TCHC apartment bathroom covered in black mould

After her vacation in the Philippines, a Toronto Community Housing Corp. (TCHC) resident returned to what her granddaughter describes as “something out of a horror movie.”

Adelaida Aneslagon left for her annual trip in late November and came home to a bathroom blanketed in thick, black mould in January.

She says she had made sure her son did a sweep of the apartment to ensure nothing was left running and was stunned to find the walls, ceiling and even her toothbrush covered in mould.

“When I opened the washroom … it’s terrible,” she said. “I’m scared. I called my son-in-law to pick me up because I cannot stay … it smells.”

To make matters worse, she said it’s been three weeks since she complained to property management and the TCHC still hasn’t dealt with the issue.

CityNews asked an expert to inspect the bathroom and he said it looks like toxic, Category 3 black mould which can cause serious health issues.

“This is not safe, definitely,” said Tony Lleshi, a technician with GTA Restoration. “I would say this whole apartment is contaminated.”

Lleshi said the extent of the damage was so severe that it was not safe to be in the bathroom for more than a few minutes, even with masks.

“We took steps to address the problem as soon as we learned about it from the tenant, and have since completed an assessment of the work needed to remove the mould and hired a vendor to do the repairs,” TCHC said in a statement. “Repair work will start on Friday and take about a week. We are meeting with the tenant [Thursday] morning to arrange for temporary accommodation.”

Meanwhile Aneslagon continues to stay with her children, where she’s been living ever since she returned to Toronto.