Tulse Hill residents petition council to tackle years of widespread damp

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

Residents living on a run-down estate where mould is so bad one family’s kids have to sleep in the living room have urged the local council to take urgent action to improve conditions.

People on the Tulse Hill estate claim structural problems with 100-year-old buildings there are causing widespread mould and damp issues that are making them ill and damaging homes.

They claim their landlord, Lambeth council, has failed to maintain homes on the estate or adequately deal with repairs when they have been reported to them.

A total of 168 residents have now signed a petition calling on the local authority to commission an independent inspection of buildings on the estate in the hope of sorting out the ongoing damp issues for good.

Manuel Goncalves, a transport worker who has lived on the Tulse Hill estate for nine years, said his children had to sleep in their home’s living room due to severe mould in the bedroom.

He said: “The second room is basically empty. I bought myself two dehumidifiers, but obviously I had to switch it off. I can’t afford to pay the electricity for the two of them. And so we just closed the room. ”

Another resident, dad Godfrey Asare, said: “My children got sick because of the mould. The kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom, it’s awful. You wash it, but by the end of the week it comes up again.”

Mum Aster Teklu, whose adult son had to move out of her home because the mould in his room was so bad, added: “It’s really frustrating. It’s really hard just to keep going and keep asking the same thing 10 times. Sometimes it makes you want to give up.”

According to Tulse Hill Estate Unites (THEU), a campaign group formed by residents of the estate fed-up with maintenance issues, a senior council employee last year assured them that there were no significant structural issues needing attention in the next 10 years.

But a freedom of information request revealed that the estate required £7.5m of investment over the next decade, according to a stock condition survey by Savills.

THEU claims council employees have previously blamed residents for causing damp by not opening windows and drying clothes inside, whereas the group believes that structural problems with the estate’s ageing buildings is the root cause.

Residents from the group handed their petition to the council in April. According to THEU, Lambeth said it would get back to them with a response by mid-May, but members are still waiting for a reply.

Just over two weeks ago THEU held a protest outside the council’s headquarters in Brixton, in frustration at what they described as Lambeth’s ‘systemic failures.’

A Lambeth council spokesman said: “We apologise to Tulse Hill estate residents where services have fallen below acceptable standards.

“The estate in Tulse Hill is generally high quality housing, but there are issues with the original construction of this estate which means the homes have a lack of venting which presents ongoing issues.

“We have carried out a day of action at Tulse Hill with our repairs team and surveyors on hand to carry out property inspections and repairs.

“We are committed to tackling problems quickly and fairly, and we have worked intensively with residents to improve the way we respond to complaints.

“We have awarded 10 repair and maintenance contracts to new providers as part of our drive to improve standards and services for council tenants.”

Pictured top: Protestors from Tulse Hill Estate Unites (THEU) demonstrating outside Lambeth Town Hall in Brixton, on May 16 (Picture: High Trees/LDRS)