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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Antony Thrower & Rafi Mauro-Benady

'Terrified' mum fears one of her kids could die as mould in home 'spreads like wildfire'

A mum says she fears the lives of her children as black mould has spread “like wildfire” in her home.

Tanika Alveranga, 28, lives in the two-bedroom flat with her three children and says she has flagged the issue a number of times with her managing agent, Housing Enterprise Solutions (HES).

She is particularly concerned as her oldest child developed bronchiolitis, which Tanika believes is a result of her mouldy home in Willesden, north west London.

The 28-year-old mum added she fears her kids could meet the same fate as two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died in a home plagued with mould, MyLondon reported.

She said: “I worry one of my sons will die.

The mould is "spreading like wildfire" across Tanika's home (Leearna Alvaranga)

“Nobody cares, I feel let down and angry. I want them to peel back the wall, re-concrete and deal with the mould issues. I love my home, just not the problems that come with it."

"It terrifies me because he [Awaab] was always in and out of hospital for chest infections. [My son has] literally not stopped being chesty since November.

“This shouldn't be happening to the baby.

“Because I'm isolated and not having people round, I've been put on antidepressants.

“My mood is low and the kids are constantly affected, and because my son's had bronchiolitis since November he's on an asthma pump."

Tanika fears for her children's lives (Facundo Arrizabalaga)

As a result of the issues she has not had any friends to visit in nearly four years.

She believes the issue has taken time to fix because agent HES and housing association Notting Hill Genesis have been "blaming each other".

She added: "Notting Hill Genesis is denying anything to do with it because I'm not their tenant.

"Then HES is saying it's definitely down to Notting Hill Genesis because the mould is only there due to a property defect outside the building, so it's their fault the mould's there."

A spokesman for HES said: "HES has been championing the resolution for the mould issues in the flat, and also another flat we manage on the same floor, for many months as we identified at the outset that this is not a condensation issue, but rather water ingress from above.

The problem has spread to several rooms in the home (Facundo Arrizabalaga)

"Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) who has responsibility for the building have been the point of contact for us to push for resolution to investigate the roof and building structure."

A Notting Hill Genesis spokesperson added: "We know Tanika and her family are struggling with mould issues in their home and are working with the managing agents to resolve this. We are responsible for the communal areas and building structure, so are currently in consultation with residents over plans to install roof vents in the hope it will improve ventilation.

"While management of the flat, the relationship with the tenant and internal repairs are the responsibility of the managing agents, we are arranging a mould wash to be carried out and a dehumidifier to be supplied to Tanika as a short-term measure.

“We will also follow up with the managing agents over the status of works recommended inside the flat."

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