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Baffling bathroom repair blunder leaves Aberdeen family without a toilet

Housing woes continue for luckless Karolina Osinska after she faced seven-week wait for the local authority to fix her flat's crumbling ceiling.

Karolina Osinska pictured in her council property that has been left without bathroom essentials following repair work
Karolina Osinska pictured in her council property that has been left without bathroom essentials following repair work. Image: Clarke Cooper/DC Thomson

An Aberdeen family forced to flee their mouldy council flat after its ceiling caved in have been left baffled after workmen sent to fix it took away her toilet.

Karolina Osinska and her three children had to leave the property on Brierfield Terrace back in August as plaster tumbled down due to a leak in the flat above.

The single mother argued the damp bathroom was “unusable” and unsafe for herself and her youngsters.

Aberdeen City Council tenant Karolina Osinska in her bathroom before the repair work, the ceiling is brown and black with damp and there is a section of plaster missing
Aberdeen City Council tenant Karolina Osinska in her bathroom before the repair work was carried out. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

But after a long two-month wait, the issue was finally addressed and work got under way to fix the crumbling flat.

With the repairs recently completed, the keys to the Cornhill flat were handed back to Karolina – but she was met with quite a surprise.

She was astonished to discover that workers had left her without essential facilities including a toilet, sink and shower.

Instead, the room has exposed pipes and electrical cables.

Replacement flooring also needs to be installed.

Frustrated mum lodged complaint with council

The discovery led Karolina to make a further complaint to Aberdeen City Council as the family cannot use the refurbished bathroom.

She had previously expressed her anger at the local authority after it said the room was still safe to use despite debris falling from the ceiling.

The situation became so bad Karolina moved her family in with her mum, who lives in a two-bed flat in Seaton.

They’ve now decided to stay put there, for obvious reasons.

Exposed wires can be found where the shower unit should be above the bath
Exposed wires can be found where the shower unit should be. Image: Karolina Osinska

As she wasn’t living in the “safety hazard” home, the angry mum requested a rent refund but that was refused.

She is still being charged the full amount for the flat today despite not being able to live there.

What does the council have to say about it?

Karolina is currently waiting on a nomination that will allow her family to move to a new property in the city.

In the meantime, a council spokeswoman confirmed action will be taken soon to ensure the bathroom can be used once again.

She said: “We will contact the resident and get this issue resolved as a matter of urgency.”

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