‘My damp home was covered in mould – 15,000,000 people in the UK live like me’

One in four people in the UK who live in homes that could make them ill, a survey has found.

Some 15million people live in homes with issues like damp, mould or cold, the health equality campaign Health Equals said.

Almost half (47%) of people with damp or mould live with children.

Among them is Kerrie Portman, who couldn’t believe her luck at first when, after being homeless four times in her life, she moved into a flat in Cambridgeshire.

But Kerrie began noticing her clothes never dried, her mattress was damp and mould blanketed her walls and window frames.

She developed chronic illnesses, including chronic fatigue, chest pains and breathing difficulties.

Kerrie, 27, told Metro: ‘When I attended A&E, the doctors told me there wasn’t anything they could do whilst I was living in such a toxic building.’

Kerrie’s landlord refused to help, with officials moving her out while the owner carried out fixes.

Yet, she returned to find the landlord hadn’t done a thing, she claimed.

‘I was moved between a couple of areas I’d never been to before, with only a few hours’ notice,’ she added.

Kerrie wasn’t back in the mould-riddled home for long – her landlord served her a no-fault eviction.

She said: ‘Even when I found a flat and later moved to student accommodation, I was constantly terrified of becoming homeless again, which did ultimately happen.’

Having surveyed 3,982 people in October, Health Equals found:

• People from the lowest income households are almost twice as likely to live in damp, mouldy homes and four times as likely to live in a cold house.
• Almost half (47%) who experienced such issues reported symptoms.
• About 61% of these said someone in their home required medical treatment, rising to 75% for people living in London.
• Nearly three in 10 said sickness caused by this slimy black growth forced them to call in sick from work, or children had to skip school.

Chief campaign officer Paul McDonald said the results capture the UK’s stubborn health disparities, when poverty literally makes people sick.

Many households may not be able to afford to heat their homes, given that energy bills have spiralled. Homes may also lack proper insulation.

People of colour and pensioners are among the demographics more likely to live in a moist home.

What is black mould?

Stachybotrys chartarun, also called black mould, is a fungus that grows in moist household environments.

They look like bumpy, sometimes hairy ovals that reproduce by coughing up spores. Half a million spores could fit onto a 5p coin.

With its fuzzy, tendril-like roots, mould can cause symptoms such as sneezing, red eyes and rashes and trigger asthma attacks.

The elderly, children and people with respiratory illnesses are the most at risk, GP Andy Whittamore told Metro.

The clinical lead at the charity Asthma + Lung UK said: ‘Poor lung health has the closest link with deprivation of all the major health conditions.

‘In fact, poverty is driving poor lung health to such an extent in the UK that, shamefully, we have the highest death rate in Europe for respiratory conditions.’

Barbara told Metro that knowing mould was creeping around her home left her family shaken.

She said: ‘The air in the house was constantly heavy, damp, and unpleasant and it was nearly impossible to keep the rooms feeling fresh or comfortable.’

Her drafty home became even worse during the winter, when opening windows – a common way to reduce damp – was no longer an option.

‘Our children were affected the most. They were uncomfortable, restless, and often scared to go near the mould-covered walls,’ she added.

‘Their ability to play and relax was limited by the dampness and by the lack of space in the property, which made air circulation even harder.’

Asthma runs in Barbara’s family, a condition that can develop in children exposed to mould.

Her daughter, five, was taken to the hospital after weeks of showing cold and asthma symptoms, with doctors telling the mum to move out.

That was the family’s only option, she said, given that the landlord was indifferent to her pleas.

‘We were left to cope with the situation alone, even as our children’s health worsened,’ Barbara said.

Awaab’s Law, named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak died in December 2020 after exposure to mould at his housing association flat, requires social landlords to fix life-threatening hazards.

But McDonald, of Health Equals, wants this law to apply to all landlords and for the government to set minimum quality rules for private housing well before its 2035 target.

Officials should also work towards a cross-government target to halve the number of ‘non-decent’ homes over the next decade, he added.

McDonald said: ‘Our research lays bare a health crisis hidden behind closed doors inside people’s homes and the experiences of these two women are truly shocking.

‘A warm, dry, and healthy home isn’t a luxury, it’s a basic human right and is one of the building blocks of good health.’

After her ordeal with greenish-black mould, officials placed Kerrie in a home some 35 minutes away from a bus stop.

But with her disabilities, Kerrie can’t drive, leaving her with few options when it comes to work, grocery runs and meeting friends.

And all this started when some mould spores stuck to her window sills.

‘Even years later, I’ve never recovered physically or mentally,’ Kerrie said.

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