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A Victorian family of five are being forced to live in a tent after black mould spread inside their newly purchased Flowerdale home and caused health problems for the small children.
The Walsh-Baldwins say they feel like they've "failed as parents".
"It's been freezing. The other week we got 190 [millimetres] of rain," Andrew Baldwin told 9News.
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"I can't believe we've got to this point. This kids are getting sick, chest infections are the worst of the problems. They missed a full term of kinder."
Mould expert Dr Cameron Jones, from Biological Health Services, called the outbreak "a disaster".
"I've done moisture testing on the timbers, they're showing levels anywhere from 20 to 30 per cent," he said.
Jones said the safe level was a maximum of 15 per cent.
Heavy rain has contributed to the mould's spread but so have a number of serious building defects, which had not been declared or identified at the time the family purchased the $480,000 home from an owner-builder earlier this year.
The family enlisted the help of popular TikTok building inspector Zehir Khalil, who found issues like inadequate drainage and poor waterproofing contributed to excess moisture.
"It's unbelievable," he said, questioning how a building surveyor issued an occupancy permit for the property.
Angalina Walsh-Baldwin broke down in tears as she spoke of her devastation to 9News.
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"The owner-builder has failed their duty of care and just passed the house onto us, knowing that three little kids were moving into this house," she said.
"I don't believe owner-builders are regulated enough."
The family has home and contents insurance but Allianz has denied their claims because the drainage issues were pre-existing.
They say they feel helpless and can't afford to fix the problems, or pay for alternative accommodation.
Allianz' statement can be read in full below:
Allianz appreciates the difficult situation the Walsh-Baldwin family has experienced over the past few months. Their claim, relating to damage to their home, was lodged in late September this year. However the reported damage occurred in May.
The family has been been transparent with us while we've conducted our evaluation of the claim. We evaluated the claim with due diligence, and extended our support by providing temporary accomodation while the inspections by our third-party, expert building and construction consultants were undertaken.
The inspections have now concluded. As we advised the Walsh-Baldwin family, the forensic investigation confirmed that the damage to their home predates the policy inception, and is due to water ingress from an opening not made by recent storms, but inherent defects, faulty design and climatic conditions.
Source: 9News
