Barrhead family's plea to council chiefs to move from damp-riddled flat

Kate McBride, whose mum Marina also has pneumonia and is currently being treated at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, in Paisley, says she has been “fighting” with East Renfrewshire Council over a move “for a couple of years.”

Photos from inside their Aurs Crescent home show the impact of damp on walls throughout the property.

Severely damp conditions at the family’s Aurs Crescent home are making their life a misery

Marina, 63, found out she had cancer around four weeks ago.

Kate and her sister Mary-Anne fear the unsuitable living conditions could be playing a part in her ill health.

“Our house is riddled with damp,” said Kate. “We have had to close one bedroom because it is so damp.

“I have been fighting with the council for a couple of years now to get a move.

“We’re not getting anywhere with them. They are not interested at all.”

Kate, who cares for her mum, said a surveyor had visited the house around 20 times over the last two years, telling the family the damp was the “worst he has ever seen.”

They have tried humidifiers but the problem is “just getting worse and worse,” she added.

The family say they were told they were in the top priority group (A) of the council’s five groups for assessing need for housing.

But they claim that, following a visit by Councillor Danny Devlin, who is East Renfrewshire’s housing and maintenance convener, they were told they are priority B – which includes a “medical need for more suitable housing.”

Marina has been shielding throughout the coronavirus pandemic due to her health.
Kate also said her mum is wheelchair bound and their flat has accessibility issues.

A spokeswoman for East Renfrewshire Council said: “A specialist contractor has visited this property and advised the tenant that the issues are due to condensation.

“To assist with this, we have already carried out works to the external render.

“This tenant has also been reassessed and has been awarded a special case, moving from priority B to the highest priority category, priority A.”

Priority A includes special cases not covered by the allocation policy, as well as those who are unintentionally homeless, threatened with homelessness or moving from the council’s young person’s supported housing.