A woman who was stuck living in a mouldy flat for more than five years has slammed a payout of just £500 from her landlord.
Aspire Housing apologised to Katie Higgs and awarded her £500 compensation, and finally moved her out of her home in Clayton after her long-running battle.
She first shared her plight with Stoke-on-Trent Live back in January, 2021 after she reported that the damp and mould had spread to her bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room and spare room.
It took a further 10 months for Aspire Housing to move her out and into a replacement Newcastle-under-Lyme property which has no issues with damp or mould.
Now Aspire Housing has accepted that it should have 'responded more urgently'.
Details of the apology and the compensation payout have emerged following the tragic case of two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died after being let down by his housing provider in his mouldy Greater Manchester home.
Harplands Hospital worker Kirsty said: “I was relieved when I finally got out because I had been living there for over four years and they kept fobbing me off. I got £500 compensation but they got five years’ rent off me and all I got was £500 which is one month’s rent.
“I never stopped paying my rent or refused to pay anything. They were too slow to fix the problems I was having with the damp and mould. You are waiting for ages to get anything done by them.”
Kirsty added: “There needs to be more communication and when there’s a problem like mould or damp they need to sort it out straight away, not leave it in a condition where water is coming through the roof.
“I was on my own and had no children. But there are also people who have got kids and are in that situation and have been left like that.
“That young boy died because of mould and damp, it’s not right. They didn’t do anything to sort out their problem. They should be doing better when people are paying the money.”
Aspire's executive director Dan Gray said: “Last year we supported Ms Higgs to move into a new home following issues with damp and mould in her previous property, which were related to the need for major roofing repairs.
"We recognise that it took too long to resolve this issue and that we should have responded to it more urgently.
"We would like to apologise again to Ms Higgs and have paid compensation to her for the distress and inconvenience that was caused.”
