A mum says she has fallen ill with pneumonia three times and her kids' health is suffering too due to their cold and mouldy home.
Ngozi Gemma Ijanboh and her husband, who have four young kids, have been on the homeless register and living in temporary accommodation since 2015, when they were evicted from a home they rented privately.
They shared one room at a hostel for six months, with one toilet and one bathroom between them, before being moved to their current three-bedroom council home in Kilburn, north-west London.
The claim the property is plagued with damp and mould problems.
Ngozi, 41, told MyLondon: “They have come and done a mould wash several times, but it doesn’t solve the problem. They just patch it up. They did one at Christmas but it’s back like it was already because of the intense damp in the property and how cold it is downstairs.
“There's mould in every room and my chest is just a mess. This winter alone I have had pneumonia three times, last winter I had pneumonia twice and sepsis.
"My health is actually suffering. Residents have been complaining for over four years about the freezing cold temperatures, mould, damp and the expensive and unfair rent."
Ngozi says her children have been falling ill too: “My little one is the worst, he’s been to the hospital a few times because he has this persistent cough. I’m sure it’s to do with the mould in the house. The amount of times he’s had antibiotics in the last 12 months is ridiculous.”
She added: “People say 'well why didn’t you private rent again', but when this happened there was a letting agent fee and you had to be on £40,000 a year, which we weren’t.”
The family are paying £900 a month for their home in Wordsworth House, with the rest of the £440 a week rent paid through benefits.
Ngozi said Brent Council has offered the family alternative properties, but she has refused because they are in different areas, so she would have to move her children to new schools. They have already changed schools once.
Brent Council said: “We are appalled to see the state of Wordsworth House and extremely concerned about the health of people living inside, which is why we are in the final stages of moving all the tenants to safer and more suitable accommodation.
"Wordsworth House is part of the South Kilburn Regeneration and most of the residents were moved out last year. Only a few families are still waiting to move out.
“We are sorry and saddened that Ms Ijanboh and her family have suffered from living in these inexcusable conditions.
"We did make a housing offer to Ms Ijanboh and her family earlier this year, and because it was turned down, we are continuing to work with her to find the right alternative accommodation.”
