A family of three living and sleeping in a single room in their damp-riddled Perth flat are begging for help to find a new home.
A wet carpet in the only bedroom had to be pulled up but was not replaced after the storm in September sent water overflowing from blocked gutters through the bedroom ceiling.
Aaron Milne (25) and his partner Megan Allan (28) decamped from the sodden bedroom with their son into what had been their living room.
They say the kitchen has damp and they are miserable with the situation they are trying to bring their toddler Lucas (2) up in.
Aaron claims Caledonia Housing Association, which manages the Tay Street building where they stay, has not responded to their concerns about the ruined bedroom carpet, leaking windows and the heat loss and mould.
Aaron is asthmatic and Megan has a fractured back. She was injured in a car crash and will be on medication for life.
Little Lucas was born 10 weeks premature.
Aaron isn’t working so he can assist with childcare as Megan’s back injury limits what she can do. The couple don’t take Lucas out as much as they’d like as Megan has difficulty going down the stairs with the buggy.
The couple say they are not being heard by Perth and Kinross Council over repeated requests to move somewhere where they won’t suffer overcrowding and without stairs to reach the outside.
“Now I’m a dad, I feel all eaten up that I’m failing to provide for my family,” said Aaron. “It’s tough on our relationship, all being in the same bedroom. We struggle, most of the flat floorspace is given over to Lucas, he’s a growing child, a wee cracker, he needs more space and so do we.”
The Tay Street flat is in a block occupied by a range of vulnerable people and noise at night has terrified Megan.
“The police had to come over last week to break up a domestic at 2.30am. We have noisy neighbours who party and there are frequent antisocial incidents,” added Aaron.
He described an incident last year where someone poured petrol in a strip down the close “most likely” with a mind to come back and light it.
Aaron told the PA things have got so bad he’s become a regular at Andys Man Club meetings at Perth 's McDiarmid Park.
He says he’s needed the support of the male mental health support group as his feelings of stress grow.
“My partner is scared to go out,” Aaron continued.
“There is a points system at the council that indicates how eligible we are for being allocated improved housing and we score quite high because of Megan’s back and the overcrowding of the three of us in one bedroom.
“But we have been trying to move for the past two years without success.
“ Perth City North Councillor Brian Leishman has been very helpful and has been investigating at the council on our behalf.
“Caledonia Housing Association asks us to provide proof the flat is substandard. I took pictures of the mould – which I’ve cleaned and painted over for Lucas’ sake – and the condensation on the windows.
“We’ve had joiners over to do temporary repairs but they said all the windows in the building need replacing.
“Our son is cold in his bed, the heating just disappears, we’re paying a fortune to heat our home but it isn’t working.”
A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson said: “The council sympathises with the family, however, Caledonia Housing Association are responsible for the welfare of their tenants as the landlord in this instance and we would advise approaching them for comment.”
Councillor Leishman said: “I am aware of the issues Aaron and Megan are having and have advised them to contact Caledonia Housing Association and action repairs to their home as no one should be living in a property that has issues with cold and mould. Problems like this should be a matter of urgency for Caledonia to resolve as there are serious health problems that can be caused by living in damp conditions.”
A spokesperson for Caledonia Housing Association said: “Some of the issues raised with the Perthshire Advertiser have not been reported to us through our process. When issues have been raised through our process, they have been addressed quickly. In this case, we will make contact with the tenant directly and if there are any outstanding issues at the property we will deal with these quickly and to the highest standard.”
