A mum-of-four trapped in a mould-covered flat infested with slugs has accused council bosses of rejecting her social housing application 'four times' and refusing to help her.
Evelyn Boaheng says the deteriorating property is so bad that it is putting her children’s health and development at risk, with black and green mould now 'in every room of the house'.
In March, she tried to get her family on the housing waiting list, with the children’s school, GP and social worker all writing letters of concern to the council over the family’s living conditions, MyLondon reports.
Despite this, Croydon Council denied the application, stating that Evelyn had provided ‘insufficient evidence’ to proved the family's health is being impacted by housing disrepair and overcrowding issues.
Evelyn’s second oldest child is awaiting results from an assessment that will determine if she has Autism Spectrum Disorder, which the council is also aware of.
The 41-year-old lives with her children aged nine, four, three and 12 weeks old in a two-bed private-rented flat in South Norwood. When the family initially moved in five years ago, Evelyn says the flat showed no signs of disrepair until it got to winter, when black and green mould began to appear on the walls.
The mould began to spread to other parts of the house and when Evelyn complained about it to her landlord, she explained there was a lack of urgency to resolve the issue.
She said: “When we first moved in here, there was no mould here. Now there are slugs, my kids pick up anything from the floor. The landlord and estate agents know everything, my social worker emailed them everything, that they need to come and sort out the mould and everything but nothing has been done.”
In February 2022, Croydon Council suggested she seek alternative accommodation however Evelyn explains that she has tried to secure offers on alternative private-rented properties but that it’s proved difficult as she hasn’t found a landlord who would accept tenants her on housing benefits.
The lack of space in Evelyn’s current property has also proved to be a problem. She says having no garden has made it difficult for her children to play, meaning they tend to play on the floor where they ‘pick up anything’.
She said: “The house has two bedrooms with no garden, the kitchen and sitting room are together and it’s difficult for my children. They don’t have any space to play because they touch stuff and put it on the stove - there is nowhere to hide (things), nothing.”
An NHS assessment concluded that another of Evelyn’s children ‘can exhibit challenging behaviour’ and speech and language delay.
She says the cramped up conditions do not help her child’s behavioural challenges and she cannot leave her baby, aged 12 weeks alone with her children because she fears for her safety.
She added: “All because we are in the same room, the same bed, there is nowhere to put anything - nowhere. I’ve sent everything to Croydon Council but what they are telling me is, they're saying it’s not affecting my children's behaviour and health.
“I sent letters to Croydon Council from the GP, our social worker and my children’s school, anybody can see my situation is worse so they try to help me - but Croydon Council is still saying no.”
In February and before the birth of her fourth child, the council told Evelyn they recognise her as overcrowded and understood she requires a third bedroom but concluded she is not a priority for their housing list.
Croydon Council’s housing list is split into three bands, (band 1) urgent priority, (band 2) high priority and (band 3) medium priority. It states Band 1 is for people with an urgent priority to be rehoused – such as severe medical problems which make it difficult for them to manage in their homes.
Meanwhile Band 2 says a household may be overcrowded, needing at least two more bedrooms than they currently have, or they may have several different needs which means they have serious problems in their current home.
While the latter, band 3 is for households who are overcrowded, needing an extra bedroom or that they may have several different types of need meaning they have moderate problems coping in their current home.
Despite this, the council has refused Evelyn from accessing the housing register for a fourth time. Their most recent response, a decision letter addressed to Evelyn in March, said: “Although you (Evelyn) have mentioned a defined medical condition we are unable to make a full assessment on the information you have provided as you have not demonstrated how your current property is negatively impacting on your families’ health.”
Evelyn says once she has received her daughter’s results from her assessment for Autistic Spectrum Disorder, she will try again, though she feels depressed and stressed that she still hasn’t been able to access the housing register so far.
She said: “Croydon Council is still refusing my application which is giving me stress, I'm depressed, I don’t know what to do. The children are suffering.”
A Croydon Council spokesperson said: "Entry onto our housing register is carefully assessed according to immediate need and individual circumstances. We regret that this family’s most recent application to join our waiting list did not meet our criteria and their case is currently being reassessed, including considering further medical evidence.
"In light of current demand for social housing, we have over 6,500 residents waiting for permanent council homes in Croydon and entry onto our register unfortunately does not guarantee a quick solution. Our housing team can provide support to move within the private sector, which is often a swifter alternative, but we appreciate this is not always appropriate for individual families."
Black & Blanc, the estate agents that Evelyn rents her property with, has been contacted for comment.
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