‘It keeps coming back’: Rochdale estate still plagued by mould that killed toddler

A week after decorating a bedroom in his family’s flat, the wallpaper is peeling and damp is visible through the new paint. “I’m throwing money away,” says Arunas Yankunas, exasperated.

In every room – and on doors and clothes – there are traces of mould. Attempts to paint over it do not work. Yankunas had to pull all the carpets up because they were black, and is starting to put laminate flooring down. They are not huge, ugly swathes of mould, but it is enough to be worried and he is at his wit’s end.

And it is not just the money, which he has not got: “My oldest son [14] has asthma and the mould makes it worse.”

Yankunas, a Lithuanian, lives on the Freehold estate in Rochdale. The estate became infamous last year after two-year-old Awaab Ishak died because of the mould in the family’s flat. The housing and levelling up secretary, Michael Gove, said the housing association in charge of Freehold, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), had failed its tenants.

The coroner at Awaab’s inquest said the toddler’s death should be “a defining moment” for the UK’s housing sector. Before the release of an damning ombudsman report on RBH the Guardian has visited the Freehold estate to see whether things have changed, and to ask residents whether they are being listened to.

Residents, some reluctant to give their name, repeatedly say things have not improved. Mould is still prevalent. They are desperate to get off the estate.

Yankunas has lived in his flat on the estate for six years, five of which he has spent trying to leave. There has always been mould. “Every time they bring new stuff, new anti-mould paints, but it keeps coming back. Every week we clean and clean and clean but it doesn’t help. You still breathe the mould in,” he says.

He adds he has heard the flats are getting new ventilators but they are still “waiting, waiting” with no idea when they may be installed.

“These flats … you destroy them,” his partner, who asks not be named, chips in when asked what the solution is.

Hawa Hamed has lived in her flat for three years and it has always been mouldy, she says. Carpets have had to be pulled up because they were black. Her husband, who has lived there for eight years, paints over the mould himself but it comes back.

“There is always water coming in,” she says. “One time there was water coming in through the ceiling while my daughter was sleeping. It is very worrying.”

Another resident, Aimee Embaba, says she and her partner have to paint over her flat’s mould “all of the time”.

She has not heard about any new ventilation systems being installed and is continually worried about her three-year-old daughter, Blessing. “She was born premature and she was a very tiny baby. I spent two months and two weeks in hospital,” says Embaba.

A resident who asks not to be named and who lives in the same block where Awaab and his family lived says her flat still has a mould problem. She is worried about her three-year-old son because he has breathing problems.

Workers repeatedly came to paint over the mould, “but it doesn’t solve the problem”, she says, adding that she has complained about the mould “too many times”.

When the Guardian visits there are about half a dozen RBH vans on the estate, which is close to the centre of Rochdale and a 10-minute walk from the town hall.

The flats and the communal stairwells are clearly in a grim state. It feels left behind. But work is taking place.

One resident, Mohammed Asif, says he is happy with two newly installed ventilators in his flat.

“They are really good. I’ve got one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen and they work automatically so as soon as you boil the kettle it comes on,” he says.

Asif points to the old, clogged up ventilator still in the bathroom: “I mean look at the state of that, it’s been there years.”

Another resident who has been visited by RBH workers is 19-year-old Codie Beavis. They came with a ticket to do work on the day she went on BBC News to talk about how bad her flat was.

The mould has been painted over and sections of her ceiling, which were cracking, have been replastered but not painted. Beavis still has a long list of other problems. As she shows her flat she points to the front-door frame that is coming to pieces letting in drafts, the sink that often blocks, a leaking tap, the toilet that is broken.

“I reported them when I first moved in and they haven’t done anything about it,” she says.

Yvonne Arrowsmith, the interim chief executive of RBH, said: “We are prioritising any work to tackle damp and mould through our taskforce, as well as taking proactive and single-minded steps to identify any damp and mould within RBH homes. Where we find a case of damp or mould, we prioritise based on vulnerability and health risk – we aim to take action within 24 hours for those at the highest risk and deal with all cases as swiftly as possible.

“We are contacting all tenants six, 12, and 18 months after mould treatment to check that the issues have been resolved. If tenants have any concerns about damp, condensation, or mould, we encourage them to contact us as quickly as possible so that we can resolve these issues.

“Of the tenants who spoke to the Guardian, all have either had a recent inspection or have an inspection arranged over the coming days. We will carry out any required work at a mutually convenient time.

“On Freehold, we are investing £1.2m to install new fans into kitchens and bathrooms, as well as a whole-house ventilation unit to support air circulation around the home. This work started in December and our team are working as fast as possible to make these improvements to all 380 RBH homes in the neighbourhood.”