SA Housing leaves grandmother and five children in mouldy house without hot water

A grandmother and sole carer of five young children is dealing with the health impacts of a home covered in mould, but says pleas to get the conditions fixed went ignored for months.

A grandmother and sole carer of five school-aged children says they have been living in public housing infested with black mould for the “past year”, with calls to get the problem fixed going ignored.

Emileena Wilson, 58, said she now suffered debilitating health problems including asthma, regular chest infections and chronic sinusitis as a result of the mould spreading.

Ms Wilson said “everything was all good” when she moved into the house three years ago, but after SA Housing Trust conducted maintenance work on the bathroom last year, the mould started to appear.

She told the Advertiser that SA Housing “painted over” the ceiling to cover the mould, after she suffered a severe asthma attack.

“I was in hospital for a few days with asthma and they gave me antibiotics and painkillers, but I can’t stay in hospital for too long because of these kids,” she told the Advertiser.

Emileena Wilson in her bathroom that has black mould. Picture: Mark Brake

“I haven’t had any energy for a long time … I feel tired, drained and I’ve not been feeling good and I can’t move around like I used to and do things I need.

“All SA Housing has done is they sent someone here and he painted over the mould to cover it up but that didn’t help at all.”

Ms Wilson said she coughs every night to the point were her “ribs are hurting”, and has been trialled on multiple antibiotics by her doctor to help.

In May this year, the problem worsened after further maintenance to fix a leak in the shower was conducted, but instead, the entire hot water system was turned off, leaving Ms Wilson and her grandchildren without hot water for almost two months.

“I rang them up, and it took about a week and they finally sent a fulla and he just put that little valve on the shower, and since he put that valve on it, it mucked the whole hot water system up,” she said.

“It’s hard for me to get them to have showers and clean myself, with my health going down it’s really straining me.

The grandmother says the mould has resulted in her suffering from adverse health conditions. Picture: Mark Brake

“I’ve had to boil water in a saucepan just to wash dishes since the water was shut off.”

After the Advertiser visited the property and spoke to Ms Wilson on Wednesday, SA Housing sent a contractor to repair her hot water system on Thursday morning.

The Advertiser also understands that SA Housing will be replacing the bathroom ceiling infested with mould, and has apologised to Ms Wilson for not addressing the problem sooner.

“We apologise for the length of time it has taken to resolve this issue,” an SA Housing spokesperson said.

“We have been aware of mould at this property since late 2023 and a number of treatments have been undertaken to fix the problem but it has recurred.

“Additional work, including replacing cornices, ceilings and insulation is scheduled to be undertaken as soon as possible, following further new reports of issues in May 2024.

SA Housing said they were investigating with their head contractor how the problem was not fixed sooner.