A man says he has been left ‘very depressed’ and fearing for his and his girlfriend's health over his mould-ridden flat.
Paul Tiernan and his partner Emma Brown are stuck in a flat they say is making their health worse due to the mould and fungus which is growing up pipes, across the property’s walls, above windows and in cupboards.
It first became a problem at their flat in Longfield House, Coventry, in 2019, CoventryLive reported.
Since then, Paul, 40, believes it has caused a persistent cough he has developed, that he claims isn’t from smoking.
Similarly, his 38-year-old partner Emma is seeing her health suffer too. He said she has been ‘losing weight for some reason’ as her health deteriorates.
But as Paul is her carer, she is confined to the mouldy flat except when she needs to go to hospital.
He originally took the problem into his own hands and tried to remove the mould with a black mould removal spray, but it didn’t work.
Then, in 2019, their landlord Citizen painted the affected areas with anti-mould paint, but he claims they 'never finished the job properly'.
Paul said: "When they first came out they said someone was going to come out and do the rest, but no-one turned up."
Citizen were due to come out and look at the mould once more on Saturday, November 26, but he said the recurring issue is making him want to move flat.
He added: "It would be better with a whole new flat. I don't really want to be [living here.]"
Asked if the mould is making him feel depressed, he agreed: "I'm very depressed about it."
A spokesperson for Citizen said: “We were made aware of the issues of mould in the bathroom at Mr Tiernan’s home on 16 November. An appointment is booked for a member of our repairs team to attend [on Saturday] (26 November) to carry out initial treatment works, and we will also determine whether further action is required.
"This appointment is within our 12-working day target to investigate damp and mould reports. We were last contacted by Mr Tiernan in 2019 and carried out treatment for the mould which included cleaning, treating the area and painting with anti-mould paint.
"We take reports of damp and mould very seriously at Citizen and we have a dedicated damp and mould team who respond to repairs specifically relating to this issue. If any of our customers are experiencing problems with damp and mould, please get in touch with us and we will investigate further.
"We carry out regular surveys of all our homes and target specific property construction types where we believe there may be structural issues that can cause damp and mould. A plan is in place to carry out stock condition surveys at Longfield House from December onwards, which will be a further opportunity for customers to raise any concerns regarding their property.
"We are aware of a number of repairs that have been reported at Longfield and these are all being actioned."
