Edinburgh family forced to leave West Pilton home after mould runs rampant through house

Case comes as damp complaints in Edinburgh increase ten-fold
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A family has been forced to move out of their Edinburgh home due to mould which was running rampant through the house and affecting their health.

Alistair Stuart described the council house in West Pilton as "unlivable". He said: "My stepson wasn't very well and my partner called out the doctor. A paramedic came as well and as soon as he walked in the house he said 'You can smell it, you can taste it.' It's everywhere.”

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Mr Stuart, his partner Sara Martin and their children have now been decanted from the house in West Pilton View while the council tries to sort the problem. He said: "They're going to do further investigation, put cameras underneath the skirting board and underneath the kitchen window. They're going to do a full investigation this time to find out what's wrong."

The family have moved out of their house while the council carries out an investigation into the mould.The family have moved out of their house while the council carries out an investigation into the mould.
The family have moved out of their house while the council carries out an investigation into the mould.

It's the second time the family has moved out of the house to allow for an investigation into the mould. "There is mould all over the house. They came in and said they'd fixed it about three years ago. We were decanted that time as well - we were out for three or four months, but we had just moved back in when it came back.”

Figures released earlier this month showed a dramatic increase in cases of damp and mould in social housing in Scotland, with nearly 12,000 complaints lodged over the past 12 months. In Edinburgh, damps and mould complaints soared ten-fold from just 122 in 2019-20 to 1,029 in 2021-22.

Lothian Labour MSP Foysol Choudhury said he had been contacted by many constituents living in damp housing and was pressing Edinburgh council to resolve the "unacceptable" conditions residents were having to endure. He also raised the issue at Holyrood, citing the tragic case in England of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died from a respiratory condition which a coroner ruled had been caused by excessive mould in the housing association flat where he lived in Rochdale.

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Mr Choudhury said: “I am asking for the Scottish Government to consider setting up a grant scheme to tackle dampness problems in council, housing association and private sector properties. We need to address both the long and short-term problems with damp housing and consider extra investment for a whole house retrofitting programme, across Scotland. I have submitted a motion, on damp housing, to the Scottish Parliament. I want all political parties to work together to tackle this problem and identify adequate funding to address the growing problem of damp/mould in Scotland’s housing stock."

The family say the black mould 'is everywhere' in the house.The family say the black mould 'is everywhere' in the house.
The family say the black mould 'is everywhere' in the house.

Edinburgh housing convener Councillor Jane Meagher said: “I am very sorry that our tenants are once again facing these issues. We have arranged for the family to be temporarily re-housed whilst we carry out a thorough investigation into the causes of these issues. We strive to make sure that our tenants and residents live in safe homes where their health is a priority. I would urge any tenant with issues around mould or damp in their home to get in touch with the council so these can be investigated and appropriate action taken”.