I pay £738 a month to live in a building with black mould

Jessica says the amount of mould caused her to be hospitalised

I pay £738 a month to live in a building with black mould

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A woman says she was hospitalised due to the huge amounts of mould in her apartment building. Jessica Dean, 20, moved into X1 The Studios on Plaza Boulevard in the Baltic Triangle two years ago. When she did so, Jessica says she encountered a “massive wall of black mould” in one of the communal areas.

Since then, Jessica argues the problem in the city centre building, which offers student studio flats, has worsened and she believes she has developed asthma because of it. There are a number of firms involved with the building and there is disagreement about whose responsibility it is to maintain the communal areas.

X1 has stated it is appointed by a number of leaseholders within the building to manage the apartments. It says Inspired Property Management (IPM) has been appointed by the freeholder for the building, Estates and Management (E&M), to manage the communal areas. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service have also stated IPM are the managing agents of the building.

IPM has disputed this, stating that, while it is responsible for the communal entrance, corridors and lifts in the building, others are managed by X1 as a freeholder of the estate, including X1 The Studios. E&M has said that X1 is the freeholder of the estate including The X1 Studios building, and is responsible for managing the communal areas.

Jessica said: “When I moved into the property two years ago, there was a massive wall of black mould on the minus one floor, which I was told was being dealt with. Every time I've spoken to the company X1 about it, they said that the communal areas aren't their responsibility and it's actually a company called IPM.

"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. When I was hospitalised, around that time we had issues with bin chutes. Everything was blocked. There were multiple issues. So you had to go past the black mould every day to get your bins out.

"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.”

Jessica added that a silverfish infestation has developed in her apartment, and has been told by someone from pest control that this is likely caused by the mould. She says there have also been problems with hanging light fixtures, yellow water, leaks on the service road and a “massive flood” in the car park, along with a lift remaining unfixed, which she claims is a fire hazard.

Furthermore, her rent has gone up. Jessica said: “It was £650 a month for a standard studio flat two years ago. Now it's gone up to £738, even though the whole building's falling apart. We have not had a cleaner for about five months. So the property was absolutely filthy when I came back from the summer. The cleaners have now come to the property to do a one-off clean, but it's still absolutely filthy.”

Jessica says she is now seeking legal advice to get compensation for the issues she has raised. She said she has also contacted Liverpool City Council and the fire service about her complaints. Since the ECHO spoke to Jessica, IPM has said the lift has been fixed.

Jessica has yet to receive an outright reason for her developing asthma. She said: "There's just basically an abundance of health issues and health safety issues within the property and no one seems to want to do anything about it. I spoke to X1, they take our rent money, which is £738. They then give it to the landlord and then the landlord pays out IPM for the cleanliness and the maintenance of the property. So we pay for the property to be cleaned and it's not, and the maintenance needs to be done and we pay for that. To then be told that no one's willing to take responsibility for the issues, it's a bit of a joke."

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.

“We would ask that any residents experiencing issues in their apartments contact their landlord or letting agent and notify us. The investigation into the damp and mould is under way and there appears to be a number of causes including the service road which is managed and owned by X1 and the cladding at the building which they developed.”

A spokesperson for X1 said: “We have repeatedly invited E&M to come and visit the building - to date they have not attended site with us. We are desperate for someone from E&M 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 E&M who has advised that both X1 and IPM must work together - something which we are keen to do.”

A spokesperson for Estates & Management Ltd, said: “We have, for some years, been urging the X1 Group, as the developer of the building, to meaningfully engage regarding the remediation of fire safety and other defects. X1 is the freeholder of the estate including The X1 Studios building, and 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 as well as individual apartments, on behalf of investor leaseholders, are managed by X1. The apartments are the responsibility of leaseholders, with many sublet to tenants.

“With respect to the presence of mould, we understand that steps have been taken so that a suitable solution is identified as soon as possible. We would ask that any residents experiencing issues in their apartments contact their landlord or letting agent and notify IPM immediately.”

When X1’s claims were put to IPM, a spokesperson replied: “We are pleased to update that the lift is now fixed and leaseholders were updated at the beginning of the week. IPM is not involved in the renting of individual apartments. Any agreements are between investor leaseholders of apartments and their tenants, and a number of leaseholders have engaged letting agents such as X1.

“X1 is the freeholder of the majority of Sefton Street Quarter, Liverpool, including the X1 Studios Building and X1 manages the communal areas of the estate including service roads, car parks and refuse collection. IPM is the property manager responsible for managing the communal entrance, corridors, and lifts.” E&M said queries about the responsibilities of the firms involved in the building should be referred to IPM.

X1 meanwhile has insisted that X1 Sales & Lettings are appointed by the leaseholders to manage apartments within X1 The Studios. It has stated that X1 Sales & Lettings are not the freeholder of the estate nor does it manage any communal areas within The Studios Building.

A spokesperson for Liverpool City Council said it had been in touch with Jessica to ask for more information about her situation. They said an inspection can be arranged once further information is received from Jessica concerning where the mould is and her contact with the firms involved.

A spokesperson for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said: “Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service currently have a live enforcement notice in place at X1 and have been engaging and working with the managing agent of the premises (Inspired Property Management Ltd (IPM)) to ensure the identified fire safety shortfalls are addressed. It is not appropriate for us to comment as to the nature of Ms Dean’s complaint with IPM, nor are we clear as to who she has spoken to within the service specifically on this matter as all of our communications have been directed towards the Responsible Person in pursuit of having the fire safety matters rectified as expediently as possible.

“The timeframe for IPM to address the substance of the enforcement notice is due to come to a close in the coming weeks. Our officers will conduct a follow up inspection of the premises to determine if the remedial measures have been completed satisfactorily and if necessary, undertake any follow up actions accordingly.”

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