Denham family forced to move out of home as mould takes over

Sapphyre Marie Allen lives in Penn Drive, Denham, Buckinghamshire which is run by L&Q housing association, with her two young children.

The mum said she has battled with damp issues since 2015 having to wash the mould off her walls constantly. 

The issue was most reported in December 2020 and L&Q carried out works, including replacing the ceiling, fitting a new air vent, and performing several specialist mould washes.

Mould growing on the wall (Image: Newsquest)

The mould returned again a year later and it was reported again in December 2021.

Since then, the black mould has gradually spread throughout her home; along the floor, ceiling, walls and even on the children's toys and Playstation game controller. 

Mould growing on the Playstation controller (Image: Newsquest)

The 28-year-old said her son Logan, 5, was hospitalised due to the black mould causing him to have low oxygen levels. He now has to use an inhaler. 

Her eldest son Danny, 10, suffers from chest infections and has missed school due to being unwell.  His school even wrote a letter to L&Q raising concerns about his welfare.

The family were placed in a hotel on January 13 and have lived there for more than six weeks. 

Sapphyre said: "The children hate being at the hotel. We had to sleep in one room together for months as we lost all of our possessions to the mould and now we are stuck in another room together. They have no space, routine or stability. 

"I've been fighting this mould for nearly eight years now and I lose everything I own every winter and me and my children suffer.

"I rang crying daily for help and they did nothing. I only got out of this flat because I referred myself to social services, and got hold of the Denham Council who got hold of the MP. I had to involve South Bucks Council and environmental health because I was quite literally sleeping on a wet floor.

"I've been through enough and it's really affected my mental health, nobody should have to live that way and my poor children deserve better."

Sapphyre has since lost her job as she cannot afford the travel costs from the hotel's location in Marlow to work in Denham. 

"L&Q were supposed to be reimbursing me for my travel costs and they did not. This resulted in me not being able to eat for many nights as they pay for a meal for me at the hotel but not the children so I would give them my meal and go without", she added.

"I could not get to work due to expenses so I lost my job as I wasn't able to attend and they can't be let down last minute. They put a single mum with two children away from her support network and just left me there to struggle."

L&Q said they are taking the damp issue very seriously.

David Lewis, Executive Director of Property Services said: “We are sorry for the problems that Ms Allen has been experiencing with her home. We take reports of mould and damp very seriously and are working with Ms Allen to bring her home up to the standard her family deserves.

"We became aware that the issues had returned on December 1 2022, and immediately visited the property to establish the root cause, which proved more difficult than we anticipated. We initially thought the mould was related to a leak from the empty home upstairs, but on further investigation, we learnt this wasn’t the case. We recognise these delays are unacceptable and apologise to Ms Allen for any inconvenience this has caused.

"We moved the family into temporary accommodation on January 13 2023, so that we could begin a substantive programme of works. We sent a surveyor to inspect the entire building on January 17 to identify the repairs needed to put things right."

The housing group said double glazing has been installed, they have replaced all damp affected insulation, made upgrades to the bathroom, and serviced all extractor fans.

Roofers have also confirmed that there are no issues with the gutters, and dehumidifiers have been provided throughout the property.

Mr Lewis added: "Our team remain in close contact with Ms Allen and have reached out regularly to update her on progress and address any concerns she has.

"All major works are now complete, and we expect the family will be able to return to their home shortly. We will continue to monitor the situation and explore any additional preventative measures we can put in place, such as humidity sensors.”