Newham Council sorry for family's five years in mouldy house

Dog groomer Agnija Nikitina, 44, said she and all three of her children had developed persistent coughs since being moved into the terraced house in Ramsay Road, Leytonstone.

Her two daughters have now been diagnosed with asthma, she said.

The living conditions are so bad that Agnija received just less than £1,700 in compensation after a lawyer took her case on a no-win-no-fee basis.

But, she said, even that did not seem to result in any urgency around repairing the problems.

“My daughters didn’t have asthma before we moved here,” she said. “They have coughing attacks, like asthma attacks, and they are throwing up all the time. I have had a bad cough since New Year.”

Mould growing on the walls and ceiling of Agnija's bedroom (Image: Agnija Nikitina)

Her daughters are now under the care of Whipps Cross Hospital, Agnija said, “but they send them to all different hospitals".

The family was moved into the two-bedroom home in March 2019, having previously lived in another temporary accommodation unit in the Custom House area.

Her daughters, aged nine and six, and her eight-year-old son, who has special needs, all share one bedroom.

They have a bidding number for social housing but have never been successful.

Agnija said she was desperate to be moved “somewhere more healthy for the children”.

She approached Newham Council in the hope that, “the more people I involved, maybe they will do something – because even the solicitor didn’t scare them".

Agnija said contractors' work so far had consisted primarily of repeatedly painting over the mould and damp, which then just kept reappearing (Image: Charles Thomson)

“When we moved in, it was renovated like new,” she claimed. “But the mould came straight away, that same year.”

Initially, she cleaned it off herself – but it just kept coming back.

“Then the damp started after three years,” she said.

She claimed contractors had been sent around repeatedly to clean and paint over the affected walls, but the underlying problem – a leaky roof letting in moisture – had not been addressed.

“Upstairs, the ceiling is wet,” said Agnija.

The problem is sometimes so bad that the mould spreads onto the food in her kitchen cupboards, she said.

When the Newham Recorder visited Agnija's property, the wall on the staircase appeared to be buckling (Image: Charles Thomson)

When contractors are booked, they only give the ‘week commencing’ date, and Agnija said it often resulted in her having to take multiple days off work to wait for them to show up.

Agnija claimed: “The council did an investigation (after the compensation claim). They said they would do everything in two to four weeks. That was in September or October.”

The council did not dispute this claim. Nor did housing association Local Space, which owns the house.

“Local Space blame the council, and the council blame Local Space,” Agnija complained.

Contacted by the Recorder, Local Space said responsibility laid with Newham Council.

“While Local Space own the property, it is leased and managed by Newham Council who set the rent, deal with building management issues and decide where tenants are housed and for how long,” a spokesperson said.

“This is one of 1,500 homes that are leased long-term to Newham Council. We are in contact with Newham Council to find a resolution to the issues at this occupant’s [house].”

Agnija shared this photograph of thick, black mould growing in the corner of one room (Image: Agnija Nikitina)

Newham Council said: “This house is a pre-1919 street property which is owned by Local Space PLC.

“The property has been affected by external defects which have caused internal disrepair and we have been working closely with Local Space to address these.”

The council said it had repaired a front bay window and guttering in February 2024, in addition to waterproofing some rear walls and internal plasterwork.

It said works had also been commenced on repairing the chimney stack and lead flashing on the roof.

“Work is ongoing and plans include improving the effectiveness of the damp course at the property,” it said.

“Once the work is complete there will be internal redecoration and the property will be inspected.”

The council added: “We take our responsibilities for the conditions of properties we use for our residents very seriously, in particular in dealing with reports of damp and mould…

“Ms Nikitina has, like many homelessness applicants, been resident in temporary accommodation (TA) for some years due to the housing shortages we are facing.

“Applicants are frequently housed in TA for much longer than we would wish and for that we are sorry.”