Lenoar Lane says her five year old son’s health is deteriorating because of mould appearing on the walls in the kitchen, bathroom and main bedroom of her Leyton Grange Estate flat since 2015, reports Josh Mellor, Local Democracy Reporter
A Leyton mother says she fears for her son’s health due to long-term mould in her flat.
Lenoar Lane lives in the Leyton Grange Estate with her five-year-old son, who has breathing difficulties and regularly coughs at night.
Her son has asthma and a condition known as immune thrombocytopenia, which causes him to bruise more because he has less blood platelets than usual.
The flat, which is owned and managed by housing association London & Quadrant (L&Q), has had mould appearing on the walls in the kitchen, bathroom and main bedroom since 2015.
Lenoar, who also has asthma, believes the damp and mould in the overcrowded two-bed flat which she shares with her three children and her mother is causing her son’s health to deteriorate.
The mother of three told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) she feels stressed and “really low” about the situation.
She said: “I feel like there’s nothing I can do, every time he gets sick I am more anxious.
“It’s been making me ill since 2017 – I don’t think that he would have developed asthma and this condition if there wasn’t mould.
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“It’s just depressing living here, seeing the mould look like that and seeing my son suffering and [L&Q] doing nothing about it.
“When he goes to see his nan in Birmingham they said he’s fine.”
Lenoar added that she has felt even more scared since hearing about the death of Awaab Ishak from a respiratory condition caused by “extensive” mould in his home.
When contacted for comment, L&Q’s executive director of property services David Lewis said the housing association understands the family’s concerns and that everyone deserves to live in a “warm, safe and well-maintained home”.
He added that since 2017 L&Q contractors have visited Lenoar’s flat three times to carry out repairs, including “clean and shields” of the mouldy areas.
Lewis claimed the property meets the decent homes standard – a legally requirement – but said the housing association would continue to support the family “in any way we can.”
However, since contacting the council’s property licensing team, Lenoar said L&Q have returned to remove some mould-damaged furniture and to clean the walls.
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For more information about dealing with damp and mould, including how to report an issue to Waltham Forest Council’s property licensing team, visit their dedicated website
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