Mother loses patience with damp-infested one-bed council home

I’m sleeping on a camp bed in the kitchen because there’s so much black mould in my flat: Furious mother loses patience with damp-infested one-bed council home she shares with her autistic son

• Samantha Gordon, of Sutton, south London, sleeps in her kitchen due to mould
• She shares the one-bedroom council flat with her 13-year-old autistic son 

A single mother has been forced to sleep in her kitchen due to black mould, damp and cracked ceilings all over her flat. 

Samantha Gorman, of Sutton, south London, lives in the council-owned one bedroom flat with her 13-year-old son Ronnie, who has autism.

She gave the only bedroom to her son and has since been forced to sleep on a camping bed in her kitchen due to the growth of black mould in her living room. 

Miss Gorman also said her bathroom ceiling is covered in mould and a crack in her kitchen ceiling causes water to leak.  

Samantha Gorman, pictured in her kitchen where she has to sleep on a camping bed due to mould and damp all over her council flat

The mould on their bathroom ceiling – she said she was ‘sick and tired’ of living in squalor and has demanded to be moved by Sutton Council

Miss Gorman, who has asthma, said the issue has taken a massive mental and physical toll on her family. 

She said: ‘I now sleep on a camp bed in my kitchen because I can’t sleep in my living room any more.

‘I can’t sleep with the mould, it doesn’t do my chest any favours at all. One wall of the living room is completely damp, I refuse to let me or my son sleep there overnight.

‘My son’s had so much time off school due to chest infections connected with the mould and damp. 

What is black mould and why is it so common in rented housing? 

It’s a fungus rather like mildew or toadstools, and it needs permanently damp conditions to grow and multiply.

It struggles to establish itself in dry conditions and, if you can see mould growing on a wall, you are looking at a colony of perhaps millions of mould spores.

Once they start growing, they increase rapidly and will continue to do so unless eradicated.

Mould is an allergen and, if allowed to spread, can become highly toxic and cause severe respiratory infections. Spores can grow on plaster, wood, carpet and even dust.

The problem is worse in tenanted homes, rather than privately owned ones, as these properties tend to be cheaply built with thin walls and are prone to condensation. Also, much rental stock is old and not built to current housing regulations.

Another factor is that these properties tend to be less well looked after by landlords than owner-occupied homes.

Around 40 per cent of rental homes are susceptible to mould, according to the charity Shelter.

‘My anxiety is going through the roof, I’m sick and tired of living in squalor. I don’t like living in this flat any more, there’s too many memories for me and my son.

‘The last couple of years I’ve been in a really low place, at some points I’ve not wanted to be here.

‘I’ve got myself out of that because of my son but it’s really affecting my mental health. The flat is in such dire straits I can’t be bothered with it.’

She has asked to be moved into a new property in Wallington, Sutton, which is closer to her son’s school and where her parents live. 

But she said Sutton Council only responds by telling her it will ‘address repairs’ in the flat, despite her never having reported them. 

She said: ‘I’m sleeping in the kitchen for god’s sake, it’s a joke. 

‘If I was to live in Wallington I could walk my son to school if I needed to. 

‘I’m not being picky or choosy but that would be the ideal place for me to move to. 

‘It would be better for us all around.’  

Miss Gorman said she contacted her local MP, Paul Scully, to help alert the council to the problems but that it did not reply to his emails raising concerns.

This issue has existed since they moved into the property 13 years ago but has got worse since the passing of her partner, Lee, in December 2020.  

A spokesperson for Sutton Council said: ‘We take any report of damp or mould very seriously and having checked with our housing team we can confirm that the tenant has not reported an issue relating to damp and mould.

‘However regardless of this our team attended the property this afternoon to complete an inspection. 

‘We are now working closely with the tenant to address repairs in the home as soon as possible, including mould treatment to the bathroom ceiling and wall, and also in the front room.’

Miss Gorman said she contacted her local MP, Paul Scully, to help alert the council to the problems but it did not reply to his emails raising concerns.

Miss Gorman, who has asthma, said the issue has taken a massive mental and physical toll on her family.

Source: Read Full Article