Family are forced to live in a HORSE TRAILER after their ‘mouldy’ rental house makes them sick
- Gold Coast couple has moved into a horse float amid mould concerns at house
- The couple had been living in the rental property with their five children
- Natalie Mudge said she and one of her sons began to experience poor health
- A mould inspector’s report found the house was contaminated
- The property managers have put a claim on the couple’s $2,600 bond
An Australian couple have lived in a horse float for two weeks after noticing mould in their rental home.
Natalie Mudge and her partner Joe Thomas, from the Gold Coast, moved out of their house because they got ill from what they think is mould poisoning.
With nowhere else to go they have been living in their horse float for more than two weeks.
‘It’s been very cold, especially at night, we have been using a tarp over the top of the float which helps a bit. It’s been tough,’ Joe Thomas told Daily Mail Australia.
Natalie Mudge and her partner Joe Thomas (pictured) have been living in the horse float for more than two weeks after they moved out amid concerns about mould growth
His partner Natalie, who is an asthmatic, began to notice a deterioration in her health about a month after moving into the Gold Coast rental property earlier this year.
One of her five children also began to experience poor health – missing an entire term of school.
‘The doctors tested for everything and eventually they reached the conclusion the only cause could be environmental and we have medical certificates saying that,’ Mr Thomas said.
Joe, who is a cabinet maker by trade contracted to a luxury boat builder, then began to look for causes around their rental house.
‘I noticed strange marks on the walls and door jambs that were expanding and causing doors to stick in winter when the cool should cause them to shrink,’ he said.
Mr Thomas then called a mould inspector out to the property who found the house was ‘not a safe, healthy environment for the occupants’.
‘We advise the occupants to seek alternative accommodation until such time as the building materials have been replaced and ozone treatment and remediation concluded,’ their report stated.
‘The inspector told us walls under 17 per cent moisture are dry, 17-20 per cent are damp and we had three walls that were at 100 per cent moisture meaning there was water pooling,’ Mr Thomas said.
The report also noted musty odours and visible mould on door frames, window frames, timber furniture and inside their air-conditioning unit.
Natalie, who is an asthmatic, began to notice a deterioration in her health about a month after moving into the Gold Coast rental property earlier this year
The family were given permission to break their lease and move out by the property owner.
Natalie and Joe have moved into the horse float which friends have let them park on their property and the children are staying with family.
‘We shower every now and again in the house and we cook some microwave dinners when we can… I’ve never been homeless before, never in my entire life. I suffer from anxiety and depression, so it’s been worse these past two weeks,’ Ms Mudge said.
They have found a new place to move into but now have to replace all their household items, mattresses, and couches that are contaminated with mould.
The couple said they forwarded the inspector’s report to their real estate agents.
Lisa Keevers, of First National Real Estate Centrepoint which manages the property, said the house had had two independent tests for mould which provided contradictory results.
She told the Gold Coast Bulletin as a precaution a claim had been placed on the bond which is being held with the Residential Tenancies Authority.
She said she expected the $2,600 bond would be returned following a final inspection of the property.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted First National Real Estate Centrepoint for comment.