Croydon Council tenants with kids housed in mouldy flats

Hannah-Jayne Holmes, a young mum of two, claims the mould in her home in Fisher Close, Addiscombe became so bad she had to throw away two brand new children’s beds.

Despite this, she claims a response she received from a council officer was they had "seen worse".

According to the residents, the mould is only the latest issue with the council flats.

Hannah-Jayne claimed: “There is mould and damp everywhere in the flat, it is covered.

"I share the flat with my two children, my 12-year-old son Nathan and two-year-old daughter Lilly-Rae.

"My daughter has developed asthma since moving into this flat. I’ve told the council this as well, and they won’t listen.

“It’s beyond a joke, especially when it comes to my children’s health.

"I’ve already had to throw away both my son and daughter’s beds because they were covered in mould.

"I’ve told them so many times. I’m talking to them until I’m blue in the face.”

She alleged that despite help and constant reassurance from her dedicated housing officer, the council and their contractor repair team have failed to address the mould issue.

Hannah said the "neglect" has left her feeling ignored by the local authority.

She added:  “When I messaged them they said, ‘I’ve seen worse’ and ‘it can be cleaned off’. How can you say it’s not that bad?”

Hannah continued: “Every single time I call the council they say somebody is going to contact me.

"No matter how much I tell them that no one is actually contacting me, they say somebody will and that we’re backdated because everyone gets damp and mould at this time of year. I keep telling them I have had it consistently for a whole year, which they’ve known about.”

Hannah-Jayne’s neighbour and fellow council tenant, Lee Sparkes claims he’s also been affected by a mould issue in his flat.

Lee said you can see water droplets running down the walls of his flat when it is particularly cold and wet outside

He feels that despite the best efforts of his housing officer, little is being done about the alleged issue.

He told the LDRS: “In buildings that are privately rented, all the damp proofing is already done but for people like me and Hannah who can’t work they don’t do any of the work at all.

"Every time you call, they don’t take appropriate action. I should be on a class A priority list because of my disability.”

The LDRS were initially approached by Lee about a different issue that had been affecting the flats for over a week.

He claimed his flat had been flooded after a plumbing issue rerouted up the upstairs flat’s waste water through his kitchen sink.

Whenever residents upstairs took a shower or flushed the toilet, waste water would surge up through the sink basin and flood his newly furnished kitchen. 

Lee, who has autism and has lived on his flat for the past five years, told the LDRS: “It happened on November 15, and Wates (the council’s repair contractor) didn’t turn up till November 17. 

"Nearly two days later. They tried to blast the pipe, but that didn’t work. Over the weekend, they got wet wipes out of the drain. The wet wipes were from a blockage in the flat above.

“My bathroom and kitchen aren’t affected, it’s just coming up through the sink. The pipe in the kitchen shared with the flat above, and every time they had a bath or flushed the toilet, waste water was coming out of the sink.

"There’s so much I had to brush it out of the kitchen and into the garage. Some of the water is still sitting there. I had to use clothes to soak it up.

“The flooring has been damaged beyond repair and there are loads of soaking clothes. This is a new kitchen, it’s only two years old.  I haven’t been happy, it’s disgraceful, and they have a habit of fobbing you off.”

In waiting for the repair, Lee has missed a number of important hospital appointments for his long-running injuries. 

He told the LDRS: “I’ve told them four or five times now, and I’ve missed so many hospital and doctor appointments this week. I just can’t get over the fact that this is still going on.”

While Lee’s pipes were eventually fixed by Wates, on November 24, Hannah-Jayne says that her adjoining flat continues to be affected.

She told the LDRS: “No one has done anything about that leak. The only reason they sorted it out in Lee’s flat is because it was literally coming up through his sink. In my flat it’s coming up behind my bathroom wall and under my floors. Basically all my flooring throughout this property is ruined.”

Before leaving to care for her children, Hannah-Jayne summarised her situation, saying: “People shouldn’t be having to live like this, and it’s not just me. There are so many like this.”

A Wates spokesperson said: “Our team carried out work to clear the blockage and repair the waste pipe in Mr Sparkes’ home and restored the sink to full working order.

 “While this repair was completed within our contractual time period as agreed with Croydon Council, we are taking steps to help reduce the time taken for repairs where possible. Our team is also carrying out work at a neighbouring property also affected by the leak.”

Croydon Council was approached for comment but did not provide it in time for publication.