Mica's story: Lewisham were refusing to fix our mouldy home .. then I found London Renters Union
Mica's young family were trapped in an unsafe flat that her children were calling "the swamp". After four months, she found London Renters Union (LRU) and Lewisham council's attitude changed overnight.
"I'd been ignored for months and months .. When I met with London Renters Union, it was the first time that I felt heard, I felt listened to.
"And somebody outside of all of the people at Lewisham council was confirming: 'this is not right, you know, they do have a duty to fix these repairs'.
Mica had been battling with Lewisham council as damp and mould grew worse in her flat, and the health of her young family was suffering.
She had repeatedly contacted the council, and her councillor, her MP, her GP and her children's school. She had contacted advocacy groups, the housing ombudsman and read all the advice she could find.
"Any one of those steps should have got some progress going," she said. "But it just didn't. The system is completely broken."
Mica told Salamander her story:
"My landlord is Lewisham Council, formerly Lewisham Homes. But they had been ignoring me for some months. And it was getting pretty bad.
"It started off with a leak that they wouldn't turn off, they wouldn't deem it as an emergency. And pretty quickly, I realised, this leak is not only affecting me, but my neighbours, the whole block, it's just gushing water.
"But it's still not being seen as an emergency. So then the mould started."
Mica's is a mother of three children and a carer. One of her children has autism and she has a baby who was 16 months old at the time.
"So the leak began in March this year. And it was not until April that they turned it off. But it was from April, May, and then June, where the house just transformed into this swamp.
"And that's what the kids would call it, there'd be flies, this smell, black mould on the walls and the paint started peeling. The flooring just started to come up."
The family's health was suffering and they were living in one bedroom, because the mould in the other rooms was so bad.
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Mould inside and outside the flat. Images: Mica
Mica was desperately researching other renters' stories and reaching out to different groups and people for advice.
She found London Renters Union (LRU) by chance, when she was online reading another renter's story which mentioned the advocacy group MedAct.
When she contacted MedAct, they told her "we can't directly help you. But there is a renters union in your area, maybe we can get in touch".
Confirmed "this isn't right"
"So I literally just typed my details in and typed in my story," Mica said.
"And somebody got in touch with me, heard my story, and just met with me one day, had a coffee. And that's how we do things, we will meet people one to one, or give them a little phone call, just ask, what's your story?"
"Speaking to the LRU, it was really empowering, because it was a group of people that were confirming 'this isn't right. How can we support you?'"
She told LRU about the impacts of the damp and mould on her family's health: "My baby's coughing in the middle of the night. I'm at the GP every week.
"The GP wrote me a supporting letter, and he said 'your kids were completely healthy until this happened. And now you're back all the time.'
"I developed asthma during this time. I had hay fever before that, but I developed asthma pretty badly and was given a pump. I had supporting evidence from GP, and the kids' head teacher at their school wrote a supporting letter."
But nothing would persuade the council to investigate.
LRU asked Mica how she wanted to go forward and they agreed to organise a protest.
Mica's family, friends, neighbours and parents from her children's school joined Lewisham LRU members outside the council offices.
Community and Lewisham LRU members at the protest. Images: LRU
The council's attitude to the family was transformed within hours.
The day before, officers had been arguing with Mica about whether her home needed a dehumidifier or not.
Now they were offering a set of keys, saying: "We've got to move you out. It's not liveable, it's not habitable. And let's get you moved out today, tomorrow, we'll pay for the movers."
Mica says that the repairs to her flat took eight to nine weeks before the family could move back in.
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Same complaints but with an LRU header
"It really highlighted for me how powerful the union is, and the impact it can have on people's lives," she says.
"When it was just me, an individual person, emailing and saying, 'hi, this is my situation,' I was being ignored ..
"Whereas the moment that LRU emailed - we just literally had a header on and the same complaints and they said, 'Mica, our member has contacted you this amount of times' - suddenly it was just like, oh my gosh, yes, we can meet her.
"Yes, we're going to come. The council actually came with the head of repairs to my house."
Mica says that her story is sadly very common. And that some people will struggle with barriers, such as English not being their first language, and the exhaustion and despair that makes many give up.
"People's mental health is being destroyed, their livelihoods are being destroyed. Their kids' health, their kids' happiness, their their own happiness as a person."
Awaab's law
Commenting on the ombudsman's report on failings at Lewisham council, Mica said: "I found reading that report very painful, because I just looked at it and thought, I know how you respond to people."
Mica has also followed the progress of Awaab's law closely. "I'm hoping that that really does make a difference.
"It's such a tragic story. I'm super passionate about it. And especially as I had a baby that was at that similar age .. And seeing how seeing how quickly mould can affect kids ..
"It's such powerful legislation they're bringing in, but I hope that it's taken seriously and that people are able to use it to get mould treated straight away.
"Because it affects you, straight away. And for kids, it affects them even more. It's heartbreaking."
"You're not alone"
"Those are the types of things that we as LRU want to be standard, to be normal. That if there's an emergency repair, landlords aren't allowed to just ignore you. They should hear you and address it properly.
"Everyone should have the right to a happy home."
Mica strongly encourages renters to join LRU, "And if you can, meet with LRU, go to an LRU meeting. There are so many people there ready to hear your story.
"You're meeting people that have gone through the same things as you .. When we're all sharing ideas and empowering each other, you're not as alone.
"It's about the spotlight being on these massive landlords or individual private landlords.
"We find that when we challenge them, we win."
The next Lewisham LRU branch meeting is Saturday 15 November, 2 - 5pm at St Laurence Church, 37 Bromley Rd, SE6 2TS
Or email: lewisham@londonrentersunion.org insta @lewishamlru x.com @lru_Lewisham
Grant Williams - Local Democracy Reporter
Ruby Gregory - Local Democracy Reporter
