Health issues due to damp/mould?

theartfullodger

You need to move.

If you have that reaction to mould it won't get better, probably worse.

Had to clear a house with black mould couple of years ago (sorted, daft leaks not reported.. fine now...). But somewhere I'd acquired a sensitivity to it: Found just walk up a gentle slope made me breathless (I normally hill-walk in the Highlands...). Nasty: Moving away still took 2 weeks to become normal...

Get out, find somewhere new, ideally recent, well ventilated...

Hope things improve.

dekaspace

theartfullodger wrote: »

You need to move.

If you have that reaction to mould it won't get better, probably worse.

Had to clear a house with black mould couple of years ago (sorted, daft leaks not reported.. fine now...). But somewhere I'd acquired a sensitivity to it: Found just walk up a gentle slope made me breathless (I normally hill-walk in the Highlands...). Nasty: Moving away still took 2 weeks to become normal...

Get out, find somewhere new, ideally recent, well ventilated...

Hope things improve.

When the ceiling originally came down I was wheezing a bit more than usual and had this grit like feeling at back of throat.

But is that likely down to the mould?

If it is though then it will be difficult to prove but if it isn't then it will be good as proof for a HA property, I know I said that it wasn't my plan but it would be far better than moving to a private let with risk of a bad landlord again.

Pixie5740

As already said, we cannot give medical advice on the forum. Your "bad chest" could be down to the mould, genetics, lifestyle, allergies, no one hear can say for definite it's the mould. You could ask your GP to write a letter supporting your claim that the mould is causing your ill health it could still takes years to be re-housed by the council. Then even if you are re-housed it might not be in a council or HA property....depending on demand in the area it could just be another private rental property.

So if it can take years to be re-housed what are your other options? 1) Tackle the mould issue.
Did you get a dehumidifier as suggested in a previous thread to help dry the flat out? Have you cleaned the mould away using bleach or HG Mould Remover?

2) Move. Are you restricted to the price range and area? Could you rent somewhere better by paying more rent or moving to a slightly different area? I dread to think what kind of hovels you were renting before if this current place is good by comparison.

theartfullodger

Can you not go stay with someone (anyone!) for a week - don't drop back - and see if the symptoms go, then return and see what happens?

However, given all your posts - go, !!

dekaspace

theartfullodger wrote: »

Can you not go stay with someone (anyone!) for a week - don't drop back - and see if the symptoms go, then return and see what happens?

However, given all your posts - go, !!

Actually a few times I went to parents/friends for about 2 days each time the cough was gone almost totally bar maybe one or two coughs in morning,and went to parents for 4 days and even though they had a dog I didn't cough .also no pinching pain in eye (though thats been happening for a year assumed it was down to bedding or washing powder but the mould was confirmed by both fire brigade, joiner, and another person to be there a very long time.

I didn't get a dehumidifier as they cost a lot and suggested it to landlord and was refused (just as LL one time promised to move me for a month then changed mind) literally a case of saying they would have keys in a hour, then not responding to calls then next morning me ringing and them saying they changed mind.

I am not restricted to area but I have spent years moving around, this is the cheapest place by far I have lived and the first place I feel settled even though the local social work and mental health support is non existant, at last town I lived I paid £390 a month for a tiny flat with ancient furniture with walls so thin you heard neighbours snoring or flusing toilet, here I pay £275 for a 2 bedroom place, on outskirts of Glasgow, good transport links, all the good shops etc.

I would probably feel better moving back to my home town for a few months but theres no way of doing that hence why I say if I had just enough to fit in car it would be easy as could just be a lodger for a few months.

I even thought of doing that for a few months with savings but then that would affect housing benefit it would get me out of this property long enough for my head to clear and long enough to give council things a chance.

Actually it would cost around the same for me to be a lodger somewhere for a few months and keep this property rather than get rid of this and get a more expensive property taking into account utilities, and have loads of facilities around.

I did that last year I became someones lodger for a month whilst keeping this just to get some time away.

Pixie5740

I think you are focussing on the wrong thing. To prove to the council's housing department that the mould in the flat is severe enough to warrant bumping you up the list (and even then who knows how many years it will take to get to the top) you will need compelling evidence, most likely from an independent source such as environmental health and/or your GP.

You need to focus on how to improve your health now. When you say that dehumidifiers are expensive does that mean that you cannot afford to buy one or that you would rather spend your money on other non-essential items? You've reported the mould issue to your landlord, he is dragging his heals about sorting it so are you going to escalate the matter to environmental health again. In fact you don't have to go to environmental health as the order of escalation is: landlord - PHRP - environmental health, so you could go to PHRP and if they can't help then you go back to environmental health.

Likewise when you talk about cheap rent are you renting the cheapest of cheap places because you cannot afford to rent somewhere better or because you prefer to spend as little on rent as possible?

Why is there no way of moving back to your home town? Can you not afford to live there? Would you be unable to hire a larger vehicle to move your belongings and/or rope friends and family into helping you move?

dekaspace

Pixie5740 wrote: »

I think you are focussing on the wrong thing. To prove to the council's housing department that the mould in the flat is severe enough to warrant bumping you up the list (and even then who knows how many years it will take to get to the top) you will need compelling evidence, most likely from an independent source such as environmental health and/or your GP.

You need to focus on how to improve your health now. When you say that dehumidifiers are expensive does that mean that you cannot afford to buy one or that you would rather spend your money on other non-essential items? You've reported the mould issue to your landlord, he is dragging his heals about sorting it so are you going to escalate the matter to environmental health again. In fact you don't have to go to environmental health as the order of escalation is: landlord - PHRP - environmental health, so you could go to PHRP and if they can't help then you go back to environmental health.

Likewise when you talk about cheap rent are you renting the cheapest of cheap places because you cannot afford to rent somewhere better or because you prefer to spend as little on rent as possible?

Why is there no way of moving back to your home town? Can you not afford to live there? Would you be unable to hire a larger vehicle to move your belongings and/or rope friends and family into helping you move?

I'm on benefits, meaning not many landlords take me, also means maximum LHA is £60 a week which is fine for my flat as rent is £275, since the price rises a flat like mine is £325-375, and you could say get a 1 bedroom but they cost even more (as rent is "cheaper" here as its a undesirable area and the 1 bedrooms even run down are in "better" parts of town)

The property I have now is unfurnished so I would need to hire a removal van costing hundreds, when I asked for a quote last year even half a mile away and bearing in mind I was going to borrow a trolley and take everything but furniture it was still £300.

I don't want bumped up as much as to have enough points to qualify.

Well in theory im not sure if the mould is gone, they bleached the wall and painted over it but left the spores on the remaining ceiling which they plastered over.

Enviromental health are a strange one, before they visited by the decription they said it would be unlivable, then when they came around they were shocked but never said unlivable just "not the best idea to live in" and to "agree something with landlord"

They said that the law gives the LL 28 days to do repairs and whilst that is shocking its the law.

I was either way promised a report to housing to give me points.

ripplyuk

I lived in a similar hovel, possibly worse, for 14 years. I know how damaging mould is to your health. I assure you, theartfullodger is right, if your problems are caused by the mould, it will only get worse.

I understand your reasons for staying. I was refused almost everywhere because I was on housing benefit. I couldn't afford a large deposit, had no guarantor, and the few places I eventually did find refused me because my previous landlord wouldn't provide a good reference (he was angry because I'd complained).

I was on the council waiting list for 8 years and had very few points, despite all the issues. However, my landlord eventually removed the roof 'to teach me a lesson' and cleared off abroad on a Mediterranean cruise. The council moved fast then and I was given a house 6 weeks later. I had to leave a lot of my stuff (it was drenched anyway), risking getting sued for the cost of disposal, but I had no choice as I couldn't afford a man and van.

My point is, don't hold out for housing points. The councils are used to everyone talking about mould/damp. Unless you can get irrefutable evidence that your health problems are caused by the mould (which is highly unlikely), they won't care. There are lots of others in the same situation.

FBaby

And besides I am asking totally different things, I am asking if it affected my heatth, I am asking if because of that it gave me more power, not asking if they should do repairs.

As you've been told, only a medical expert could confirm after doing test, however, you admit you do get chest infections each year, just that it is worse this time. There will always be a time when it gets worse, so that alone is not evidence that the two are linked and in all probability, it won't be. You have a long journey ahead if you want to get compensation on the basis that your chest infection is caused/aggravated (with long term effects if you want £££) by the mould.

Your posts are confusing, on one hand you seem to say that the place is a complete disaster, then you say that it's not so bad and the problems are minor. In the end, your rent will always reflect the quality of the place. If you want cheap rent, you have to accept compromises. The question is what is a compromise and what is minimum conditions, which legally are usually much lower standards than what tenants expect. Saying that, a leaking roof would be consider minimum standard. Some mould that is caused/aggravated by lifestyle isn't going to be.

Pixie5740

dekaspace wrote: »

I'm on benefits, meaning not many landlords take me, also means maximum LHA is £60 a week which is fine for my flat as rent is £275, since the price rises a flat like mine is £325-375, and you could say get a 1 bedroom but they cost even more (as rent is "cheaper" here as its a undesirable area and the 1 bedrooms even run down are in "better" parts of town)

Is your entire income from benefits or do you work as well? How many hours a day are you spending in this mouldy flat? Do you have any interests and hobbies that get you out and about? You are topping up your rent just now is above the LHA. Can you afford to top it up more in order to get a better home?

dekaspace wrote: »

The property I have now is unfurnished so I would need to hire a removal van costing hundreds, when I asked for a quote last year even half a mile away and bearing in mind I was going to borrow a trolley and take everything but furniture it was still £300.

Was that £300 just to hire the van or does that include the cost of hiring people to help you move? Do you have to keep your furniture, are you particularly attached to it? Would it be cheaper to sell your furniture on Gumtree and then either rent a better, furnished property elsewhere or get new furniture from Gumtree, Freecycle, charity shops in a new place. (A few people I know have done this because it was cheaper/less hassle.)

dekaspace wrote: »

I don't want bumped up as much as to have enough points to qualify.

Getting more points would mean you are a higher priority than you currently are so would move you up the list. Properties are allocated to those in greatest need so even if you got more points for the condition of your current home you would still have less points than someone who is homeless or is about to become homeless very soon.

I think that unless your current landlord tries to evict you, you will be in for a very long (years if not decades) wait to be housed by the council.

dekaspace wrote: »

Well in theory im not sure if the mould is gone, they bleached the wall and painted over it but left the spores on the remaining ceiling which they plastered over.

Enviromental health are a strange one, before they visited by the decription they said it would be unlivable, then when they came around they were shocked but never said unlivable just "not the best idea to live in" and to "agree something with landlord"

So have you agreed something with the landlord? If you are not satisfied with the landlord's action or inaction go back to environmental health or go to PHRP.

dekaspace wrote: »

They said that the law gives the LL 28 days to do repairs and whilst that is shocking its the law.

It's not that shocking. Repairs don't happen instantaneously even if you are a home owner or a tenant in social housing. 28 days isn't that long really.

dekaspace wrote: »

I was either way promised a report to housing to give me points.

As said earlier, you might get more points but still not as many as someone who is homeless who will always get priority over someone in your circumstances.

If you genuinely believe the mould is affecting your health is it possible that your GP and/or social worker could get you referred for social housing rather than you just relying on making an application yourself.

How long are you prepared to wait for a council house? Is your current situation worth putting up with indefinitely? Are there things you can do to improve your situation?