Edinburgh mother of three takes aim at council after mould and damp sees her young children fall ill

Katrina Adamson said this is her second council home that has been ‘covered in black mould’

An Edinburgh mum has voiced her despair over the council’s failure to carry out repair works to mould and damp in her property which she said is affecting the health of her three young children.

Katrina Adamson said her council property has ‘black mould everywhere’ which is ‘getting worse by the day’ but said the council have failed to carry out any repairs, despite chasing them ‘for months’ and a repairs team stating the property is not suitable.

The 29-year-old said she moved into the temporary Muirhouse flat last February after her previous home in Pilton was also deemed unsuitable to live in due to significant levels of damp and mould. She said she is now ‘stressed’ and ‘fed up,’ with the mould causing damage to clothes and children’s toys and saw her one-year-old son admitted to hospital for a week after developing Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

Edinburgh mum, Katrina, said her council property has ‘black mould everywhere’ and is ‘getting worse by the day.’ She said the mould in the bedrooms has caused her family of five to all sleep in the living room

Katrina said: “I moved out of my last property because of the mould and damp - that was almost a year ago and they’ve not done any repairs in that house. The decant flat that I’m in at the moment has black mould everywhere - they came to do a survey and said it was not suitable to live in but no repairs have been carried out.

“There are leaks everywhere - in the roof in the living room, bathroom and the hall and dirty water is coming down. I’ve had to throw out baby clothes, toys, a cot, and my children’s beds. We’ve only got one bed in the living room now because the two bedrooms have mould everywhere, so we’re all sleeping in the living room.”

The mother of three said she was told that her family would be in the temporary flat in Muirhouse for a three-month period, only to be informed last month that no repairs have taken place in her previous property - 10 months after leaving her home. And now that mould is affecting her decant flat, Katrina said she is desperate for the council to act.

She said: “I’m just fed up. If it was only meant to be for three months why has it been a year? It’s my kids’ health that’s at stake. It’s like we don’t get a break because of this house.

“My babies have been in hospital, my youngest caught RSV because of the mould and now has to use a blue inhaler. His oxygen levels went down to 80 per cent so an ambulance had to come and blue light him to hospital and he was in for a week on oxygen. My three-year-old keeps getting chest infections too and has had to miss nursery and my 11-year-old has a 75 per cent attendance record because he keeps getting coughs, sore heads and feeling sick.”

Katrina added: “I’m sick of what my kids are going through and I’m getting nowhere. It’s so stressful, with my kids being sick and us all sharing a double bed.”

Councillor Jane Meagher, housing, homelessness and fair work convener, said: “This must be a very distressing time for the family and I’m so sorry they’ve experienced damp and mould in their home. We want our tenants and residents to live in safe homes where their health is a priority. We’ve arranged for work to be carried out urgently at the property and I know Council officers will continue to support the family. I will be asking for this to be a priority.

“We’ve made significant progress in implementing the actions in our Dampness and Mould Service Improvement Plan since it was approved in May. This includes establishing a dedicated team who respond to concerns from tenants about damp and mould in their homes and installing dampness sensors in 500 homes as part of a pilot to help us take action pro-actively.”

Councillor Meagher added: “Longer term we’ll be able to improve living standards for so many people thanks to the £173 million spending package we agreed in March to upgrade our existing homes and building new homes. We’ll continue to do everything we can to address issues and urge any other tenant who is experiencing damp or mould to get in touch so these be investigated and appropriate action taken.”