An Aberdeen family promised a more suitable council home have had their dreams dashed after finding their new flat riddled with black mould and flooded with faeces.
Clair Wallace and John Robertson had been waiting for a more suitable council flat for almost a year.
They have lived in their top-floor two-bedroom flat for 12 years with their two children Katey, 11, and Riley, nine.
However, Mr Roberston, 33, is a diabetic and when he suffers from a hypo he gets confused, leaving him at risk if he is alone in the flat.
The ambulance staff would need to get through a landing door and up the stairs to their front door. His partner explained that by that point he might be too confused and unwell to buzz them in or open the door.
Aberdeen City Council agreed he was high-risk and that they needed a more suitable home. The family had been offered one in December last year but that still wasn’t suitable as it was a middle-floor flat so they had to keep waiting.
Finally, in late September they were offered a four-in-a-block ground-floor flat at 119 Provost Rust Drive.
After a virtual viewing, the family felt like they needed to take the property or risk being deferred for another year.
They were then told they had to move in straight away and would not be given a free week to move their belongings.
When they entered the property for the first time they noticed straight away it was not liveable.
‘No way we could have moved into it’
Miss Wallace said: “There was no way we could have moved into it as it was.
“As soon as we walked into the house we could see repairs straight away.”
The 32-year-old explained that the flat was riddled with black mould. The bathroom needed to be ripped out and the walls were crumbling from the damp.
The kitchen had extensive fire damage and the family could smell the smoke when they walked into the building. The ceiling was black with smoke, the ceiling warped and there were holes in the walls.
There were numerous other structural problems with the building, including exposed pipes and cracked ceilings.
She said: “We had to wait a week for an inspector to come up from Aberdeen City Council and when he walked into the house, he was shocked we were given the keys for it.
READ MORE: Single mother speaks out about mouldy and damp Aberdeen council flat
“He agreed that there is major work needing to be done.”
Upon inspection, he said that the living room ceiling would need to be tested for asbestos.
The inspector also said that work would get done on the three-bedroom flat, but it would not start until December and the flat would not be in a liveable condition until the work was completed.
The family of four decided to pick up paint and other things for the house while they were waiting for work to start when Mr Roberston realised the toilet had flooded.
Miss Wallace said her partner was “horrified” when he went to the house only to find “faeces and urine and tampons everywhere”.
Major anxieties
They handed back the keys last week and have been trying to get in touch with the council ever since.
The mum-of-two explained that she has had “major anxiety” over rent worries.
According to Miss Wallace, the housing officer said before the flooding that she would need clarification that the flat in Northfield was not liveable before the rent would be waivered.
However, at the start of the week, both rents were taken out of Mr Robertson’s bank, clearing his account, despite the sewage issues and the family handing back the keys. This left the couple worried and frantically calling the council.
Miss Wallace, who also works as a full-time carer, felt as though she was being “passed from pillar to post”.
She said: “I just think the situation is that bad no one knows what to say to us and no one wants to deal with it.
“We’re absolutely gutted because we were excited. There were things wrong with the flat we had seen straight away, but we were willing to look past it and wait for the repairs.
“After the flooding, there’s just no way we can accept it now.”
An Aberdeen City Council spokeswoman said: “We have agreed to cancel the tenancy with no rent charged and are supporting the family secure alternative housing with the council.”
Have you experienced similar issues? Please get in touch and share your story by emailing lauren.taylor@ajl.co.uk.