I’m 69 and spent £2,000 fixing mould in my council flat – it’s made me ill

José Bell says he has had to spend what little savings he has to fix an ongoing mould issue in his council flat. The pensioner, 69, moved into the Lewisham home in October 2024, after spending six years living in temporary accommodation while waiting for a permanent council house. José says the flat was supposed to be the place that finally gave him “some stability” after a challenging period in his life when he was also homeless. Shorts “Instead, I’m dealing with mould that’s making me ill,” he said. José first noticed the mould in January 2025 and says he notified the council. He discovered it in the kitchen, the front room on the walls and floor as well as the bathroom, was told to ventilate the rooms properly, use a dehumidifier and apply mould treatment sprays. These measures did not work and for the past year and a half he has gone back and forth with the Lewisham Homes asking it to rectify the issue. The council says it is fixing the issue, and has complete a temporary “mould wash” already to remove immediate risk. Pictures of the mould problems in José’s flat that he first noticed in January 2025 José is British but spent most of his adult life in Canada. He was a seafarer and on a job in Florida in the US when the authorities said they were not satisfied with his documentation for him to travel back to Canada. From there, he was deported him back to the UK in 2014. When arriving back at Heathrow Airport, social services advised José to go to a temporary shelter where he lived for a month or two, before he ended up living in a tent in Deptford. He said: “I have had physical problems from the mould, and the spores get into my eye. Luckily, I’ve got prescription for eye drops from a pharmacist, but I have to use them daily and my eyes still itch and burn sometimes from that. “I also have ongoing shortness of breath and coughing problems which are made worse with the living conditions I am in.” José says he is only able to save a few hundred pounds over the course of several months but says he has had to spend his savings trying to fix the mould issue himself. He says he has spent around £2,000 to clean up the wooden floors where he believes the mould was coming from and lay out a new one, as well as spending money on professional mould removers for the walls. He feels the root cause of the dampness, which is causing the mould, needs to be addressed. A Lewisham Council spokesperson, said: “We can confirm that this case is already being addressed. We are in regular contact with Mr Bell and visited earlier this month. “We’ve completed a temporary mould wash to remove the immediate risk and are in the process of arranging the remaining works to prevent it returning. We’ll make sure to keep Mr Bell informed throughout.” What to do if you have a damp and mould issue Your council or housing association must investigate and fix serious damp and mould within legal timescales. They have 10 working days to investigate serious damp and this starts from the next working day after you tell them about the problem. The council or housing association must decide if damp and mould in your home is a hazard and what work is needed to make your home safe. It’s important to note your council or housing association only has to arrange a home visit if you ask for one. After the investigation the council or housing association has three working days to write to you to tell you if the damp and mould is a serious hazard and what work they will do and when. Your council or housing association might decide that damp and mould is not a serious hazard – usually this is if they think it will not cause you harm even if it’s not fixed very quickly.