A Liverpool student says her belongings have become "too mouldy to salvage" after a leak in her Wavertree university accommodation.
Rio Smith, 19, along with her four flatmates, mistakenly thought one bedroom had a "nice feature wall", but it turned out to be the cause of many problems. Following a leak, the five-bed student accommodation became riddled with "mould and damp everywhere".
Rio and her flatmates noticed damp on one bedroom wall shortly after moving into the flat in August 2022, but but it wasn't until her flatmate pointed out her "differently painted colour wall" that they realised there was an underlying issue. Rio said: " The mould is especially bad in my room and I was the first to notice when my flatmates thought I had a feature wall but it was actually just a damp wall that looked a different colour.
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"The mould kept popping up everywhere, by the stairs, in the kitchen and in my room at first, it would be black and fuzzy too not just damp. Anywhere there is wood the mould appears, under desks, cupboards, under the bed, behind mirrors and high up on the ceiling."
The mould has spread so much across the house that the students' belongings have been damaged. Rio said she has had to throw away two pairs of shoes, a jumper from the back of her cupboard and a pair of boots, all of which had started to grow mould.
According to Rio, the situation has caused constant anxiety and stress as her and her flatmates feel they "don't have a comfortable space to come back to" after lectures and exams. She said: "It's made living here really uncomfortable, and it's more stressful coming home knowing we're going to have to sort out issues with the boiler, shower, damp walls and doors."
Rio said the damp and mould is making living and socialising in the house uneasy and that everyone feels "a lot less social because of it." She added: "No one likes being here, everyone stays in bed because it’s too cold to hang out in the living room and it’s just upsetting coming home after a stressful day of exams or work knowing you’re going to be uncomfortable."
The students contacted their letting agency for help in October, as well as Environmental Health, received a dehumidifier and an extra £200 to put towards the cost of electricity, at the beginning of December 2022.
Like the majority of student rentals, the student house comes with a household electricity allowance of £1,200 per year (for the five bedroom house) and any remaining balance has to be paid by the students. However, Rio and her flatmates say they cannot afford this. According to Rio the dehumidifier has helped temporarily but they are still struggling to keep on top of the issue.
The girls say each time they go to the estate agents to sort out a maintenance issue they are told that their "wet clothes may be causing the damp" or it is because their "furniture is too close to the wall".
Despite reaching out for help and using the dehumidifier as advised Rio and her flatmates are still facing issues. She said: "We feel as though to them this means the situation is fixed."
MGM Lettings, who act on behalf of the landlord of the accommodation, told the ECHO: "The property in question has had multiple visits from contractors, who have pointed out that the issue has been cause by condensation but cleaned and treated the mould. This is caused by lack of heating and not ventilating the property adequately."
MGM Lettings say the tenants have been provided with Liverpool Healthy Homes booklet put together by Liverpool City Council and the NHS as an explanation on what causes issues with condensation and ways to reduce it.
They added: "We are very aware that tenants are afraid of using the heating due to rising energy prices however, by not using the heating in the property it has the knock on effect of condensation and mould."
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