A couple have been speaking about their struggles trying to afford privately rented accommodation after leaving behind their mouldy and damp Swansea Council flat.
Brandon Lewis, 26, and his partner Lauren Davies, 23, moved out of their council flat in Griffith John Street in December, 2021, following what they claimed was a ten-month battle with damp and mould. The couple were expecting a baby at the time and Brandon said his three-year-old child had been forced to stop visiting the flat due to seeping walls and damp.
Swansea Council said it had been planning to resolve the issues in the flat but that the couple took legal action which meant it could not access the property, before choosing to end the tenancy and move out.
Read more: Awaab Ishak aged two died because mould was not treated at his home, coroner rules
But the issue of mould in homes has been thrust into the national spotlight this week with the death of Awaab Ishak, aged two, in Rochdale. Following a six-day inquest, a coroner ruled that he died, in December 2020, following exposure to untreated mould in his home. Coroner Joanne Kearsley gave a narrative conclusion for Awaab's death, with a medical cause of acute airway oedema with severe granulomatous tracheobronchitis, due to environmental mould exposure.
She told the court: "Awaab Ishak died as a result of a severe respiratory condition caused due to prolonged exposure to mould in his home environment. Action to treat and prevent the mould was not taken. His severe respiratory condition led to Awaab going into respiratory arrest."
WalesOnline has reported on a number of people across Wales living in properties affected by mould and damp, including Brandon and Lauren.
They said their flat had freshly plastered walls in some areas when they first moved in during August, 2020, and there was no damage to be seen. Then, from March, 2021, they said damp started to cover the walls and doors of the flat and Brandon's family stopped visiting due to the smell.
Lauren, who has chron's disease and was worried for her own health as well as her unborn child's, said at the time: "The damp conditions, we shouldn't be living in. It's so bad for our health. There's water seeping through the walls and in both bedrooms and some of the ceilings are peeling. We've got damp all up the balcony door and damp all around the windows. It smells like damp and our clothes are damp." You can get more Swansea news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Brandon said bags of wet clothes were thrown out and furniture had to be replaced as the issue got worse. "My partner was due to have the baby in April. My boy was getting unwell so I had to stop him coming. He had a cough and was proper chesty. We were always coughing."
Brandon and Lauren felt their flat was not a healthy environment to bring their baby home to and said they began to scrape and save to afford private rented accommodation. Brandon said it cost £,1,500 just to initially move out in December, 2021, and they sold their phones to buy cheaper models and borrowed money from family. Brandon said he managed to move his family into a private home but the father-of-two and landscaper said this sacrifice had come at a great cost.
"We ended up moving out because we had to. We've had to pay loads of money. We're struggling to get by to afford it now. I'm working 70 hour weeks or more. I've got two kids I don't even see as much as I should now because I'm working all the time. I'm missing all the vital moments of my children growing up. There's a chance I'm going to miss my daughter's first words because I'm working flat out just to afford a privately rented house. We're just constantly struggling now.".
Brandon said he had already fallen behind with his gas and electricity bills after having to keep the heating on constantly in his last flat. "We're lucky that we had family to help us move out but now we're struggling for it everyday. When my wife was pregnant I didn't want anything to happen to the baby because anything could have happened if she got too unwell."
It was not just damp that caused concern for Brandon and his young family, he said his previous fifth-floor flat was in the "roughest area in Swansea" and last year Lauren said her husband's son had witnessed people that had taken drugs when they stumbled past in their block of flats. Brandon added that there was a broken back door in the flat that he could not lock. He said his 47-year-old father-in-law who grew up in Swansea remarked that the flats had looked the same since he was a child. You can read our special report on life in the Griffith John Street flats here.
In response to what the couple had to say, a spokesperson from Swansea Council said: "The Council put in place arrangements to work with the tenant to rectify the issues raised. A visit was made to the property to establish what work was required in October, 2021. Following this visit, a list of actions to improve the property were developed. Unfortunately, due to legal action taken by the tenant, we were prevented by the tenant from gaining access to the property. Our list of planned works were instead sent to their legal representatives for them to approve. In the meantime the tenant chose to hand in their tenancy.
"It’s disappointing that we were not able to get an agreement with the tenant and their legal team to complete the works. We are confident that had we been allowed access, we would have been able to carry out the required maintenance needed to enable the tenant to remain in the property.
"Swansea Council has invested significant amounts of money maintaining its existing housing stock to ensure homes meet high standards. Our housing repairs service also works tirelessly to respond to issues raised by tenants and we always aim to carry out repairs as quickly as possible."
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