Mariam Yusuf insists I put on a face mask before entering her flat – not because she’s worried about catching Covid or another illness, but for my own sake; to keep the familiar stench of mould at bay.
In October 2021, Yusuf was hospitalised after being the victim of a hit and run. When she was ready to be discharged, she was passed on to Brent Council as she didn’t have a safe home to return to.
The council placed her in a flat in north-west London run by a private landlord. It was not only riddled with serious disrepair, but completely unfit for someone using crutches and dealing with several neurological side effects from a car crash.
