'I pay over £700 a month to live in a building with black mould that put me in hospital'

Jessica Dean moved into the apartment complex two years ago when she noticed a 'massive wall of black mould' in one of its communal areas - causing her to become sick

A young woman says she was hospitalised after being made to live in an apartment building covered in black mould.

Jessica Dean, 20, moved into X1 The Studios in Liverpool's Baltic Triangle area two years ago. But she soon came across a "massive wall of black mould" in one of its communal areas, Liverpool Echo reports. Jessica says conditions in the building, which houses students, have only worsened, and caused her to develop asthma.

A number of firms are in charge of various sections of the building, sparking a major disagreement about who is responsible for maintaining its communal areas. X1 says it is appointed by a number of leaseholders within the building to manage the apartments.

It says the freelancer of the building, Estates and Management (EandM), has appointed Inspired Property Management (IPM) to manage the communal areas. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service also say IPM are the managing agents of the building.

But IPM says otherwise. While it has acknowledged responsibility of the communal entrance, corridors and lifts in the building, it says others areas are managed by X1 as a freeholder of the estate, including X1 The Studios. EandM says X1 is the freeholder of the estate and responsibility of the communal areas lies with them.

Jessica said: "I'm getting tested at the moment to see if that is outright the cause for my asthma. So I'm just waiting on that. I've never had asthma in my life either. The mould has gotten worse. There's now two floors with loads of black mould on the skirting boards, on the walls, everywhere.

"It's a safety hazard. It's getting to a point where I think the apartment and the building itself are uninhabitable, it's a safety hazard and it's heavily dangerous and no one seems to want to do anything about it."

On top of this, the student is dealing with a silverfish infestation in her apartment, and has been told by someone from pest control that this is likely caused by the mould. Other problems include hanging light fixtures, yellow water, and a flooded car park. Her rent has also increased from £650 a month for a standard studio flat to £738, despite the poor conditions.

Jessica is now seeking legal advice to get compensation for the issues raised. A spokesperson for IPM said: "X1 as freeholder of the estate including The X1 Studios building, manages the communal areas of the estate including service roads. Inspired Property Management (IPM) manages some of the common areas inside the X1 Studios building."

"A number of other common areas inside the X1 Studio building and individual apartments on behalf of investor leaseholders are managed by X1. The apartments are the responsibility of leaseholders, with many sublet to tenants. We arrange for the cleaning of those communal areas that are not managed by X1, with the last deep clean occurring on September 8. As soon as we were made aware of the leak in the car park, which is managed by X1, we immediately contacted them, and they arranged for a contractor to attend to fix the issue."

"The cause of the leak was confirmed as being the flushing of cooking fat and wipes by residents in apartments and we have updated leaseholders and reminded them that such items must be properly disposed of. With regard to the bin collection managed by X1 for the wider estate, we understand that this has now been addressed by them."

"As soon as we were alerted to the presence of the mould at the building, we contacted X1 to ensure they investigated this as soon as possible. IPM is also investigating with a view to dealing with all issues at the building which will require access to individual investor apartments and engagement from X1 in order to seek to address underlying causes."

A spokesperson for X1 said: "We have repeatedly invited EandM to come and visit the building - to date they have not attended site with us. We are desperate for someone from EandM to intervene and resolve the issues with the building, allowing tenants the right to enjoy their tenancies. IPM are responsible for the water ingress and associated damages. We have spoken with EandM who has advised that both X1 and IPM must work together - something which we are keen to do."

A spokesperson for Liverpool City Council said Jessica was contacted for more information about her living conditions. They added that an inspection can be arranged once that information is received from Jessica regarding where the mould is, and her contact with the firms involved.