Family’s complaints of ‘battle’ over ongoing mould infestation

MANAGEMENT and maintenance company GreenSquareAccord have apologised to a family in Melksham East for ‘falling short of the service they usually provide’ in response to the family’s ongoing complaints about mould issues.

The family has said it has been a ‘massive battle’ for GreenSquareAccord to address the issue of mould in their flat, which they have been complaining about since they moved in during 2020.

“It’s been mouldy for years and we have no windows in the bathroom, except for a bathroom fan. Our flat gets very muggy and very wet,” explained the resident.

When they first complained about the mould, GreenSquareAccord sent a surveyor to investigate the problem in 2020.

“Our baby was six weeks old and it felt like the surveyor blamed it on us. He said, ‘These flats aren’t built for families and you have a fish tank and your furniture is too close to the wall.’”

In April last year, another surveyor came out to assess the problem but the resident says no solution was offered, except for advice about wiping the surfaces and using anti-mould paint.

However, the resident said the mould continued to grow, despite their efforts to try and prevent it.

After another year of complaining to GreenSquareAccord, the resident said another surveyor visited on Friday 23rd February.

“He didn’t really have any solutions; he looked at our bathroom floor and said, ‘Oh, that is not good. He got his particle meter out, which reads how toxic the air is. He went into our bathroom and the air quality was poor. He went into our living room and it tripled. He went into the bedroom and it tripled again. He has got to come back and do another set of readings just to make sure it’s not something in the air, like an air freshener or something else, that is causing these readings.

“When I asked what the next steps were, he just raised his eyebrows. It seems the whole bathroom might have to be ripped out, as well as the bathroom floor, the ceiling, and the front door, which are going to need to be replaced. The bedroom window looks like it is going to have to come out, along with the windowsill.

“Between the lack of it being insulated properly and the lack of proper airflow out of the building, the developers have not thought about it at all.”

The resident has said that over the past few years, they have been ‘out of pocket’ spending money on cleaning products, anti-mould paint and covering the cost of energy bills for the ‘continuous’ cycle of washing to get rid of the smell of mould from their clothes.

“GreenSquareAccord offered us compensation of £300 because they have not dealt with this in a timely manner, but that doesn’t really cover it, to be honest,” says the resident. “My partner has respiratory issues; our little boy was diagnosed as type 1 diabetic back in April last year. He’s very at risk of catching things and not being able to get rid of them. We are wanting to move.”

Melksham East ward councillor, Charlie Stokes, has been supporting the family with their complaints. She said, “It is a travesty that, despite Awaab’s Law [the law that enforces social landlords to fix damp and mould within strict time limits], residents in GreenSquareAccord-run properties are still being expected to live in mouldy flats. It is unacceptable that in some cases it is taking almost a year for GreenSquareAccord to investigate this issue.

“As not only a councillor but also a resident, I liaise with GreenSquareAccord, but often have to go straight to the contractors to get the jobs done. But it shouldn’t be down to residents to project manage GreenSquareAccord. This is a widespread problem with estate maintenance companies across the country. It’s time for the government to enforce stricter regulations to protect those of us who pay service charges but don’t get the quality of work we deserve.”

A spokesperson for GreenSquareAccord said, “The health and safety of our customers is our top priority and we apologise to the residents for the unacceptable delay in responding to the issues they have reported in their home. A surveyor visited the residents’ home on Friday 23rd February, and we are committed to working with them to address any issues as quickly as possible.

“We take a proactive approach to dealing with damp and mould and we have a robust policy in place to ensure we deal with cases quickly and effectively. We are sorry that, on this occasion, we have fallen well short of the level of service we normally provide. We recognise we need to continue to improve how we handle damp and mould cases. We have already invested significant resources into this service and will continue to do so.”