Housing Trust apologises to tenant after delays to remove black mould

The SA Housing Trust has apologised to one of its tenants, after it took four years to remove black mould from her home.

The apology was prompted by an investigation by the SA Ombudsman, who found the public housing authority failed to ensure the property met "reasonable standards of health and safety".

In a report published in July but not made public until Wednesday, Ombudsman Emily Strickland also found the SA Housing Trust (SAHT) "erred in its handling" of multiple reports made by the tenant about the mould dating back to February 2021.

"The four-year delay in addressing the safety concerns is unreasonable and has meant the SAHT is failing to meet its obligations to the [tenant]," Ms Strickland wrote.

"I am concerned that the [tenant] has been living in a property with high (mould) contamination levels for over four years, despite raising with the SAHT that she had a lung condition."

According to Ms Strickland, in the years since the tenant first reported the mould, the contamination had "worsened significantly".

She wrote the tenant made further reports to the authority, but despite "works orders" being raised by the trust, no "substantive work" to address the mould contamination had been carried out by the time she launched her investigation in February this year.

The ombudsman noted that ongoing exposure to mould could cause serious health issues, but the trust did not get the property tested until April this year.

According to Ms Strickland's report, the testing found active mould contamination on the bathroom ceiling and in the hallway carpet.

"The [tenant] raised with the SAHT, on several occasions, that the contamination at her property was impacting her health," she wrote.

"It is my view that the mould contamination at the property would not have met the minimum standards of housing."

Ms Strickland noted the authority tried to undertake work at the home when the mould was first reported in 2021, but it had trouble accessing the property.

She wrote the tenant was told to contact maintenance to arrange for contractors to come back to the property, but the tenant did not re-approach the authority about the issue until 2022.

"From 2022 onwards, there is a pattern of works orders being raised following reports from the [tenant] about mould contamination," she noted.

"The works orders do not get carried out or are cancelled, without the reported issue being addressed."

Ms Strickland made four recommendations to the Housing Trust, including that it address the mould contamination and change its complaints handling procedure.

An SA Housing Trust spokesperson said they acknowledged the ombudsman's findings and had apologised to the tenant.

"We accept the ombudsman's recommendations and have been engaging with the tenant to access the property to undertake remedial works," they said.

"The Trust is relocating the tenant to another property to undertake the required remedial works at the property."