When Tori Lipscombe found milk containers full of used syringes in her new rental, she knew it hadn't been cleaned in some time. Black mould has been a recurring problem since they moved into the Wagga Wagga house. Just months after the landlord "deep cleaned" the property, it's still visible in every room. Mrs Lipscombe and her husband Jason intended their home to be a "landing pad" for her and husband Jason when they moved from Canberra. 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. 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. 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." IN OTHER NEWS: 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. It also points out the serious long term health effects of living in a mould infested home. NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson said in May the government was in a challenging place on rental policy. Minimum rental standards are important in preserving a tennants 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." The Lipscombe's real estate agent was contacted, but did not respond prior to publication.
