TENANTS ARE AT RISK! The Ugly Truth About Black Mould
Black mould in a council property in London has left a tenant with a debilitating lung condition that is spreading to his heart.
We’re looking at the huge impact that black mould can have on health and wellbeing – and how you can prevent it in your home.
Have you experienced incredibly severe mould issues? Get in touch via the comments below and tell us all about it!
The history of black mould
Mould has been hitting the headlines over the last few months due to the tragic death of Awaab Ishak, who was 2 years old when he died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by the ‘extensive’ mould in his home.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove said at the time that, quite rightly, the tragedy ‘should never have occurred’ and turned his attention to updating legislation to ensure every landlord – whether social or private – provides decent accommodation for their tenants.
But the mould problem hasn’t gone away. Campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa, whose father had to be nursed in their dilapidated South London flat, teeming with cockroaches, mice and flies, has taken up the fight against poor housing.
The news is still filled on a regular basis with complaints about mould, from new builds to rentals, and it seems that despite the shocking death of Awaab, little to nothing seems to be done about it.
Lung condition caused by mould
Which is how we find ourselves, 3 years on from the tragedy which Gove said should never have occurred, despite months of media-campaigning by Tweneboa, with another case of black mould ruining someone’s life.
A 38-year-old tenant in Hackney, in London, is suffering with chronic sarcoidosis, an incurable lung condition he says was caused by mould in his flat. Doctors have said that the damp conditions in his home put him at ‘extra risk of lung complications’.
Four years after he moved into the flat, in 2021, Max was diagnosed with the autoimmune condition which is triggered by irritants like chemicals or fungus. For the entire time that Max has lived there, the flat has been riddled with leaks, damp and black mould – just the irritants that would trigger the chronic sarcoidosis.
Max is now suffering from a disease that has spread to his heart and has possibly affected his nervous system – which significantly increases the risk of the condition becoming terminal. The five year survival rate for severe cardiac sarcoidosis is 60-75%. Symptoms include coughing blood, dry eyes and problems salivating and it wasn’t until 2020 that he realised the symptoms were caused by years of breathing in the mould spores.
Max has described the conditions in his flat as ‘inhumane’ and doctors produced letters on three occasions stating that the conditions in his flat were medical dangers. This is a shocking statement to be made about a home.
However, Max claims that the council said that the mould in the property was due to Max breathing (!!) or cooking. He is now taking the council to court for their treatment of him and the impact the home they provided had on his life.
Hackney council have apologised for the failure to swiftly deal with the issues in the property, but added that numerous works had been undertaken over a five year period. Councillor Clayeon McKenzie said that these works mean that the flat was ‘generally in good condition’ now and Max therefore ‘does not qualify for an urgent transfer to another home.’
In 2022, Hackney Council were found guilty of ‘severe maladministration’ because of its failure to deal with damp and mould in another’s resident’s home – so Max’s experience is clearly not an isolated incident.
Roz Spencer, who is Head of Service for the housing charity Safer Renting said that:
Nothing is moving fast enough’ and added that ‘to fear that there will be more deaths, is entirely reasonable.
How to protect against black mould
Mould, which may have seemed like a minor decorative inconvenience before, is actually becoming known as a medical danger to those who live with it. So whether you are a landlord or a tenant, you need to work together to ensure that your property is protected.
For tenants, this is to do with lifestyle adjustments:
- Ensure the property is always well ventilated. Open your windows when cooking for example
- Invest in dehumidifiers. These pull excess water from the air and prevent condensation building up
- Keep clean. Regular cleaning prevents fungus growing – and you’ll stop it sooner if it does!
- Let your landlord know about any issues. Even the smallest thing – don’t let it grow into a larger issue
Landlords, you need to be on top of practical concerns:
- Stay on top of repairs. If the bathroom ventilation is broken or the gutters are leaking, getting these resolved sooner rather than later will be key in the fight against mould
- Check seals are up to snuff. When doing inspections – whether when the tenants are in situ or in between tenants – make sure that window seals are still doing their job properly
When you think about it, the impact of black mould is pretty scary – leaving people with incredibly debilitating conditions or, in the case of little Awaab, even killing them.
Have you had a mould issue you’ve had to deal with? Tell us all about it in the comments below.
