Rental crisis leading to health risks for young families

Black mould has been a recurring problem since they moved in. Just months after the landlord "deep cleaned" the property, it's still visible in every room of their residence on Buna Street, Ashmont.

Mrs Lipscombe and her husband Jason intended their home to be a "landing pad" when they moved from Canberra to Ashmont.

Now they've been there nearly five years.

With rental vacancies at all time lows and prices at all time highs, the single income household feel stranded in a place they think is unsuitable for human habitation.

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Now with two young children, Mrs Lipscombe is scared for her family's health.

"We couldn't afford Canberra so we took what we thought would be a temporary house here," she said.

"You're going to get stuff wherever you go, I get that. It's just really hard with the rent around ... we've been looking for three years.

"With one income and two kids, you don't even get a look in."

As well as mould dusting walls and ceiling, the home has cracks and holes in the fibro walls and ceiling. An unevenly patched section of ceiling in their kitchen appears ready to fall at any moment.

NSW law requires a premises be provide reasonably clean and comply with minimum standards to be "fit for habitation".

Court cases in 2014 and 2015 confirmed landlords have a responsibility to deal with ongoing mould issues as part of their obligations repair, and maintain the premises in a reasonable condition.

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) have upheld similar standards, forcing landlords to pay their tenants compensation for the state of their homes.

Mrs Lipscombe said they have been communicating with their real estate agent about the mould problem since shortly after they moved in.

The Lipscombes' real estate agent was contacted, but did not respond prior to publication.

Despite reaching an impasse, their rent has risen 50 per cent in this time.

She said despite the fact nothing has been done, she doesn't blame the real estate.

"We haven't had much of an issue with the real estate. When I was talking to one of the bosses, she had no idea about the majority of the issues here," she said.

"We've had five or six property managers since we moved here - they just keep changing. It seems like they're just viewing, saying they can see the issue, but it seems like it's not getting documented.

"As far as they've told us, the owners are quite hard to get a hold of - it can take four or five days to get a hold of them ... they're really only in it for the money."

The NSW Department of Fair Trading's website says black mould that appears at the start of a lease, it could be considered pre-existing damage.

Tenants Union CEO Leo Patterson Ross said it's common for landlords to blame their tenants for pre-existing mould problems.

He said black mould could cause serious illness, and needed to be taken seriously as a health risk.

"Renters are often told that they must be causing mould, but in our casework we frequently find structural issues that can make it very hard for renters to address the mould in their home," he said.

"The landlord's responsibility to ensure premises are fit for habitation is considered to mean that a person isn't at risk of harm by staying in place, and so landlord's should ensure that homes are mould-free.

"There are also some current minimum standards that are relevant particularly to ensure adequate ventilation, preventing dampness or moisture around windows."

NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson said in May minimum rental standards were a difficult issue for the government to address.

Minimum rental standards are important in preserving a tenants health and wellbeing, but too much "red tape" could drive private investment out of the market, reducing supply.

"The private rental market is a really difficult place right now ... there's no uniformity, whether it's things like minimum standards in rentals, pets in rentals, at the moment it is very scattered," she said.

"There is an understanding that it's not working, so [states] want to learn from each other and try and lift standards overall."

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