A single mum is having to sleep in her living room with her newborn baby due to mould and damp issues in her Port Sunlight home.
Sian Taylor moved to the iconic Wirral village three years ago and said she soon began to notice mould and damp near her front door. Around eight months ago, she said this began to spread to other areas of the house.
Sian lives with her 13-year-old son Cody, daughter Nyla, nine, and baby Lucan who is nine weeks old. She first moved to Port Sunlight because she thought it was a beautiful area to bring up her children.
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But she said the mould and damp issues mean Sian has had to throw out furniture, shoes, toys, school bags, and clothes and spend money on replacing them. Sian said the floorboards in the living room have come up due to the damp and she has to throw out the rug every few months.
The Port Sunlight Village Trust (PSVT) said they were aware of the issues in Sian's home and “will continue to work with the tenant until the issue of condensation has been resolved in her home." They said no mould was found on a recent inspection.
Sian believes the issues are too extensive for it to just be normal condensation. She said she sprays the walls every day to clear them of mould and feels like she’s “living in a death trap”.
Sian said: “It was about three years ago when I first reported the damp by the front door and it’s just escalated to the whole back wall. Cody told me the other night that he doesn’t want to live here, it’s not a home.”
Cody, who has cerebral palsy, said he’s lost hundreds of pounds worth of toys as well as a VR headset to mould. He added: “I’ve started sleeping downstairs because there’s so much mould in my room that I struggle to get to sleep from it.”
Sian said she wants to move out but cannot afford to as she is having to spend money on new clothes and furniture, most recently a new wardrobe after the last one went mouldy. She’s currently on maternity leave.
Sian said: “I’m just trapped and I’m in a nasty circle because I'm paying the rent still but I can’t use half of the house. I’ve constantly got to replace furniture. It’s a vicious cycle when it comes to their health because that just sets their asthma off but I can’t keep spraying cleaning products because that’s just as bad."
Sian’s asked to be rehomed and added: “Paying rent and not being able to use two bedrooms, trying to bathe in a mouldy bathroom, and trying to prepare meals and bottles in a humid kitchen. It’s just horrible."
The PSVT have installed an extractor fan in the ceiling and said they plan to install a second in the kitchen.
Sian said: “I just feel like I’m constantly reporting stuff and that’s what I’m told to do in my contract.”
A PSVT spokesperson said: “A number of repairs and interventions have taken place, including the fitting of a positive input ventilation unit and the refurbishment of an extractor fan. It has also been agreed that an additional extractor fan will be fitted in her kitchen.
“A visit was made to the tenant’s home on 30 January by PSVT and no mould was found in the property. Humidity readings of between 52 and 54 were recorded in each room, apart from the lounge, which recorded a reading of 58 but it was noted that clothes were being dried on the radiator at the time.”
A reading also taken on January 30 by Cllr Jo Bird showed a humidity level of 71% in the kitchen when she said no household activities like cooking, washing or drying was taking place. She has been raising the issues affecting Sian and other tenants in Port Sunlight with the Trust.
She said: “Many houses rented out by Port Sunlight Village Trust are old, cold and mouldy. The Trust continues to blame tenant lifestyles, rather than providing homes that are habitable for modern living. Landlords need to change their behaviour and learn from the preventable death of two year old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale.
“We urge the Trust to pro-actively improve all 294 rented properties - to decent homes standards and at least Energy Performance Certificate rating C. Port Sunlight Village Trust can easily afford it.”
A PSVT spokesperson said: “PSVT provides excellent residential accommodation which consists mainly of Grade ll listed houses, and we’re committed to increasing the energy performance of these properties. A planned programme of energy efficiency works will begin in April 2023.
"PSVT urges any tenant to make contact with them directly if they have any issues with their homes. We have a robust repairs and maintenance service, and we strive to provide an excellent service to our tenants at all times.”
Sian said: “We love the village, it’s peaceful, beautiful. It’s so nice to bring the kids up here and I do feel lucky to be able to get a house here because I know a lot of people do try to move to the village but living like this, it’s not worth it.”
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