Aimee's rental is making her sick. One in three homes have the same issue

Sydney Morning Herald

4 hours ago

Aimee Morton first noticed mould in her Brisbane rental about a year ago. It started with a few black patches on the bathroom ceiling, before spreading into her bedroom.
'The smell was potent,' she says. 'Even now, it's still so thick.'
She reported it to her property manager, but it wasn't until the third visit, in October last year, a leak was discovered in the roof.
By the time the landlord began to fix the roof – the week before Cyclone Alfred was due to hit – black mould was spreading through Morton's house. The structural damage was so bad one tradesman fell through the kitchen ceiling.
'I was standing ... about two tiles away from where his foot went through,' she says.
Mould is a fungus that grows and spreads in damp, humid conditions and poorly ventilated spaces such as kitchens, bathrooms and laundries.
It can cause serious health issues, from skin irritation and respiratory infections, to severe illness.
Exposure to black mould is especially dangerous for those with underlying health conditions and allergen sensitivities, and has been linked to biotoxin-related illness chronic inflammatory response syndrome, or CIRS.
Morton is immunocompromised and suffers health challenges. The 29-year-old is terminally ill with a muscle and nerve degenerative disease. She uses a wheelchair and has been profoundly deaf for the past 10 years. The next stage of her disease will rob her of vision. 'Then it's organ failure.'
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Since the mould appeared, she says she's been hospitalised five times. 'I'm currently coughing up blood because the mould is killing my throat … my partner has eczema, but it's never been this bad.
'We're both asthmatic, so we can't breathe properly.'
Architectural scientist and mould expert Tim Law says the health impacts of mould exposure are not widely understood, but a federal inquiry in 2018 brought attention to the issue.
'The inquiry put pressure on a lot of parties to deal with this … and keep condensation management on the front burner,' he says.
Last year, the Queensland government introduced regulation enforcing minimum housing standards in rental properties, with provisions to ensure homes are weatherproof and structurally sound, and free from vermin, damp and mould.
Tenants can seek compensation or a rent reduction if a landlord fails to take reasonable steps to address issues, or the home is unfit to live in.
Tenants Queensland chief executive Penny Carr says owners have a responsibility to prevent rental properties becoming uninhabitable, but notes complications can arise.
'This often happens after a natural disaster, when a tenant might get a notice to leave for non-liveability. They can only get that notice if it's not due to a failure to repair.
'[Owners have a] responsibility to provide that property in a way that's fit to live in and meets all health and safety obligations, and to continue maintaining that property in that way as well.'
Law's research points to an even bigger problem.
In Australia, an estimated one in three houses are affected by mould and moisture, often a result of poor design. It's particularly prevalent in homes that aren't adequately ventilated or use condensation-prone building materials.
Law says this can be an unintended consequence of measures to improve building safety, as seen after the 2009 Victorian bushfires. '[Changes were introduced] to make spaces more airtight so that embers wouldn't blow into the spaces,' Law explains.
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'But by making a space more airtight … it created bigger condensation humidity problems.
'There's a whole range of reasons why our buildings are letting us down ... some of these problems are not easy to fix because they are designed and built in.'
Lack of regulation targeting condensation is another issue. While Australia has taken steps towards improving energy efficiency, condensation management has been comparatively ignored.
'It's a missed opportunity because the science is clear, but we don't have the political will to do it,' Law says.
Prolonged condensation can rot and corrode building materials, as was the case in Morton's rental.
Shortly after the foot through her kitchen ceiling, a plumber came to Morton's house to fix a blocked shower drain, caused by tree roots in her front yard. Mould and damp were discovered inside the bathroom walls.
'At this point, I said [to the real estate] that I would like for an actual mould specialist to come and test the air … and get a full household treatment.'
Despite mould specialists attending the property, Morton says it has not been treated properly, and there are sections of the house where mould has been painted over.
She adds that medical equipment, including her hospital bed, and personal items such as clothes and furniture, were damaged during repairs. 'We've just had so much damage, it's unbelievable.'
Morton is worried she and partner Chloe will soon be homeless. Their property manager recently advised a $60 a week rental increase, which they cannot afford. After being hospitalised for the fifth time, she says they have no choice but to look for somewhere else to live.
'I pay $490 a week, which is far too much money while on a pension, but that was my only option two years ago, or I would have been homeless,' she says.
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Finding alternative accommodation in an unaffordable and competitive housing market adds another layer to the issue. '[I'm applying for places] with 50 to 60 other applications per house,' Morton says.
'I'm going blind and I'm deaf. Soon my world will be very, very dark … all I want is a safe home to live in.'
Law says stories like these motivate his work and advocacy. '[But if you] take a person out of the building that is making them sick, the problem is: Where do they go?
'I think there's something special about a person being able to be safe in their own houses, and there's something utterly treacherous about your house making you sick.