A 32 year old man has suffered a life threatening blood condition caused by mould after living in a fungus infested home where spores were ‘covered up’ with paint.
Matthew Langsworth of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, reported black mould in his bathroom, kitchen and bedroom to his landlord for 10 years but now claims it was ‘redecorated over’.
He now has a condition that leaves him so short of breath he can ‘hardly walk’ and last year a collapsed lung resulted in a fatal infection.
Invasive aspergillosis is caused by breathing in fungus spores which then move from the lungs to the blood and other parts of the body.
Mr Langsworth says doctors told him the virus had gone to his intestines.
While Mr Langsworth claims doctors assume mould exposure is the cause of his health problems he says he has to choose between ‘dying or being homeless’ as the flat, which is council funded, is deemed ‘fit for habitation’ by the authorities.
Stonewater, the social housing provider, said they had rebuilt the ‘entire bathroom and kitchen’ after a leak in 2023 and installed new flooring.
They said a survey this month found mould on the shower curtain, bathroom sink waste overflow and washing machine powder drawer.
They also found the bathroom extractor fan wasn’t working but this hadn’t been reported to them before.
Mr Langsworth said: “My life has been physically, mentally and financially ruined by this.”
‘Before all of this I led a fairly active life. I used to go to the gym 2-3 times a week.
On weekends I would go for 6-7 mile hikes. Now I can’t walk to the shop without stopping.
I would say that was the worst experience of my life. I would describe it as hell on earth.
I first noticed it in 2013 and they did a series of jobs that clearly didn’t remove it. I’ve had ongoing digestive issues and skin problems.’
‘A doctor has told me everything I’ve been experiencing over the last 10 years is caused by mould.’
Mr Langsworth found mould spots around the pipes in the kitchen, bathroom, main bedroom and hallways.
‘My main bedroom, every wall has scratches on,’ he said.
Currently over 75% of the property has mould on it.
‘The landlord’s view is “we’ll just wipe this and it’s not a big deal”’
He moved out of his flat for 3 months in August 2023 while repairs to leaks and black mould were done.
But after two weeks of being back he collapsed and got pneumonia and was in hospital for 5 days.
Within 3 hours of being discharged he had septic shock (a severe immune system reaction to an infection) and was readmitted to hospital for a week.
‘The doctors were wiping tears from my eyes because I thought I was going to die,’ he said.
‘The doctor told me my body had fought as hard as it could but eventually gave up.’
‘Mould has attacked my body.’
He said: ‘They’ve [the council] signed the property as fit for habitation so I’m not eligible for rehousing. If I leave the property I’ll be homeless. So I have a choice: die or become homeless.
‘It took until April this year for the landlord to agree to do more work on the property after all of this.
‘Luckily I had a friend who let me stay at her house for 3 months straight to try and save me from being ill again.’
‘She sees me get breathless just walking up and down the stairs.
I get out of breath, sweat profusely and vomit.’
He asked the council, ‘Would you live there with your children knowing this is happening to someone?’ I already know the answer is no. It’s unacceptable.
Living in mouldy houses has been linked to various health issues including respiratory diseases such as aspergillus, asthma and allergies.
Mould, a tiny fungus, creates these conditions by releasing thousands of tiny harmful particles into the air.
Household mould can cause a persistent cough, wheezing or shortness of breath.
Other symptoms include worsening asthma, other respiratory conditions or airway irritation.
According to government stats, domestic damp and mould caused 5,000 cases of asthma and 8,500 lower respiratory infections in children and adults in England in 2019.
Damp and mould are responsible for 1-2% of new cases of hayfever each year.
Awaab Ishak, 2, died in December 2020 from long term mould exposure in his Rochdale home.
He lived in a one bedroom house with his dad and step mum.
The family reported the mould to the housing association that owned the property, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) three years before the little boy died but were told to ‘paint over it’.
In June 2020 Awaab’s dad went to court against the landlords for the mould but repairs had to wait until the case was heard.
Awaab was taken to Rochdale Urgent Care Centre with shortness of breath on December 19th that year and died a few days later.
A Stonewater spokesperson said: ‘We have worked hard since Mr Langsford first noticed a small leak in his property in 2023 to ensure any water damage has been fully repaired. This includes re-doing his kitchen and bathroom and new flooring throughout.
Mr Langsford is still concerned the property has moisture and mould and it’s affecting his health. We went back to the flat on December 2 2024 to do a more detailed damp and mould survey.
‘The surveyor found no structural issues in Mr Langford’s property but mould was present.
We will of course continue to work with Mr Langsford to complete any further repairs and give him additional peace of mind his property is dry and mould free.’
