Sheffield mum accuses Together Housing of ignoring mould issues in damp-ridden home for over five years

The tenant of the property on the Manor estate, who has asked not to be named, told The Star she has lived in accommodation provided by a range of housing associations over the years but claims she has never had issues go unaddressed for so long. She said: “As the years have gone on, I have had issues with mould and damp and this year it’s back again. They will probably send someone to just clean the mould away and not actually fix it.”

This is claimed to be the ‘go to’ response from Together Housing when the tenant alerts them to fresh mould and damp issues. The tenant of the property claims Together Housing have told her they “won’t send someone” to clean their downstairs bathroom anymore because “it will always be mouldy”.

The tenant is a mum who was moved into the property on medical grounds for her daughter, who, due to her condition, needed a large bedroom of her own. The tenant said despite this she found mould in the bedroom her daughter needs on drawers and cupboards containing clothes and toys.

The tenant said: “I want a housing officer to come and move us out of this property. I feel like they don’t care. I’ve been requesting a housing officer for five years. There has got to be an underlying issue they don’t care to fix.

“I’m just stuck frustrated. It’s making me feel depressed. I don’t know what to do. I walk around the house and move something and there is damp or mould. I’m stressed, I’m frustrated and I don’t know what do to.”

Stephen Garner, Together Housing Assistant Director of Property, said issues have now been resolved.

“Together Housing takes its repairs and maintenance obligations very seriously and we were sorry to hear the tenant has been having problems with her home,” he said.

“We had previously committed to undertake an inspection by appointment on the 28th November 2022 and to complete further roof maintenance on the 20th December 2022. On completion of our thorough inspection of the loft and bedroom, as well as a visual check of the roof, a potential roof leak was identified and a roofing technician attended on 29th November 2022 to undertake a temporary repair. The roof is now water-tight.

“The loft over the front bedroom was also inspected to check for signs of condensation forming. Insulation was found to be missing with exposed plasterboard so new insulation was installed.

“We will now arrange for scaffolding to be erected so the permanent repair can be made. In the meantime, a specialist contractor will treat and clean any mould within the bedroom and ground floor toilet. All the work has been agreed with the tenant.

“We take the welfare of our customers extremely seriously and encourage any resident who is concerned about their own welfare, or the welfare of any of our residents, to contact us at once by phoning our Customer Service Centre on 0300 555 5560.”