Cricklewood man left struggling to breathe in mouldy home

Michael Otuedon, 64, moved into the home in Heber Road, Cricklewood, in May 2020, where he has his own room but shares communal areas with other tenants.

He claims he contacted his landlord, Graham Woodruff of Woodruff Property, last year to complain about the mould, which had turned the white kitchen walls and ceiling black.

The 64-year-old, who is on council housing support, claims the landlord merely painted over the problem with white paint, and that it has since reappeared.

The kitchen ceiling has been turned black with mould (Image: Michael Otuedon)

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Mr Woodruff said he has now “requested quotes” to deal with the mould, but claimed he had only recently been made aware of the issue.

But fly-tipping, rats and flies are also problems at the property, Mr Otuedon has claimed.

He said: “The mould has been there for the last three years. At the moment my health is deteriorating - I can hardly breathe. During this winter, I spent most of the time in bed.

“I’ve got flies and there are rats inside the flat as well, the kitchen is unusable - nobody can cook.

“The front of the house is as if people are fly-tipping.”

Mr Otuedon says he has now moved to his daughter’s home in Hammersmith to escape the filthy conditions.

He added: “I couldn’t live there. I’m sitting down and all I see is flies. When I say flies, I don’t mean little flies, I’m talking about big, massive flies.”

Landlord Graham Woodruff denied that he had been made aware of these issues until recently.

He said: “There has been fly tipping, and I have cleared it on many occasions.

“As for flies and rats, I have seen no evidence of them. However, we will be putting down rat poison, as any resident would have to do. They are everywhere – [in] all of London and the country.”

Mr Otuedon says that as his rent is paid to the landlord by Brent Council, he contacted the authority to report his concerns.

The council says it was contacted last month and an inspection of the property was carried out this week, with “serious breaches” of licensing conditions subsequently reported to the landlord.

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Mr Otuedon said that the kitchen was 'unusable' (Image: Michael Otuedon)

Cllr Promise Knight, Brent’s cabinet member for housing, homelessness and renters’ security, has now described the state of the home as “despicable”.

She added: “We will take enforcement action to ensure that these breaches are resolved quickly and will consider hefty fines should the owner fail to resolve them within the time period allowed.

“We understand that Mr Otuedon is currently staying with family while he works with our housing team to find suitable accommodation.

"We will do everything in our powers to help Mr Otuedon."