A family says they fear for their health because they live in ‘mould-stricken’ council flat in Reading amid their plea to move out of the ‘overcrowded’ home.
Dan and Dorcas Boateng live in a two-bedroom home in Newcastle Road with their four sons and a daughter.
At the moment, the married couple sleep in one room with their 10-month-old daughter. Their four boys, aged 13, 12, 10 and six, share the other bedroom, which the couple says is ‘stricken with mould’.
Mrs Boateng (38) said: “Four of them are sleeping in the room, it’s making it a dump. I’ve complained to Reading Borough Council for a very long time but nothing has been done. They said keep on bidding (on properties) and nothing happened.”
The couple fear for the health of their sons. Last year, an inquest found little boy Awaab Ishak died in 2020, eight days after his second birthday, as a direct result of black mould in the flat he lived at in Rochdale.
Mrs Boateng said: “When I heard about the child dying I got worried. It’s a health hazard.
“We’ve been here for 12 years, when we arrived we only had two children We’ve been waiting to move since we had our fourth child, that was seven years ago.
“The room is not big enough. If it were a double room it may be big enough but it’s a single, it has no space in there.
“I hope that we can get a place to move, that’s my dream, that’s all I’m hoping for. I don’t mind a three-bedroom, that would be much better than what we have now.”
Cllr David McElroy (Green, Redlands) has been working with the Boateng family to raise the issue with the council.
“This breaks my heart. How can we let this sort of thing keep happening? I thought we were meant to be a rich country,” he said.
“We cannot keep voting for tax avoidance, economic incompetence and sleaze. The rampant inequality is crushing us.
“The family has to stay in a two-bedroom flat because a three-bedroom property is considered too small is just weird and depressing. RBC needs to sort itself out. And at least stick to their pathetically-low affordable housing targets instead of abandoning local families in favour of developer profits.”
A Reading Borough Council spokesperson said: “The mould issue raised by the tenant has been referred to our damp and mould team who have been in touch with the tenant and visited on Friday, January 6, to provide advice regarding heating and ventilation, appropriate cleaning options and order any remedial action where required.
“With regard to the overcrowding, we are aware of the family’s need and they are on our housing register for a four-bedroom property. However, demand for larger family sized homes outstrips supply which leads to a significant delay for many families that are overcrowded.
“We have recommended to the family that they apply through www.homeswapper.co.ukto register for an exchange, which often sees other tenants looking to downsize from a larger property and through this mutual exchange method they would be able to apply for a three- or four-bedroom property.
“Private rented accommodation is a further option to all our applicants, providing an easily accessible option that often enables residents to meet their housing need much quicker than via the Housing Register.
“Households may be eligible for our Rent Guarantee Scheme and we advise residents to contact the Housing Advice team on 0118 937 2165.”
