A FURIOUS mum claims her mouldy, slug-infested home gave her daughter tonsillitis.
Nicola Hodgson, 29, moved into the home in East End Park, Leeds, in 2015 but claims she has had damp and mould problems ever since.
The young mum claims she first complained to Leeds City Council in 2016 when she found mould behind her sofa.
But nothing happened until 2019, when her solicitor got involved.
The mould had spread throughout her home by then, including into her seven-year-old daughter Brooke’s bedroom.
Ms Hodgson said: “As long as they’re getting their rent, they aren’t bothered about the conditions I’m living in.
"They know I’ve got my daughter living with me here. She was three years old when the damp started.
"Since she was just three or four years old she started developing tonsillitis. I’ve only just found out this can be caused by damp.
“I’ve had other people telling me they’ve had the same problems with the council. I don’t know what it is, they don’t want to come and sort anything.
"I’ve had slugs and other wildlife [in the home] because it's that damp.”
She said she was forced to share a room with Brooke because her daughter's was so full of mould.
Work began to fix a leak in her daughter’s bedroom but Ms Hodgson claims it wasn't finished.
Ms Hodgson said the mould problem has since gotten worse.
Pictures show mould in the bathroom, behind a toy box, on walls in the house and a leaking roof in Brooke’s room caused by the rising damp.
'FOBBED OFF'
Ms Hodgson said: “At one point, no one could go into the top room, she had to sleep in my bedroom.
“No one could go into that top room, it was that bad. The leak and the damp that’s all comeback. All they did has been undone because it’s all come back even worse.
“I’m just being fobbed off all the time.
"I've had a number of surveyors out and they have said it's rising damp and said it's rising from the cellar."
Ms Hodgson claims that following a recent visit from the council she was told the mould was caused by clothes drying in the bathroom.
She has since filed another complaint in a bid to get the problems in her home resolved.
Ms Hodgson said: “Everyone I show the pictures to and tell them about it, they can’t believe it."
A Leeds City Council spokesperson told Leeds Live: “We take any issues that are raised by tenants relating to the condition of their Leeds City Council properties extremely seriously.
"Any specific complaints that we receive will always be investigated, and appropriate action taken to remedy the problem if deemed necessary following a site visit.
"In terms of specific issues relating to damp, we work closely with our contractors to ensure that any work needed is completed in an appropriate timescale.
“Due to coronavirus restrictions, there has been a delay in some repairs being carried out and we would like to apologise to our tenants for any additional wait that they are currently experiencing.
"We are working extremely hard to ensure that all repairs are undertaken as soon as is possible.”
Source: Read Full Article
