Liverpool mum fears for her children’s health as 'black mould' plagues family home

A mum in social housing says she fears for the health of her young children because of recurring mould in her home.

Megan Tennant, 31, says she first found large patches of black mould in her bathroom, kitchen and daughter’s room in 2021.

Megan, who lives in the house with her partner, four-year-old son Archie and 14-month-old daughter Orla, said she has been in repeated contact with Onward Homes.

Contractors have visited the house a number of times following her complaints but she claims the work has been "bodged" and the mould keeps returning.

She said: "When it is at its worst, you can smell it through the house."

The housing association says it had not found any mould but has apologised for any distress and inconvenience.

Ms Tennant said: "The work has never been done properly - it has been bodged at every opportunity. The moisture board in my bathroom has rotted away and is full of mould."My son and I have asthma. We have struggled with respiratory problems in all the time we have been in the house. My daughter has had extreme coughing fits and both children have had viral rashes."I have had letters from my son's school saying his clothes smell of mould - it's really bad. My daughter can't even stay in her room at the moment because of it - she's in my room at the moment. I can't take being here anymore."

She said the horrific case of Awaab Ishak is always at the back of her mind.

The two-year-old died of a respiratory condition caused by exposure to mould in his socially-provided flat in Rochdale in December 2020.

Ms Tennant claimed she has had issues with poor plumbing and a dangerous bay window fixture which fell off and almost hit her son.

She claimed "miscommunication" with the housing association has meant the work has never been done properly.

She said she has asked to be moved to a new property, but claimed her situation means she is not top of the housing association's list. She is also on Property Pool and is looking at any opportunity to move to a new house to protect the health of her children.

The mum-of-two added: "The ordeal has massively affected by mental health - I've been to my doctor about it. I can't bring my friends here. I hate coming home.

"It feels like a kick in the teeth - I have complained about how this is affecting my children's health and it feels like it is not being taken seriously.

"My children should be at their safest when they're home but I'm constantly worried."

A spokesperson for Onward Homes said: "After Ms Tennant reported issues with damp and mould in her home, we carried out an inspection to understand what we needed to do to put this right.

"During the inspection, we found no damp and mould, but some condensation in the rear bedroom and carried out repairs to resolve this.

"We checked that Ms Tennant was satisfied with the outcome before closing the case. Unfortunately, earlier this year, Ms Tennant reported further concerns about damp and mould, a leaking roof and rot in the bay window.

"We visited Ms Tennant’s home and found a small area of damp in her kitchen, which we agreed to fix.

"We did not identify any issues with the roof that would cause a leak but agreed to remove vegetation from the gutters.

"We have confirmed dates to complete these repairs in the coming weeks. Since our inspection, Ms Tennant has been in touch to report other issues and we have agreed to carry out works to fix these, including repairs to the bay window, starting from next week.

"We would like to apologise to Ms Tennant for any distress and inconvenience caused to her and her family.

"We hope that these works being completed will help to alleviate her concerns but will check that she is satisfied with the outcome before closing this down.

"Our teams will contact Ms Tennant directly to understand if there is any extra help that she needs from us.”