EXCLUSIVE: Mom claims mould from TCH apartment is making her daughter sick

A single mother claims she’s still on the hook for rent even though she’s had to move from her Toronto Community Housing (TCH) apartment on Lawrence Avenue three months ago because mould was making her daughter sick.

Tabitha, who didn’t want her full identity revealed, shared medical records with CityNews that showed her five-year-old daughter had been to a doctor 18 times since September for chronic chest infections related to mould.

“You wonder why they keep on getting pneumonia,” said Tabitha. “Not every kid gets pneumonia three weeks in a row.”

“(The doctor) said there has to be some kind of mould inside the unit because it was never going away.”

They’ve been forced to live elsewhere for the last three months. She claims TCH hasn’t taken proper steps to get rid of the mould.

But TCH spokesperson Sara Goldvine tells a different story.

“Unfortunately (she) made the decision to cancel the appointment for crews to come up and clean that mould. And because of that there’s been a delay,” she said.

Tabitha says she cancelled the appointment because she felt it was merely a band-aid solution to a serious health problem.

“They wanted to come in here and just cover it up and I said, ‘No, I want it to be inspected fully … and done properly. You’re not just covering over it.’ And that was it.”

For the first time since December, TCH workers were in the apartment Friday, cleaning the mould. They say it is now ready to occupy, but will return to continue working on the unit next week.

Tabitha says she fought to be moved to another unit, but her request was denied.

“Unfortunately, the regulation and the rules do not apply to her situation because we would be able to clean up her home and have her not have to move,” Goldvine said.

In the meantime she’s had to pay rent on the unit, even though she hasn’t been living in it and still isn’t sure if she’ll return.

She says she will be demanding a rebate.