The Impact of Mould in Student Housing: A Growing Concern
“At the beginning of the year, our kitchen ceiling fell in.” Livy Naylor, a third-year student majoring in politics and international relations at the University of Bristol, recounts the unsettling start to her final academic year in her rented accommodation. Having reported issues with a toilet that seemed to be sinking into the floor, the landlord sent builders to investigate. Just as one of her housemates was about to make a cup of tea, a builder’s leg unexpectedly came crashing through the ceiling. Thankfully, no one was injured in the incident.
As the builders removed the tiles from the bathroom walls, Livy described the scene as a “metre-high nightmare” of mould. When they peeled back the vinyl flooring, a horrifying mass of black and rotting wood was unveiled, which tragically collapsed as the builders attempted to fix it. Moreover, black mould was also discovered lurking in the kitchen cupboards downstairs.
Despite raising concerns about the mould with their letting agency, the issues went unacknowledged, and the builders merely plastered over the affected areas. As a result, the students were left without water for several days and had to endure living in a chaotic building site for weeks on end.
Mould is not just a minor inconvenience; it is contributing to a public health crisis in Britain. According to a 2021 report from the building research organization BRE, the NHS in England spends an estimated £1.4 billion annually on treating health issues associated with living in damp or cold housing.
Livy Naylor was left living in a construction zone for an extended period. Investigations by The i Paper have brought to light the alarming extent of the problem in rented accommodations. Starting in October, Awaab’s Law—named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who tragically died from mould exposure in Rochdale in 2020—will mandate social landlords to investigate and remediate mould and dampness in social housing.
However, this law does not encompass another vulnerable group that is also facing severe repercussions: students. Labour MP Fleur Anderson has been advocating for a private member’s bill to extend Awaab’s Law to include private landlords. Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has indicated that the Government plans to introduce these provisions through the Renters’ Rights Bill.
Joules Sweeney, co-founder of the university support and advice forum What I Wish I Knew About University, states, “The volume of posts we receive concerning unfit and often mouldy accommodation is staggering. Our parents are reaching out for guidance. Most student rentals are incredibly expensive, and it is disgraceful that students are paying such high rent for substandard housing.”
In a personal experience, I’ve witnessed the issue myself. During a visit to my eldest child’s student house in Bristol, we found ourselves crammed onto one sofa because the other was covered in mould. Although that piece of furniture was eventually removed, the situation is not easily resolved for many others.
The team at Epigram, the independent student newspaper at the University of Bristol—where Livy serves as managing director—launched a campaign in February called “Break the Mould,” accompanied by an online petition. “We’re striving to shed light on the dire state of student housing,” she explains.
In a survey conducted by the group, a staggering 93% of the responding students reported experiencing mould or damp in their homes. Furthermore, 38% indicated that their mould issues had not yet been addressed by their landlords, while 80% rated the quality of the landlord’s actions as poor or very poor. The group is advocating for a rating system akin to TripAdvisor, allowing students to evaluate their accommodations and landlords, thereby warning others.
Students face immense pressure to secure accommodation swiftly, especially in high-demand cities. Many are living away from home for the first time and often feel relieved to find any place to stay, neglecting to look for underlying problems. As they frequently move, they become easy targets for unscrupulous landlords. Some have even reported experiencing intimidation when they attempt to voice complaints. Many are unaware of the detrimental health effects of damp and mould until they begin to exhibit adverse symptoms.
Two-year-old Awaab Ishak’s tragic death in 2020 due to mould exposure in his housing association flat led to the establishment of Awaab’s Law, which will compel landlords to address mould and damp issues in social housing.
Erin Goodwin, a final-year biomedical science student at Bristol, faced her own set of challenges. Within a week of moving into her rental accommodation last year, she found water streaming down the walls of every room on the top floor, stemming from structural issues with the roof. During the property viewing, she was assured there had been no prior problems.
Struggling to sleep due to the constant sound of dripping water, Erin was prescribed insomnia medication. She soon began developing hives each time she entered her room, despite having no previous history of allergies. Prescribed antihistamines, she was informed that something in her room was triggering her reactions. Ultimately, she resorted to sleeping in different rooms of the house. The situation escalated when chunks of plaster began falling from her housemate’s ceiling, and the letting agent’s response was merely to provide duct tape. “There’s a massive hole under that duct tape that’s not going to insulate anything,” she stated.
“My housemate was becoming ill, water was leaking through her ceiling, and mould was present on both sides of her wall. We’re paying hundreds of pounds for a place we can barely live in,” Erin lamented.
What began as a medical emergency culminated in a severe anaphylactic reaction in January while in her room. “I felt a tingling sensation in my eye, my lips began to swell, and my throat felt constricted.” After being taken to the hospital, she discovered that the symptoms she had experienced over the preceding months were signs of progressive mould toxicity. Now, she carries two EpiPens and medication, acknowledging that she must take this medication for life. Despite keeping meticulous records of her complaints and medical evidence, Erin feels her concerns have been largely dismissed by the letting agent.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, emphasized, “Significant damp and mould in a home can severely impact a person’s health—especially for those with existing conditions such as asthma or individuals in high-risk groups for respiratory infections. Damp and mould primarily affect the airways and lungs, but they can also have adverse effects on the eyes and skin.”
Dr. Thuva Amuthan, a GP and founder of Dr. Derme Skin Clinics, explained that while most mould-related health issues stem from allergic reactions or respiratory irritation, exposure to high levels of mycotoxins—toxins produced by certain moulds—can lead to more severe systemic effects. “Although rare, some individuals can develop a sensitivity to mould spores, resulting in severe allergic responses even if they’ve never had allergies before,” he noted.
Dobby, a final-year psychology student at Nottingham Trent University, shared her experience: “There’s mould sitting in the window frame as we speak, and we have it in the bathroom. We haven’t reported it to the landlord yet because it’s taken us until now to get our heating fixed since we started complaining about it in August.” In her previous housing situation, the windows wouldn’t shut properly, and the ceiling leaked, exacerbating the mould problem. “I had to deal with damp clothes and even used a hairdryer on my sheets before getting into bed. I kept insisting it was making me sick with flu-like symptoms, but they didn’t care,” Dobby recounted. Although dehumidifiers were provided temporarily, they did not resolve the underlying structural issues.
Chris Norris, the director of policy and campaigns at the National Residential Landlords Association, expressed, “Every tenant deserves to live in a high-quality rented accommodation, regardless of their background or circumstances.” While the majority of landlords comply with regulations, he acknowledged that a minority of rogue landlords fail to maintain properties to the expected standard. “If mould is present in a rented home, tenants should promptly contact their landlord to identify the source of the problem, allowing for a swift resolution.”
Despite taking proactive measures, these students have seen little improvement. Frustrated by being ignored, they are determined to make their voices heard. As a student ambassador, Dobby now advises prospective students about which letting agents to avoid, and students in Bristol are hopeful that their “Break the Mould” campaign will disrupt the cycle of substandard student housing.
