Red Kite slammed over mould in flat at The Pastures

Mary Jo da Silva has challenged Red Kite to rid her flat at The Pastures in High Wycombe of mould, which she claims started five years ago and may have made her son sick.

The 74-year-old leaseholder said the housing association “put off repairs” and despite “many phone calls” about a possible leak she is “unable to live decently”.

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Red Kite said it was made aware of Ms da Silva’s mould in January and that a leak was not found during an inspection days later.

The housing provider has scheduled major works at The Pastures to ensure tenant and leaseholder homes “continue to be safe and well maintained”.

It has however been challenged by an action group of around 20 leaseholders, in response to an estimated final bill per household of around £11,000 for the works.

It offered to clean the mould from Ms da Silva’s home in the meantime.

A mother-of-four in Wooburn Green has also recently criticised the provider over the mould in her family home, claiming Red Kite “don’t fix things properly”.

“About five years ago, some dark spots appeared below the skirting board in one of my bedrooms,” said Ms da Silva. “Fast forward to November 2020 when my son came home, the mould appeared again.

“I phoned Red Kite and asked for this to be seen as it appeared as a leak with water running down the wall. My son became unwell.”

After more phone calls, Ms da Silva claimed she was told “somebody will get back to you”.

Examples of mould in her home 

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“By now I was getting used to the inefficiency and complete disregard for leaseholders,” she added.

“At some point, somebody came to check it,” she said. “But he needed scaffolding so couldn’t get up on the roof. Blocked drains he said. That was the end of him.”

She added: “There is mould outside the window in between the bricks making its way in. My son is constantly sick during the cold weather.

“Red Kite were informed of the condition of the walls but still they decided to put off repairs.

“Many phone calls later and we are unable to live decently. This organisation is a disgrace to High Wycombe as it has little concern for its residents. Such neglect is hard to believe.”

Mary Jo da Silva, 74

A Red Kite spokesman said: “Several blocks of flats at The Pastures are due to have major works carried out within the next few months, with scaffolding going up in early January to the first of these blocks.

“These planned works form part of our Investment Programme which ensure that our tenants and leaseholder homes continue to be safe and well maintained. We have been consulting with our tenants and leaseholders for many months on the type of works we intend to undertake.

“We’re sorry that Ms da Silva has been experiencing problems with damp/condensation. This was first brought to our attention in January 2021, and we visited four days later to carry out an inspection. A leak was not found, and no further action was taken.

“The works we’re starting in January will increase the thermal insulation to our tenants and leaseholders’ homes and help with managing condensation related problems. We will always encourage our tenants and leaseholders to adequately heat and ventilate their homes as this is essential to preventing the build-up of condensation and the mould which arises as a result.

“In the meantime, we’ll get in touch with Ms da Silva to offer to clean the mould from the wall and ceiling in her home and will liaise with her to ensure her home is correctly ventilated and heated while we wait for the major works to be completed.”

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