Family living in house riddled with mould say their ‘suffering’ has been ignored for 5 years
A woman living with two children in a flat riddled with black mould said their “suffering” has been ignored by her housing association and council for five years.
Cheril Mitchell, 43, has been complaining to the housing association, Southern Housing, since 2018 about black mold in her flat in Uffington Road, West Norwood.
Ms Mitchell, who lives in the two bedroomed flat with her two teenage children, said: “All of us have eczema.
“Me and my daughter have asthma, I’m so worried about my children’s health.”
Ms Mitchell said her son, 16, has to sleep in the same room as her daughter, 15, because the mould in the living room – where he was previously sleeping – is “getting so bad”.
Ms Mitchell’s medical surgery wrote a letter of consideration “advising” Southern Housing to remove her and her family from the property due to her persistent cough in 2017 and again in 2021 due to her eczema, asthma and back pain.
She said: “This is not nice, me and my family are suffering.
“My son can’t concentrate at school.
“Both my children are frustrated and unhappy, they shouldn’t have to live like this.
“This isn’t fair, I want a suitable property with no mould.”
Ms Mitchell said that her landlord told her someone would be coming to the property on August 30, to look at the mould but no one turned up.
She said in the five years she has been complaining no one has come to remove the mould from the property.
A spokesman from Southern Housing said: “We remain committed to resolving the issues Ms Brown has raised.
“However, there have been a number of occasions where our contractors and operatives have been unable to gain access to the property.
“There was a visit scheduled for September 1.
“Our maintenance surveyor attended and carried out a full damp survey and we’ll confirm shortly with Ms Brown when work is due to start.
“Our housing officer spoke to Ms Brown on August 11 to discuss the housing options available to her and remains in contact to support with this process.”
Pictured top: From left, black mold in Cheril Mitchell’s property, Cheril Mitchell (Picture: Cheril Mitchell)
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