A mother said she fears for the health of her three-year-old daughter who has grown up in a flat infested with black mould.
Terri Harrigan, of Cherbury Court, Hoxton, said her flat has had black mould growing inside since she moved into the property in 2019.
The 31-year-old said the mould is in every room of the flat and that it is the worst in the bedrooms and bathroom.
Terri said that since her family moved into the flat, Hackney Council had sent someone round on four occasions to wash and paint the walls but that this was not preventing the mould from returning.
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She said the most recent visit took place on November 28 and that nobody had returned since.
Terri said: "Obviously it’s not nice seeing your three-year-old daughter struggling to breathe… seeing her go through illness constantly is a struggle.
"She’s now on an inhaler. When she gets a cold, it goes straight to her chest and she ends up struggling to breathe.
"She ends up at the doctors… and if we don’t go to the doctors we have to go straight to A&E.
"She’s had an ambulance have to come out to her once, late last year."
Terri said that her youngest daughter contracts respiratory illnesses at least once a month and she has had to take steroids twice after contracting croup.
She added: "Hackney Council need to take responsibility for the way they’ve got people living.
"It’s not acceptable to just tell people to open their windows and everything will be fine - they’re not getting to the root of the problem.
"I clean it every two to three days but you need to get to the root of the problem…"
Terri said that the news of the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to mould at his home in Rochdale had caused her to worry for her daughter.
In a letter seen by the Gazette, Terri's daughter's GP has requested the council address the issue to "ensure safe living conditions".
Terri continued: "I just don’t think it’s acceptable, especially since that two-year-old boy died - that’s what scares me.
"My daughter’s been living in this condition since she was born, I don’t want it to get to that stage because obviously if something happens to her like that, I will hold them personally responsible."
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A spokesperson for Hackney Council said: "We wholeheartedly apologise for the delay to repairs that Ms Harrigan has experienced following our survey on November 2022.
"The council carried out repair work relating to recurring damp in 2019, 2020, and again in January 2022.
"The most recent issue - in November 2022 - was surveyed, but this work was delayed as a result of problems with the supply chain and a breakdown of communication at our end.
"We have now made contact with Ms Harrigan to begin work to resolve all the issues at her earliest convenience.
"As part of this, we will look at stronger measures to prevent future recurrence.
"Hackney Council is one of the largest social landlords in the country, and we want to assure everyone living in one of our homes that tackling damp and mould is a priority for us."
Hackney Council added that it has launched a housing repairs action plan, backed by £1 million investment.
According to the plan, reports of damp and mould will be inspected within five working days and complaints will be prioritised based on severity, and the age and health of people living in the home.
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