‘I had keys to mouldy flat’
A young mother is in despair over the state of her property and has started legal action against the housing association. Genty Barton, 31, moved into the ground-floor flat in Wheeler Street, Maidstone, just over a year ago with her six-year-old son Billy-Jay.
She said: “I previously had a top-floor flat in Marden, but I asked for a move because I had trouble with the stairs as I have a back injury.
“Because we were in the pandemic, I wasn’t allowed to view the new flat first, just given the number to a key safe and told to move in.
“At first it didn’t look too bad, I think they must have painted over everything, but pretty soon the damp started to come through.
“There is now black mould all round the flat.”
She is worried for her own health and that of her child, but says repeated requests to Golding Homes to do something have fallen on deaf ears.
Miss Barton even engaged a specialist company of chartered surveyors to examine her flat. Its 24-page inspection report lists “black mould all around the balcony, black mould growth around the windows in the living room, the kitchen door is covered in black mould growth, there is black mould all around the bathroom in the walls, tiles and ceiling, the window, window sill and furniture in the main bedroom are full of black mould growth, and in the hallway there is black mould near the front door.”
The company observed: “The previous occupant had a disability and as a result Golding Homes had removed the bath and installed a wet room.
“The wet room is leaking water into the floor screed, and this is where most of the problems with this property originate.”
Miss Barton is supported in her request for either the mould to be dealt with or for her to be moved by her GP surgery, which has twice written to Golding Homes.
Golding Homes has apologised for delays in resolving the issues and has twice completed a mould wash and painted the bathroom with anit-mould paint.
Assistant director of property for Golding Homes, Steve Stratford, said: “We’re working with Miss Barton’s solicitor to agree a resolution as quickly as possible.”