One Wollongong man, who says he spends a whole day each month cleaning mould from his rental property, highlights the growing numbers of Australians living in sub-par conditions.
He says he has been cleaning the mould from the property since he moved in with his family a year ago, and that the mould “just keeps coming back and we’re getting no help from the real estate agent or the landlord.”
Anecdotal reports of mould spreading in homes across Australia have soared after an exceptionally wet end to summer and autumn, with renters most likely to be adversely affected.
The policy and advocacy manager of the Tenants’ Union of New South Wales, Jemima Mowbray, told The Guardian that they were hearing “a lot of reports from tenants who’ve been struggling with mould and report it to their landlords or agents, and they will suggest it’s the tenant’s fault.”
“[The tenants] are told to open a window, or clean the house more often, or do X, Y, and Z when the problem is clearly structural.”
The recommendation from tenant advocacy groups is to contact their state’s civil and administrative tribunal if their landlord refuses to fix the issue, but even reporting mould growth can be a difficult experience.
“Even though people don’t want to live in a mouldy house, they know it’s unhealthy … sometimes making a fuss about mould has to be balanced up against ‘Well, will I get kicked out for making the fuss?'”
Green’s state spokesperson for New South Wales, Jenny Leong, launched a private members bill in March, calling for greater protections for tenants. The bill includes a requirement to ensure that homes are mould-free and contain adequate waterproofing.
Ms Leong put a post up on social media last week asking for Sydney residents to share their experiences with mould problems.
“I was told by the real estate agent it’s something I need to manage and deal with myself. Fast forward to now and mould covers the ceiling, the window sills, the toilet and whatever else is damp. It is impossible to get rid of myself,” one person commented.
“We ran dehumidifiers constantly and scrubbed every weekend, but it came back overnight. My partner lost his sense of smell and taste, I couldn’t sleep, my asthma was off the charts, and they just offered to paint over it,” another said.