Wooburn Green mother slams Red Kite over mouldy home

Katie James of Wooburn Green said she is “fed up” of the “disgusting conditions” her house is in because Red Kite “don’t fix things properly”.

The 31-year-old has rented there for almost six years and shares with her fiancé and four children.

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During that time, mould has spread throughout the house, including the bedrooms and bathroom, and at one point the family was moved out while rotten insulation was removed from the roof because things were “so bad”.

Replacement insulation and vents have not worked, Ms James claimed, and mould is now appearing on the children’s curtains and her daughter’s bed and even on a headband.

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“This is where I’m meant to bath and shower my children,” she wrote while posting mouldy bathroom images on social media (above).

Red Kite responded by sending someone over last week, but Ms James claimed a representative told her the housing association ‘has limited finances to help’.

Red Kite denied this saying it is in a "financially strong position", adding it is "not restricting any types of repair". 

“As much as I’m embarrassed about this, it’s about time Red Kite pull their fingers out,” Ms James wrote, sharing pictures of her home online.

“We pay our rent and, for what feels like forever, have lived in these disgusting conditions.

“I’m fed up of being passed off or saying people will come and inspect the situation.”

Mould on the children's curtains and bed

She added: “They put a vent in that wasn’t big enough to start with and is now broken. I reported this months ago. Red Kite – sort it out or I’ll happily take this further.”

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Ms James said: “We have lived in this house now, in Wooburn Green, for coming up to six years.

“I share with my fiancé, and four children who are 14, nine, five and three.

“The main issue is the mould but it’s because [Red Kite] don’t fix things properly.

“Five years ago, we had to be moved out for a couple of weeks due to the mould in the house being so bad.”

She said Red Kite told her it ‘needed to reroof the house’, and “take out the mouldy insulation” and replace it with new materials.

“On returning home, they did not do this,” she added. “They purely took the old insulation out, replaced it, and patched up some holes in the felt, so the issue has returned in our bedrooms .

“As for the bathroom, I reported this around a year ago. Someone came out to assess the problem, I showed them all the mould and the fan in the bathroom not working.

“All they did was wash what they could, told me the job was too big and they would have someone else sort it.”

Ms James said months passed without contact, in which time the mould got worse.

She said calling out Red Kite online “got their attention” and it offered another assessment.

Online, Red Kite wrote: “We’re sorry that you’re having damp and mould issues in your home.” Adding a visit was scheduled for November 18.

“This time, the man told me they will get someone to wash the walls again and will come to look in the loft to see what’s going on – however did end the conversation saying they are unable to do any big jobs to properties, as they haven’t got a lot of money,” said Ms James.

A Red Kite spokesman said: “Looking at the images of Ms James’ home we can understand her distress, but we want to reassure her that, now this has been reported to us, we will establish the cause of the mould and rectify the problem.

“The reappearance of the mould was bought to our attention on  November 15 and our inspector visited Ms James’ home this week. He found that the bathroom extractor fan was not working, which is critical to help reduce the build-up of condensation. Now that this has been reported we can help to resolve the issues.

“An appointment has also been made for a specialist to carry out a survey to assess the home so we can identify if there is anything else that needs to be done provide any relevant advice.

“We have previously carried out extensive works to externally insulate this home and make the property more energy efficient. Insulating homes and sealing them from draughts can cause condensation related issues if the correct balance of heat and ventilation is not maintained.

“We will continue to keep Ms James informed, provide advice and let her know about any additional works that are needed.

“In the meantime, we are encouraging Ms James to continue to report any further issues to us quickly and follow advice on reducing condensation in the home.”

It added: "Red Kite is in a financially strong position and we are not restricting any types of repair job. We are not sure where this information came from, but it is incorrect. Our priority is to reach a successful conclusion for Ms James and find out what is truly behind this situation.”

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