A Cranbourne public housing tenant said his two-year-old son cannot live with him because of severe mould contamination in his home, despite the state government spending about $27,000 of taxpayers’ money on repairs.
Local Jai Johnstone-Devere has taken the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) since 2023, for the condition of his property.
He said the mould problem had persisted for more than a decade, but the issue became urgent when he found out he was having a son in 2023.
“We were looking over the house, making sure everything was fit and ready for a baby. And when we started realising that there’s a lot more mould than what we actually thought there was,” Jai said.
Jai said his mother previously lived in the property and had also reported mould issues to the housing authorities.
He claimed the government-commissioned maintenance workers repeatedly painted over mould rather than removing it, and that repairs carried out by contractors failed to address the underlying problem.
“They told me there was no mould there, then they painted over it and said it was fixed,” he said.
“I then cut holes in the walls and found that there was the exact same mould behind the walls. So, they didn’t fix anything. They just hid it.
“They did it with $27,000 worth of repairs.”
According to the latest VCAT order in February this year, the rental provider Homes Victoria was in breach of its duties to maintain the premises in good repair.
The state tribunal ordered the provider to engage an independent mould specialist to inspect the home and determine the source of contamination.
The inspection, carried out in February 2026, confirmed mould contamination inside the property.
Environmental testing found “extremely high” airborne mould levels in the laundry and high levels in two bedrooms.
The assessment identified “extreme” contamination inside the laundry wall cavity, where mould concentrations were measured at 350,000 spores per square centimetre.
The report suggests the moisture affecting the laundry and bedrooms likely stems from historic issues with water drainage caused by previously damaged or ineffective guttering.
One of the bedrooms had historic water ingress, the moisture source being the window.
The report recommends removing contaminated plaster walls in the laundry and the kitchen wall that adjoins the laundry, remediate the carpet and window timber ledge in the bedroom that had historic water ingress.
“I told them the roof is damaged. I told them there are other parts around the house that are damaged. They told me that it’s up to me to fix it,” Jai said.
Raoul Wainwright, acting CEO of the Victorian Public Tenants Association, said through their advice line, they assist hundreds of public housing renters with maintenance concerns every year, and 8 per cent of all of those matters are about mould.
“We are deeply concerned about how mould problems in public housing are dealt with,” he said.
“Too often maintenance contractors are not completing tasks appropriately, which leads to more call-outs and more expense for the taxpayer.
“Most importantly, the public housing renter is left with the inconvenience and risk of living in a home that doesn’t meet any reasonable standards.
“That is why we have called on the Government to end the contracting out of maintenance functions and to bring them back in-house. This will improve living standards for public housing renters, it will save money and will ensure that publicly owned homes are properly maintained for the long term.”
Jai said living in the property had affected his health.
He claimed he suffers frequent sinus and chest infections when staying there and says his young son has not been able to move in.
“I have to tell my two-year-old that the house is broken and he can’t come inside,” he said.
Jai believed relocating his family would have been a simpler solution.
“Something needs to change because it’s not fair, and I know I’m not the only person dealing with this. Housing is a global problem, but the way we are dealing with it is not okay,” he said.
“They say that there’s no housing, and there’s no funding, and there’s no this, and there’s no that, but yet they’ve wasted $27,000 of people’s money to fix a house.
“There’s no need to put me through all of this stress and hassle and phone calls every single day, and they could just move me from the start.”
A Department of Families, Fairness and Housing spokesperson said the Department works to ensure public housing stock is kept in a safe condition.
“Following the completion of significant mould remediation works in 2024, the department has again engaged a certified mould remediator to undertake further works at this property,” they said.
“The department is working with the renter to gain access to the property and complete the required works.”
