Hackney mum calls for annual mould checks in council flats

Raeesa Patel said she thought annual checks to spot and deal with the telltale signs of mould and damp in council homes would be a “good idea” after repeated treatments at her flat in Hackney Downs.

She said the council flat in Kenninghall Road has suffered from mould and damp problems for about six years, which got worse during the pandemic.

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Her family of six lives in the two-bedroomed flat and she has contacted Hackney Council to deal with recurring damp.

Two of her children, aged 11 and four, have inhalers for asthma and she has used mould paint in the bedrooms several times to tackle the problem.

“We have to clean the mould off two or three times in the winter,” she said.

Raeesa Patel shows mould and damp in council flat Kenninghall Road, Hackney. Photo: Julia Gregory

She said the bathroom  ceiling is also affected and can be wet to the touch.

“Once the council has painted it, the mould comes back,” she said.

She said she was concerned about the impact on her family’s health and others with the same problem.

Mould and damp in council flat Kenninghall Road, Hackney, pic Julia Gregory, free for use by partners of BBC news wire service

Her concerns follow the death of Rochdale toddler Awaab Ishak, who died from respiratory problems caused by prolonged exposure to mould in a housing association home.

“The council needs to take action quickly, I think an annual check would be good. They need to find a long-term solution to fix it,” said Mrs Patel.

Cllr Clayeon McKenzie, who is in charge of Hackney’s council housing, said: “Damp and mould is an extensive issue being faced by social and private landlords across the country. However, we are committed to redoubling our efforts to help tackle the problem in Hackney through the damp and mould action plan we launched last year.”

Mould and damp in council flat Kenninghall Road, Hackney, pic Julia Gregory, free for use by partners of BBC news wire service

During the 2021/22 winter council staff inspected 541 homes after reports of damp and mould. This increased to 1,661 over the 2022/23 winter and the council thinks the increase is partly due to concerns following  Awaab Ishak’s death.

Overall it gets 80,000 requests to deal with repairs a year.

The council is reassessing outstanding damp and mould repairs and prioritising them depending on the severity of the problem and residents’ age.

Cllr McKenzie said the council has “successfully completed the repairs on the issues she had reported as well as to remove and treat the damp and mould that had built up as a result” several times since October 2019/

Staff were surveying the family home to see if more work is needed to treat mould and damp and get work done ” as quickly as possible.”