It's not as easy as all that! I'm an advocate supporting a lady with post natal depression, who's living in a house that sounds really rather similar to this, except with the added fun of a faulty boiler.... her 18 month old has been diagnosed with asthma (damp related) and hospitalised twice this winter with attacks, and more recently sleep apnoea - related to the cold house conditions... The council have 'lost' a lot of correspondance from the health visitor, the social workers involved etc which all say what the effect the poor housing is having on the child. Even with the involvement of an advocate acting on her behalf it's a slow slow process, and for someone with PND, difficult to the point of wanting to give up. And if the problem is hazardous to health, then it is the council's responsibilty to do something, but unfortunately the council's environmental health will not get involved, as they cannot serve notices on themselves! If the council are not doing the repairs its a case of taking them to court (without legal aid) which is a costly process out of the remit of most council tennants! It's a no-win situation. What i'm getting to is don't judge without knowing the whole situation!