‘I barely see my little boy. It’s safer if he doesn’t live with me.’

Tommy is obsessed with hotwheels.

His room is full of wildly spiralling racetracks.

Unfortunately, the five-year-old doesn’t get to play with them as often as he’d like.

His mum, Maisie, tries to keep him out of the house as much as possible – because she’s worried the damp, cold and mould in their home is making him sick.

Tommy and Maisie, whose names have been changed to protect their identities, are in temporary accommodation.

Maisie, a 26-year-old mum from Oldham, says she was left homeless after her landlord decided to up her rent by almost £400 a month – from £600 to just under a thousand.

After almost a year bouncing around hotels and sleeping on family members’ sofas, the young mum was ‘so relieved’ when Oldham Council was finally able to offer her somewhere to stay.

“I had high hopes when I got here. It was finally a house for us,” she said.

“But straight away I knew things weren’t what I hoped them to be.”

Maisie’s home is freezing cold.

Even with thick jackets and jumpers on, she says you can sometimes see your breath in the room when the temperatures drop at night.

But even with moderate usage, the house burns through £60 worth of gas and electricity in one 48-hour cycle, according to Maisie – something she simply can’t afford.

She’s not allowed to switch providers as the contract is with her housing provider, not herself.

And that’s not the only issue.

She believes damp is seeping through the walls.

Videos show rainwater leaking through the ceiling down her bathroom window.

A leak in her bathroom sends water gushing down her living room walls.

And mould is growing in the backs of kitchen cupboards and counters where the furniture is attached to the wall.

“I can’t stand being in the house,” Maisie said.

“If I can stay out all day, I will – and just come back here to sleep.

“[Tommy] doesn’t like it here.

"He’s constantly poorly because it’s really cold in here.

"And there’s nothing for him here.”

Her son’s doctor has written a letter for their housing provider, Cromwood Housing Group, describing how the young boy is struggling with symptoms of asthma.

“My little brother is asthmatic and I’ve seen him in some states,” Maisie said.

“When we were younger we lived in a house that was quite big and damp and he ended up in hospital and nearly died.

"It was really nerve wracking and I’m scared that will happen to my son.”

Tommy spends at least two days a week at his grandma’s house because Maisie feels it’s ‘safer’ for him to be there.

And there are times when he lives with relatives Monday to Friday, only seeing his mum on weekends.

Asked how that made her feel as a parent, Maisie almost whispers: “Sh*t.”

After a difficult pause, she continued: “It feels like he’s been taken away from me.

"And when he’s here, there’s nothing I can do to help him.”

Damp and mould are not the only danger facing the five-year-old.

Rat poison pellets have been left all around the house and an unlockable door leads to a long tumble town a terrifying cellar staircase, meaning Maisie has to be on constant watch.

“It’s just not a suitable place for us to live,” Maisie told the MEN.

“I just want to get out of here.”

The Oldham mum has put in several complaints with Cromwood Housing and flagged issues with her housing officer at the council, but says help has been ‘limited’.

While maintenance staff did eventually fill a fist-sized hole between her floor and wall, which posed a serious risk of injury to Tommy, she claims other maintenance issues have been repeatedly marked as ‘completed’ after cursory visits in which no action was taken.

A spokesperson for Cromwood said: “The welfare of our tenants and quality of the housing we provide is of the utmost importance to us.

"Our housing officers have been in regular contact with the tenant since she moved into the property and when we became aware of any issues they were resolved swiftly.

“It’s important to note that four inspections of the property have been carried out during the current tenancy – three by Cromwood and one by Oldham Council – and none found any evidence of damp and mould.

"The tenant confirmed she was happy with the property following each inspection.

“We have been alerted to an issue with the cellar door.

"We fully appreciate the tenant’s concerns and will be fitting a new lock at the earliest opportunity.”

Maisie disputes the claim that inspections have taken place regularly and that she confirmed she was happy with the property.

Cllr Elaine Taylor, Cabinet Member for Decent Homes, said: “We are sorry to hear of this resident’s issues.

"An officer from our housing team will get in touch with her and the accommodation provider to look at any concerns she has and ask for them to be rectified.”

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