Edinburgh housing: Disabled man left to fork out for hotels after council flat works labelled 'shambles'

A disabled man is struggling to afford a hotel while his council flat has been left in a ‘state’ during kitchen and bathroom works.

A disabled man from Edinburgh is being forced to fork out money to stay in hotels due to unfinished work in his council flat.

Calum Reid, who has cerebal palsy, is still paying rent on his council flat in Wardieburn Road on top of hotel costs while contractors refurbish his kitchen and bathroom. He has described the situation, which has been ongoing for five weeks, as a ‘shambles’ and now he fears works could drag on for much longer after contractors told him they’d run out of materials.

The 33-year-old has asked if it can be finished urgently but has been left feeling frustrated after getting no answers on when it will be finished. The dad-of-two said it is causing him extreme stress and sleepless nights worrying about the state of his home.

Mr Reid has no working bathroom or kitchen

He said: "I’ve not had a kitchen or bathroom for five weeks now. Workmen are hardly ever here so the place is left in this state. There’s a sink and fridge just lying in the middle of the living room. I had a working toilet at least but now that’s leaking. It’s unacceptable. They’ve also cut wifi cables and my gas has been affected. Luckily I did manage to stay with family and friends a couple of times but I’m mostly having to pay to stay in hotels while I’m still paying rent here. It’s a shambles.

"They have put a bath in but no hand rail and I need that because I have cerebal palsy so my hands can be very unsteady. It's a shambles. Now they’ve said they ran out of materials. It should all have been planned properly with the required materials, especially for someone with a disability. I’m so angry. Now I don’t know when I will be able to live in my house. It could be many more weeks.”

A council spokesperson said: “We’re really sorry to hear about the issues Mr Reid is experiencing and will be looking into his situation as a matter of urgency.”

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