‘We just can’t cope with it anymore’: Sussex couple say black mould has not been removed after years of complaints to housing association

Danny and Katrina Pateman got in touch with this newspaper to say they rent a Guinness Partnership house in Iveagh Crescent.

Danny, 48, and Katrina, 46, said they moved into the three-bedroom property nine years ago and have had multiple problems since then.

Katrina said: “We’ve had a serious amount of leaks, which has made the whole building deteriorate.”

Danny said: “We’ve got black mould and damp in every room in the building except the toilet.”

The couple said they have had emotional breakdowns due to the stress of the situation. Katrina said: “We just can’t cope with it anymore. It’s just too much.”

Guinness Partnership told the Sussex Express this week that they are ‘committed to fully resolving any and all issues’ at the home and said they have previously carried out ‘significant works’.

The couple said that a major issue at their home started after they needed to have roof tiles taken off and re-felted several years ago. They said this led to the discovery of a ‘huge leak’ that had created a ‘lake’ in the loft. They said contractors carried out repairs and decided to put in a new mains water line. But they believe this was fitted incorrectly with a ‘wrong sized’ pipe coming into the building. The couple said they have have had no water pressure in their shower for three years now.

They said they have been reporting black mould issues to the housing association for more than eight years.

Danny and Katrina also said that all the work has been carried out by Guinness Partnership or people sub-contracted by Guinness. “They have been fully aware of everything going along,” said Danny, adding that some pointing on the building needs to be repaired too. He also said all the windows and doors have black mould ‘impregnated’ in the rubber seals.

The couple said they are particularly concerned about possible negative health consequences from living with black mould. They said they have two daughters who are now 19 and 15, and who lived at the property from ages 11 and six. Katrina said she has a Vitamin B12 deficiency while their eldest daughter, who is now at university, is being tested for ‘farmers lung’.

The couple are frustrated because they feel Guinness keep looking at the issues but not fixing them. Katrina said: “They come round, they take pictures and then they do reports and then they basically leave and then that’s it.”

They said they have filled in many Guinness surveys, put in several complaints and contacted the Ombudsman but nothing has been solved. They added that painting over the mould just means it comes through again and they want a permanent solution.

Danny said that when he and Katrina first reported the black mould, the workers looking at it said they could not clean it because it was on a decorative coating, which they were told has asbestos in it. Danny added that some workers have not wanted to enter certain rooms because they have asthma. But he said: “Yet we live here and both my daughters have serious asthma.”

Katrina said a damp and mould specialist has told them they should not be living in the conditions of the property.

The couple also said they have had scaffolding up ‘on and off’ for three years now with not much work being done.

In response to Danny and Katrina’s points, a Guinness spokesperson said: “Issues at Mr and Mrs Pateman’s home have been longstanding, and we have carried out significant works to try and address these. Most recently, a surveyor visited the Pateman’s home on 9 June with our Service Manager following further reports of issues in the property, including damp and mould. The surveyor has issued his report, and we are arranging for contractors to visit Mr and Mrs Pateman’s home to carry out these repairs.

“We have carried out works at the home, and made attempts to carry out further work more recently. We completed repointing to the front of the building as required and will remove the scaffolding as soon as we have Mr Pateman’s agreement for us to do so. We have also carried out some repairs to the plumbing, however there was a delay in this work being completed, and we apologise to the family for this delay and inconvenience, which was entirely our failing. The plumbing system means the water pressure upstairs is inevitably lower than downstairs, but we are going to see if anything can be done to improve the water flow to the bath.

“There have been some occasions on which access to the home was not agreed, or the scope of works to be carried out was disputed, however we are committed to fully resolving any and all issues at the home. We are very sorry for the impact on the family of ongoing and recurrent issues experienced.”