Thatcham mother accuses Sovereign of quick fix mould solution

Housing association agrees to re-grout tiles but mother unhappy that this will not solve problem

A THATCHAM mother-of-four is angry that Sovereign Housing is refusing to re-tile her bathroom to deal with a mould problem.

Claire Pitwell, aged 33, of Bourne Road, also said that since she and her partner, Dean Open, aged 35, moved into the house a year ago, their four children's health has been affected from breathing in mould spores.

Sovereign said that, following an inspection, the mould was found to be minimal and had offered to have the tiles re-grouted instead.

However, Ms Pitwell said that she was told the area needed re-tiling to prevent more mould growing by a maintenance worker, sent to her home by the housing association, and by a second surveyor.

She said: “He said there is no way it could just be re-grouted.

“I just want my property to be the way it should be so we can live in it.

“They are just not trying to solve the problem.

“They are trying to cover the problem rather than clear it.”

Ms Pitwell also added that her children, aged from 13 to two, have suffered health problems including chest infections, bronchiolitis and flu.

Sovereign spokesman Roy Probert said: “We carried out an inspection at Ms Pitwell's home in June, having been advised of mould issues in the property.

“Since then, we have been working with the residents at their home to complete various works to resolve this.

“The tiling in the bathroom was in a satisfactory condition at the time, though the grouting had become discoloured through general wear and tear and was in need of replacing.

“Ms Pitwell asked us for another surveyor to review this as she was not happy with this suggestion, so another property surveyor visited to give a second opinion.

“At the second inspection it was found that there was minimal mould which could be resolved by re-grouting, and, as we discussed with Ms Pitwell, we are happy to carry this work out at her convenience.”

In response, Ms Pitwell said that if Sovereign had fixed the problem properly in the first instance, then it would have fewer long-term problems to deal with.

She added: “It would benefit them if they did the work properly.

“We could better our property if they helped us out a bit.

“If they just helped a bit, I don't think as many people would complain about them – it would make their lives easier.”