Family-of-six forced to leave ‘mouldy’ home as girl, 4, hospitalised after water leak

A family has been forced to leave their “mouldy” home after their daughter became hospitalised due to a toilet water leak.

Taimur Ali, 43, said they were living in “ghastly conditions” as the water was leaking into their kitchen and mould spread across the property.

The issue left the family of six unable to cook and led to some of them becoming sick, My London reports.

Mr Ali, who works for Royal Mail, said his family had to survive on food vouchers from Morrisons and takeaway meals because of the disarray caused by the leak.

The three-bedroom home in Harrow, northwest London, is also covered in damp and mould as a result of the water leak, he added.

Taimur said: “We are living in such ghastly conditions, the toilet water is where we cook.

“It has been gushing down from the ceiling.

“You would be shocked to see it. I cannot believe we live in these kinds of conditions in Harrow.”

The youngest child in the family, four-year-old Zaynab, was admitted to Northwick Park Hospital due to breathing difficulties as a result of dampness, mould and dirty toilet water leakages, the family claim.

Taimur and his wife Zalkha, 36, are also worried about the other three children.

Eldest daughter Sadaf, 14, is autistic while Turrab, 16, and Qasim, 14, have also been sick.

He added: “I cannot take anymore, my son will get sick. He has suffered from asthma the past few years.”

The family were forced to turn the electricity off due to the water leakages and had to stop cooking altogether in the kitchen.

Before moving into the home on Toorack Road in 2015, the family lived in temporary accommodation for seven years.

But now, because of the damage created by the water leak, the family decided to leave the property and are staying in a single room at Zalkha’s mum’s home.

Taimur added: “For the past two or three months we have been trying to contact our housing association. Every single person who could do something about it but then it fell silent.

“I’m a key worker, I worked through the pandemic but when the time comes for help there’s nothing open for me. All the doors are shut for me.”

The family first noticed a leak in September but surveyors dismissed the damage, Taimur said.

The dad said that the condition of the house got worse, housing agency Notting Hill Genesis stopped responding.

In the early hours of a day in October, the ceiling of the kitchen collapsed, Taimur added.

Notting Hill Genesis told My London: “We are sorry for the inconvenience caused by this leak and that it has not been dealt with sooner.

“We have arranged for an operative to visit the property this evening (December 30).

“In the meantime, we have been in touch with the family to apologise and to offer them hotel accommodation should they need it while we fix the leak.”

When contacted by The Mirror, Harrow Council said it would not provide a comment as it does not manage the property.