Teenager forced to sleep on living room floor after mould leaves bedroom unusable

Twm Owen, Local Democracy Reporter

A mum says her teenage daughter has been forced to sleep on the living room floor for months because black mould has left her bedroom unusable.

Leah Morgan said neither of her daughters, aged 14 and five, can now sleep in the room at their Chepstow home, where she says the mould problem has also affected their health.

“My five-year-old is sleeping in my bedroom and my other daughter is on a mattress on the floor of the living room. They have no bedroom,” said the 32-year-old.

Matters came to ahead earlier this year when her 14-year-old collapsed at home in the block of flats in Pembroke Road in the Bulwark, Chepstow: “My eldest just walked out of the bedroom one day and said her chest hurt and she wasn’t feeling very well. She then collapsed on the kitchen floor.

“We got her straight to the doctors who said she had a severe chest infection and the doctor asked do you suffer with any sort of black mould?”

Ms Morgan was also given a letter from her GP confirming both daughters have been seen at the surgery with recurrent respiratory tract illnesses and it was likely mould at the property is impacting their health and may be contributing to recurrent illnesses.

The mum said her youngest daughter has suffered repeated skin irritations and infections.

Following the teenager’s collapse landlords Monmouthshire Housing Association did attend to carry out work, including adding new panelling to the bedroom walls, but Ms Morgan said the work had stalled.

Further work was only carried out, said Ms Morgan, after Monmouthshire county councillor for Bulwark and Thornwell Armand Watts, raised complaints on her behalf in July.

Ms Morgan said she however hasn’t permitted workers further access to her flat, she shares with her partner and two daughters, since on advice she should demand a plan to address and treat the black mould.

The housing association has previously painted over the mould in her living room and in the girls’ bedroom, said Ms Morgan, but told her the problem was from the external wall.

The family moved into the two-bedroom property six years ago after living in temporary accommodation having been forced to move from a private rental in Thornwell when the property was sold.

While they want to move to a larger property none are available and Ms Morgan, who studies with the Open University, said private rentals are now out of reach: “I don’t think we can afford private rental anymore.

“This place is about £600 a month but even for a two-bedroom privately you are looking at about £1,000 a month and I’ve seen a three-bedroom advertised for about £1,500 a month.”

Monmouthshire Housing Association said it had upheld a complaint from Ms Morgan about the time it had taken to respond to her reports of mould.

Formal complaint

A spokeswoman said: “We take all reports of damp or mould seriously, and in this case the immediate risk from mould has been removed. The resident raised a formal complaint regarding the time taken to address the issue, and we have upheld that complaint.

“We are committed to working with the resident to agree any further actions that may be required. We are currently awaiting a response from the resident’s appointed advocate so that we can discuss and agree the next steps.

“We understand the impact that damp or mould can have on residents and are keen to bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion as quickly as possible.”

The spokeswoman also said demand for social housing outweighs supply locally and nationally and said: “While we assess every application in line with our allocations policy and take individual circumstances into account, we are unable to offer immediate rehousing in many cases.”

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