Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aberdeen pensioners say council’s four-month delay to repair leak has ruined their home

Yvonne Simpson has lived in her flat for more than 50 years, and says her bedroom has been 'ruined' by damp and mould.

Yvonne Simpson in her damaged bedroom. Darrell Benns/ DC Thomson.
Yvonne Simpson in her damaged bedroom. Darrell Benns/ DC Thomson.

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.

The walkway above Derek and Yvonne Simpson’s flat where the leak is coming from. Image: Darrell Benns/ DC Thomson.

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.

All of the bedroom wallpaper had to be removed due to the leak. Image: Darrell Benns/ DC Thomson.
All of the bedroom wallpaper had to be removed due to the leak. Image: Darrell Benns/ DC Thomson.

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.

Mrs Simpson said the council has been refusing to try and fix the leak. Image: Darrell Benns/ DC Thomson.

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.

Conversation