Sinead has been living in her flat in Brighton since 2020. Initially, it appeared to be in good condition but black mould soon began to appear all over the walls. Over a two-year period, the mould spread onto their beds and furniture. Sinead privately rents the flat for £1,100 a month. Even though she initially reported the problem to her landlord, the repeated attempt to improve ventilation did not solve the issue. A year later, Sinead’s son, Aziyah, began to develop health issues and was later diagnosed with asthma.
Despite repeated complaints to her landlord and the local council, Sinead’s mould problem has not been solved. The concerned Sinead feels trapped, as she says, “No matter how loud I scream, I’m not being heard.” It is not just her flat; more than half a million rented homes in England, both private and social, have black mould issues, according to a 2023 government survey.
Panorama met with an elderly couple in Rotherham who live in the same privately rented house for over 50 years. The house has peeling wallpaper, wet walls, large black mould patches, and an overwhelming smell of damp that affects both the couple’s health. Even though their rent has been kept low because of their protected tenancy, it remains at £440 per month. The couple did not know the name of their landlord, as all communication was with a letting agent. After some digging, Panorama discovered that the house is owned by a large property company run by a billionaire family.
Mould exposure can be terrible for people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma as it can trigger an irritant response. The Royal College of GPs chair, Kamila Hawthorne, said, “Your airways close up and you start coughing.” Panorama’s analysis of NHS England data found that more than 26,000 kids under the age of two were admitted to the hospital last year with lung conditions that were probably linked to exposure to damp and mould.
In 2020, a new law was drafted by the Conservative government that would protect social tenants in England from any unsafe living conditions. The legislation was named after Awaab Ishak, a child whose death was directly linked to mould exposure. However, the legislation is yet to come into effect. The law will be enforced for damp and mould problems from October, and it will be fully implemented for all other hazards by 2027. The government reports that once the Renters Rights Bill is implemented this year, private renters will be protected in the same manner as social tenants.
Sinead reported the damp issue to the council responsible for enforcing landlords’ standards, thus putting pressure on the landlord to install extractor fans and provide dehumidifiers. But the persistence of the mould is still problematic for Sinead. Local authorities do not always enforce private landlords’ legal duty to maintain safe housing, and in over 90% of complaints, no action was taken. In response to this accusation,
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