Mould and damp leave residents seeking redevelopment of homes in west Belfast

Residents living across three neighbouring streets in west Belfast are calling for the redevelopment of their homes.

Those living in Forfar, Forest and Fort Streets have collated a report detailing ongoing problems with damp and mould in their properties.

The Housing Executive owns about 15% of the properties. It said it takes the issues very seriously, adding that inspections have been carried out.

Seán Doherty is one of more than 60 residents who have documented a range of issues with their homes.

"I've been getting dampness in the back bathroom, upstairs in the bedrooms, back bedroom I had to take the kids out of it as the beds were covered with the mould," he told UTV. Roísín Lynch - who has ongoing problems with her bedroom ceiling - has helped compile the report."A lot of people have issue with black mould which isn't good for your health, a lot of people have either chest complaints, COPD, asthma," she said.

"Out of 66 houses, over 20 had one or multiple people with asthma or COPD or chest issues." Residents are calling for the area to be completely redeveloped - but many of the houses - which are more than 100 years old - are in private ownership. In a statement the Housing Executive said it's only responsible for around 15% of the properties which have already benefited from significant upgrades.

A spokesperson said: "Those in our ownership have already benefited from significant upgrades, including modern bathrooms and kitchens, doors, windows and heating systems. "The vast majority of our properties were inspected recently and minor works will be delivered as required.

"Further upgrade work has already begun, including upgrades to the drainage system. More property-specific work is planned.

"Additionally, a general, cyclical upgrade programme is planned for these properties next year.

"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. "We also pick up incidences of damp and mould through our own surveys. "When there is a one-off issue, specific to an individual property, then it will most likely be addressed through our response repair service. "Over the last five years, we received a total of 1.6 million repair requests (excluding heating repairs), of which 26,000 mentioned issues with condensation or damp.

"If there is a cluster of reports in a particular location, then we will address these through a planned maintenance scheme.

"These works may comprise improved ventilation, insulation and heating. We always liaise with our tenants to address their concerns and advice and guidance is also available on our website and our tenant portal.

"A number of wider issues were also raised at the recent meeting and we were happy to advise on suitable next steps." For Sean and the other residents on these streets any further intervention can't come quickly enough.

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