Two pensioners in Aberdeen have accused the council of “fobbing them off” after it denied liability for a four-month-old leak.
Yvonne and Derek Simpson lived in a flat on Seamount Road, which they own.
Many of the other properties in the block are council owned.
For the past four months, the Simpsons have been dealing with a devastating leak coming from a faulty communal walkway above their flat.
They say the dampness and damage has left their home a “horrible” place to live.
Aberdeen City Council refuses to fix leak
Mrs Simpson, who has lived in the property for 54 years, said that in the past, residents have always split the communal repairs between the 18 flats in the block.
But she claims that after a council officer visited, he insisted that fixing the leaky walkway was not the local authority’s responsibility.
She says he also told them the cracked walkway had nothing to do with the authority and that they would have to organise the repairs between themselves and a neighbour.
But Mrs Simpson, 72, who has arthritis, argued the council had carried out a similar repair seven years ago.
She is desperate for a resolution as the leak has ruined her bedroom – with water running down the walls and ceiling.
“We are not even allowed to touch council property”, she said.
“But the council said ‘It is nothing to do with us’.
“The smell of damp is really terrible.”
House has been ‘ruined’
The couple have moved items from their bedroom into other rooms to protect them from the water, and say that white chunks of plaster are now regularly falling from the walls.
“It has been horrible, really terrible”, she said.
“The bedroom is never a bedroom anymore.
“I love my house, it was always the way I wanted it to be, but it is just being ruined with water.”
Although the couple has insurance that would cover the damage, they said they are holding off until the underlying leak is resolved.
Council just ‘fobs women off’
However, when Mrs Simpson approached the council about their problems with the leak, she said they refused to help.
“Aberdeen City Council just fobs women off with words”, she said.
“We phoned them for three days straight and I went down to the council and said someone has to do something about this.”
Mrs Simpson’s son suggested not paying the communal bills for the flats until repairs were made, but the pensioner – who is now suffering from a cough as a result of the damp – is scared the authority will blacklist her.
“I am just fed up and I have had enough,” she said.
“I am quite a proud person and I just want to get it sorted.”
Aberdeen City Council response
An Aberdeen City Council spokesman said: “We were made aware of a problem on the communal walkway resulting in a leak into the flat of the owner below.
“The building is a mixture of council tenants and owners with council flats being in the minority.
“To assist the owners we will take the lead and arrange for a contractor to assess the area and provide costs to carry out the works.”
In September, Aberdeen City Council co-leader of the council admitted the council’s response to damp issues had been “clearly unacceptable” following an investigation by The Press and Journal.
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