Please don’t make us go back to ‘uninhabitable flat’ says distraught mum
By Phillip James Lynch
A family will have to move back to a flat that they claim left one of them, a 10-year-old girl, in hospital due to the mould.
Emily McDermott was told by her landlord, Peabody, that she couldn’t stay in her temporary accommodation anymore, ordering her to return to the previous flat.
Emily first reported the damp and mould over 20 years ago, and was allegedly told by her housing association to ‘open a window’. Two decades later, her now adult son has developed severe asthma, and her ten-year-old daughter faces opening Christmas presents in the flat that has hospitalised her on several occasions with breathing difficulties.
Emily said: “The one thing as a mother you can do is to protect your children. Going back to that flat is not an option, and any mother would do the same. What they are trying to do to us is inhumane.”
Peabody has said it carried out work to fix the faults over the summer, but that Emily has refused to move back. The housing association added that it has reassured Emily of the property’s safety, and that it has been examined by an independent surveyor.
Peabody moved the family out of the Kensington flat in October 2023.
They were first moved into temporary one-bedroom flat in Ladbroke Grove, where Emily said she had to share a bed with her daughter in the living room for several months until December 2023, before being moved to new temporary accommodation in Colworth, where they stayed until February. Ten months ago, they were moved to a suitable three-bedroom house in Acton, where they have been living ever since – but now face being forced out again.
Emily said: “My daughter is traumatized, she was so ill there. They want us to go back to this property without any cooker or fridge which they have broken in storage – to a flat which I believe is still damp.
“I already moved her school, we are settled here. I haven’t been able to put Christmas decorations up for two years in a row, because I don’t know where I will be.”
Peabody says the mould problem has been rectified, but Emily does not agree. An environmental health report last month outlined that the property was infected with mould due to poor ventilation.
Damp Free London said: “It is becoming evident that the condition of the walls suggests the remediation will not be sufficient to prevent mould from returning. The walls are already showing signs of moisture, which indicates that the underlying issue has not been fully addressed.
“This property is uninhabitable. It is unhealthy and can cause severe breathing problems or allergic reactions caused by the mould. Due to a child living in the property, this has higher risk of them developing asthma at a young age.”
Peabody carried out their own examination with an independent surveyor which found the property safe for return.
Emily says she was told she must vacate her current house and return to the flat this week.
Emily said: “My ten year old daughter is broken. She sufferers with ADHD, anxiety, autism, aside from the breathing difficulties and they know this. They just don’t care, they’ve lied all the way through.
“I’ve had to be put on stronger antidepressants and had to get help from urgent mental health care. It’s not an option for me to go back to that flat two weeks before Christmas.”
A spokesman for Peabody said: “Miss McDermott and her family were staying in temporary accommodation while we carried out repairs to her home. We finished the work in the summer and her home has been ready for them to return, however she has been refusing to move back.
“We have reassured Miss McDermott that her home is safe and has been checked by an independent surveyor. We will keep working with the family to support them.”
Pictured top: Emily McDermott in her house in Acton (Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga)