Tenants face 'chaos' over mould and damp repairs

Natalie says subcontractors come out but do not fix the damp and mould

A social housing tenant says she has been waiting 17 years for her landlord to remove damp and mould in her home.

Natalie, who lives on the Langley Estate in Middleton, Greater Manchester, said subcontractors kept returning to try and fix the same issues after carrying out "shoddy" repairs.

Greater Manchester Tenants Union (GMTU), which campaigns for better housing, said the process for getting work completed was “utter chaos”, adding: "Gas men turn up to do roofs, roofers turn up to do flooring."

Landlord Riverside Housing said it "always" aimed to respond to and resolve any issues "in a timely fashion" and was working with Natalie to fix the issues.

Some problems have been taped over

Natalie said she discovered a pool of stagnant water underneath her house shortly after moving in, in 2006.

It was pumped out but returned, leaving her with damp floors and mouldy carpets.

She said she had been forced to replace her sofa 12 times because of the conditions.

"I’ve had my washing machine two years and the rust on it is unreal,” she told BBC Radio Manchester.

Natalie said she was told that, after a problem with damp in her bathroom returned, the walls would be taken “back to brick this time, but instead it was painted over and is already creeping back – that’s how they dealt with it”.

She said her son could not bring his friends to their house "because of the smell of it".

"It’s unfair that they’ve left us like that for 17 years”.

David Taylor says the smell from damp and mould in his home means he is "too ashamed" to have visitors

Another tenant, Caroline Ray, said she had complained more than 85 times since 2019 about rats in the walls and loft.

"They’ve sent the same subcontractors three times," Ms Ray said.

"They’ve ripped the loft out and claim they’ve decontaminated it and within a week the rats are back.”

Ms Ray said the problem was having a significant impact on her son who “sleeps in the bedroom where the rats mainly are".

"He’s been in hospital - they don’t know what’s wrong with him - he’s having liver scans because they just don’t know what’s causing him to be vomiting all the time,” she said.

Natalie said she had been moved into the top priority for rehousing, but was still waiting to move.

Tenants union organiser Daniel Isaac says "gas men turn up to do roofs, roofers turn up to do flooring"

David Taylor, a Riverside tenant for 18 years, lives in a bungalow which has mould in the bathroom and kitchen, and damp in the bedroom.

He said he was "too ashamed" to have anyone visit his home, adding: "As soon as they walk through the door they can smell the damp and the mould.”

He said work by a subcontractor sent to repair a water leak had "caused damage to my furniture in the bedroom and Riverside do not care".

Riverside said it had hired a dedicated team to prioritise cases relating to damp and mould to "ensure we act quickly and decisively”.

Tenants say they struggle to get rid of mould

Daniel Isaac, GMTU organiser for Middleton, said the repair process was the biggest issue facing the housing association, adding: “The subcontractors turn up when they want.

"They send the wrong people to the jobs – gas men turn up to do roofs, roofers turn up to do flooring - it’s complete and utter chaos.

“They come out and do the cheapest jobs possible, they just spray paint over the damp and mould when they’ve not done any structural work to the building.

"They should have instructed damp surveyors in the first instance and rectified the problem the first time.”

'Haemorrhaging resources'

He said Riverside’s action were wasting money, particularly when families were asked to move into hotels while work is carried out and when they return it is not carried out correctly so start the process again.

"In some instances this goes on for years. It’s a complete haemorrhaging of resources and what we don’t understand is why don’t they just use that money to do the repairs?”

In a statement, Riverside said it was "very sorry that Natalie has experienced repeated issues with her home".

"GMTU raised Natalie’s case with us in February and we subsequently carried out a full property inspection and all identified work was completed.

"We met with Natalie in June who raised further issues with us regarding her floor and rodent activity.

"We are continuing to work closely with pest control experts in relation to rodent activity with Natalie's home... and we will continue to complete all recommendations to fully eradicate the issue."

They said they were "awaiting the findings of an independent property survey and will implement all recommendations to ensure we fully address any concerns Natalie may have regarding her floor".

They added that they "always" aimed to respond to and resolve any issues "in a timely fashion" and were "carrying out a full review of historical repair activity to learn from any mistakes we have made".