmental Health in 2021 said it was believed that the structure of the building was causing mould and damp issues due to a lack of ventilation.
It said: "Due to the building design there are no openable windows in both the bathroom and kitchen/living room. It is my subjective opinion that the mechanical ventilation system to the property is not providing adequate enough airflow.
"This lack of ventilation may be contributing to the mould and smell issues within the apartment."
A spokesperson for Clanmil said: "Keeping our customers’ homes safe, secure and comfortable is our priority and we take incidents of damp and mould very seriously.
"We have robust procedures in place to identify and treat damp and mould in the homes we provide, and we respond promptly to all reports by customers, working with them to resolve issues.
"We would urge customers with damp and mould in their home to tell us as soon as possible so that we can take action to fix it.
"There have been no recent reports of damp or mould at the tenant’s home.
"There were some problems with damp and mould reported to us in 2021 and 2022 but these were resolved. Work was carried out in May 2022 to treat affected areas and colleagues also checked that the ventilation system was in full working order.
"In November 2022, our colleagues carried out another inspection and arranged for a small remaining patch of damp to be treated.
"Colleagues also advised the tenant on general practices to ensure the home is adequately ventilated, including ensuring that the ventilation system provided in the home was switched on.
"Our colleagues attempted to speak to the tenant in January 2023 to check if they had any issues but were unable to reach them. In recent conversations our colleagues have had with the tenant in June 2023, no mention was made of damp or mould.
"We are happy to visit the tenant’s home at a date that suits them to carry out an inspection."
However the mum has refuted some of this statement saying that she has told the housing association about the issues within the past month.
She also said that she was not aware of any attempt by Clanmil to speak with her in January and that the conversation she had with the Housing Association in June was in relation to other problems that she was having within the apartments.
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