‘Mould in rented house made my children ill,' says south Warwickshire mum
A MUM-of-two has told how a Stratford home she rented was so damp and mouldy, both her young children ended up in hospital.
Dannielle Jones, husband Will, toddler Ace and baby Laine said they were forced to quit the three-bedroom house halfway through their tenancy.
When the young family moved into the unfurnished, £995 per month property in Grove Road in August last year, all seemed well. But two months later, Danni said she discovered thick mould on a rug, sofa, wardrobe, chest of drawers, curtains, her baby’s clothing and even the cot and mattress.
She said: “I was clearing the dining room when I noticed the carpet underneath the sofa was covered in fluffy green stuff.”
She also found mould in the bathroom, and all three bedrooms, including baby’s Laine’s.
“Luckily, because he was only four months-old, he was still sleeping in with us. Nothing could be kept in his room because I’d have to throw it away, as it would be ruined.
“This green horrible mould was all over his curtain, from the bottom to the top and when I pulled his wardrobe out from the wall, there was black mould which was furry and looked like it had things growing in it.”
Despite her best efforts to clean off all the mould, it kept growing back, and she had to throw away belongings as they were damaged.
In a series of What’sApp messages seen by the Herald, Danni repeatedly pleads with landlord Ann Chan for help, asking for products to clean off the mould, anti-mould paint and dehumidifiers.
The landlord did eventually supply a dehumidifier and some damp crystals.
A professional surveyor’s report, also seen by the Herald, which Danni shared with Ms Chan documents that at least three rooms are badly affected by damp.
Landlord Ms Chan can be seen in messages repeatedly claiming her tenant caused the problems and telling Danni to be more ‘vigilant’.
Ms Chan sent a friend to inspect the house who told off Danni for using a steriliser for her baby’s bottles, claiming she was creating damp and mould.
To battle the damp the family kept the heating on night and day and made sure windows stayed open for ventilation in November, resulting in bills of £450 a month, even before the energy price rises.
Both six-month-old Laine and two-year-old Ace both became unwell, Danni said. Ace had a chest infection and ear infection and was prescribed antibiotics. He became so unwell, he was taken to hospital in an ambulance and given steroids and other treatment before being allowed home.
And a couple of weeks later, Laine suffered a febrile convulsion.
Danni recalled: “I rang for an ambulance, and they came immediately. It was at that point, he stopped breathing. The paramedics gave him oxygen and were doing everything they could to make him breathe in the ambulance, as we were blue-lighted to hospital.
“At one point, my baby was completely unresponsive, and they were driving as fast as they could.
As soon as we got there, he was taken off me, so they could do what they needed to get him breathing again.”
Laine was kept in hospital for a few days.
Danni added: “The doctors could see from his and his older brother’s records that they kept getting ill and asked why this was happening? “I told them we lived in an extremely damp house with mould and they warned it was dangerous.
“At that point, I broke down and explained I couldn’t afford to leave. I felt stuck and didn’t know what to do. I’d tried to work with the landlord and she wasn’t doing anything about it.”
A couple of weeks later Laine was back on antibiotics for bronchiolitis.
Danni and her family moved out in February, but the house has been recently re-let.
According to property details listed by Stratford-based agents Edwards, the energy performance certificate (EPC) rating is ‘E’. From 2025, new legislation will make it compulsory for all newly rented homes to have a minimum EPC rating of ‘C’.
Edward Lowe, managing director of Edwards said his agency was appointed on a ‘let-only’ basis, so purely to find and reference a tenant and create legal contracts.
He told the Herald: “Once these tasks have been completed, all communication is to be between the landlord and tenant.
“Prior to the tenancy beginning, we always conduct a property inspection, and tenants often view the property multiple times before agreeing to let it.
“During this process, no issues regarding damp or mould were noted, and we have previously rented the same property without any such issues arising.”
He said the property was “in an acceptable condition” at the time and “legally compliant at the point that the tenancy began”.
He added: “The property is currently empty as remedial works are being carried out before a new tenancy begins.
“We would never let a property that we deemed uninhabitable, and we believe that no responsible letting agent would do so either.”
The Herald has contacted Ms Chan for comment but she has not responded.
Stratford District Council said it offers advice to tenants about the actions that they can take, and has powers to serve improvement notices and issue fines of necessary.
A spokesperson added: “The council is understandably concerned to learn of the experience that this family has had in this privately rented property. Sadly, the council has been unable to intervene in this case as the council’s private sector housing team was made aware of the situation after the tenants had left the property.”
Renters who experience issues with damp and mould can contact the private sector housing team by emailing psht@stratford-dc.gov.uk.
