Social housing: Ballymena mum fears for family in mouldy home

The woman is especially concerned about the effect of the mould on her children's health

A woman from County Antrim has said she is concerned black mould in her home is putting her children's health at risk.

The mother of three lives in a property in Ballymena owned by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

She has raised concerns several times in the past three years but told BBC News NI the problem was getting worse.

The Housing Executive said it was working on the issue and was "committed to getting the ongoing damp problems resolved" as soon as possible.

It said it had spent £6,000 on work so far, including fitting new insulation, improving windows, removing mould and supplying dehumidifiers.

The woman, whose name is not being disclosed by BBC News NI, said that mould on her ceiling is the first thing she sees when she wakes up and the last thing she sees when she goes to bed.

The woman says parts of her home are "literally crying with condensation"

The woman has fibromyalgia and said the biggest trigger for her condition was stress.

She told BBC News NI she is especially concerned for her son.

"The mould in his room appears faster than I can get rid of it," she said.

"He's asthmatic and there's health implications there too."

Her worries increased after learning last year about the death of a toddler in England who was exposed to mould, she said.

"It was heart-breaking and it was scary because I'm thinking my babies are living in conditions not dissimilar to what that child was living in."

She added: "I have told the Housing Executive, the people I am supposed to tell… to have this problem sorted and it never goes away. It is so demoralising.

"I have had suicidal thoughts about this place because it is just so difficult to keep fighting."

The Ballymena mum said the mould in her asthmatic son's bedroom "appears faster than I can get rid of it"

In May the Housing Executive said tenants may face some short-term delays to non-emergency repairs in the Mid and East Antrim area.

A previous contractor stopped working for the housing body on 30 April.

A new contractor is not due to begin work until September.

Urgent and emergency repairs would continue as normal, said the Housing Executive.

'Bleak and miserable'

However the Ballymena mum said she had no confidence that the mould problem would be sorted anytime soon.

"I am resigned to the fact I am going to have another winter where I am burning gas just as quick as I put it in to the meter," she said.

"My walls are literally crying with condensation. It's bleak, it's miserable."

A Housing Executive spokesman said it planned to carry out "further substantial work to prevent damp and mould in this house".

This includes damp proofing, improving loft insulation and repairing the roof.

"It is our intention that this be completed as soon as possible," he said.

There are damp problems throughout the home

The spokesman added: "Our priority is to proactively ensure our tenants live in safe, warm and dry homes.

"We ask tenants to report suspected cases of damp and mould in their homes to us immediately so we can determine the cause and take remedial action.

"We take this issue very seriously and inspect any report we receive as a priority, with a maintenance officer inspecting each report of damp, mould or condensation".

'Shortage of housing'

Independent councillor Rodney Quigley said maintenance and repair delays were the biggest issue in the Ballymena area.

"I am getting phone calls on a daily basis and people calling in to the office weekly," he said.

"The longer this goes on the worse it is going to get. There is an avenue there to have these issues addressed but there is nobody there to do it."

He said there were more than 50 houses in the Ballymena area "that can't be rented out because of the maintenance issues".

"This has led to a shortage of housing," he added.