A mum said she is scared for her children after she uncovered mould in every upstairs room of her home. Karen Davies and her four children, including a five-year-old, live in a Derby house with thick black mould on the walls and ceiling in rooms, including where Karen and her children sleep.
Huge patches of thick black mould can be seen on the ceiling of each of the three bedrooms. The mould is also visible on the window sills and window netting. And the social housing firm who own the property have admitted its current condition is not acceptable to live in though the family has not been moved and the problems have not been fixed.
The bathroom of the three-bedroom property is in such a state that, as well black mould covering the walls and even her mirror, parts of the ceiling are breaking up too. It is almost certainly Derby's mouldiest and dampest home, DerbyshireLive reports.
Puddles are forming in a small living room area next to her patio door due to condensation, adding further worries for Karen. Ms Davies, which is not her real name, says she has been left livid with the lack of urgency from social housing landlord Places For People since making an initial complaint in March.
The 45-year-old claims she was told by a housing inspector during a visit to the property that “all homes have this kind of thing” and that she should “keep her windows open”. It is not clear why there is so much mould in the property. But the tenant feels this should have been investigated before now.
Ms Davies is also very worried about the health impacts of such mould, especially following the news a coroner concluded a two-year-old boy in Rochdale died due to living in mouldy housing conditions. She claims she has started getting sinus problems and unexplained rashes and her children are regularly suffering from fatigue and coughs and colds. She fears these health problems could be linked to the mould and says her doctor has suggested there could be a link too.
Places For People have arranged a date in December to sort out the issues but the single mum fears they will only provide a short-term fix and the mould will return, leaving her back at square one which she claims has happened before. Karen, who is on a waiting list to move elsewhere, says she has contacted a solicitor about the situation she finds herself in.
She said: “I'm so sick of living with this and in light of the little boy dying in Rochdale because of the same thing I'm actually scared for my children. It is just disgusting to look at everyday. If someone was looking to move in here, they wouldn’t due to the state it is in. So why should I have to live in it like this?
“I think it would cost thousands to fully repair which is why they are always recommending the cheapest option. Would the housing inspector at Places For People live in this property? That’s what I would like to ask. They say all homes suffer this. I don’t agree at all.
“Every morning there are puddles of water by the patio doors and they are soaked in wetness. This is now starting to damage the wood flooring which I cannot afford to replace. The windows are soaking wet most of the day.”
Karen approached the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) after it was reported by Derby City Council had shown an estimated 12,000 private properties in Derby would have serious issues with them, including mould and damp problems.
But what makes this case more alarming is this is social housing, where there are regulations in place to protect tenants - unlike in private homes. The LDRS sent pictures of the home to Places For People. We asked if the company thinks the conditions of the home are acceptable.
A spokesperson for the social housing provider replied: “No, and we have never disputed that, which is why we agreed for the work to take place once we were able to diagnose the issue. It has taken longer than anyone would like to find a time suitable to complete the work for a number of reasons and we’re very sorry about that, but we have a date to get the repairs done in early December. If we’re able to find an earlier date that works we will bring the repairs forward.“
Places For People said they were booked in to sort repairs in September and attended the address but could not carry out the works due to having “no access”. Since the LDRS contacted Places For People, Ms Davies has claimed the company has called her to offer to do repair work earlier than originally planned.
