Single mum-of-seven suffers life in mouldy council house for 10 years in Milton Keynes

A single mum with seven children has been urging the council for 10 years to fix her mould-ridden house.

Mumina Adams moved to the end terrace home in Lamberts Croft, Greenleys, in 2014 and mould began appearing almost immediately.

“I have black mould, white furry mould, yellow mould...every type of mould you can think of. As fast as it’s cleaned off, it appears again,” she said.

"It all over our beds, the children’s clothes, our food. It’s horrible.”

Mumina, whose children are aged between four months and 16 years, thinks she knows why her council home is so mouldy – but little can be done about it.

"It’s built on a slope. The ground slopes down towards the house at the back and the side. When it rains, the water gathers and we are literally surrounded by a moat.

"It’s ankle deep and we have to jump over it when we go out.”

Mumina has been asking the council for years for a move to a mould-free property – and also a bigger one.

"It a real squeeze with eight of us. I keep asking the council for a bigger place. They say it’s up to me to organise a private swap – but obviously nobody wants this place!

"And I keep asking them to do something about the mould but apart from doing fungal washes, which don’t stop it, they do very little.”

In 2021 Mumina even took MK City Council to the County Court for failing to fix the property’s problems. She won the case and was awarded more than £1,000 compensation – but the mould persists.

The Citizen asked the council how it planned to help. A spokesperson told us: “We’re working with the tenant to find new accommodation that meets the family’s needs. As in most other areas, council housing is in high demand with limited supply and we’ll continue to offer the tenant further options as soon as suitable properties become available.

“In the meantime, we’ll continue to address any damp and mould issues and have recently identified some additional repairs that may help. We are in touch with our tenant to schedule this work.”