Residents of several blocks of “neglected” flats in Paisley have handed in a petition to a housing association calling on them to address problems related to claims of asbestos and harmful bacteria within the properties.
Those living in the flats on Glen Street claim to have a range of problems including rusting electrical equipment, faulty washing machines, and potential legionella – a harmful bacteria which can cause a serious type of pneumonia called Legionnaires’ disease.
Tenants’ union Living Rent say it has garnered signatures from 65 per cent of the residents at the six blocks managed by Linstone Housing Association (LHA).
It handed in a petition to the office of LHA on Monday afternoon and are giving them two weeks to address the issues raised by residents.
“There’s been a lot of neglect from the housing association at these buildings and we have some serious concerns about the health and safety of residents,” said Kerri Gallacher, Living Rent organiser.
She continued: “There’s a lot of paint stripping off, there’s gas pipes in the internal blocks that aren’t closed off in any way and in the launderettes the electrics are covered in rust and previously people have had electric shocks. The washing machines are broken most of the time, they’re also really old.
“We were already concerned about the safety around the electrical issue, but more recently we also found that when one of the tenants was trying to get a new metre installed, the engineer found very dangerous asbestos in the fuse box and wouldn’t touch it.
“Linstone have sent a letter saying there are going to be checks, but they haven’t actually told anybody yet that asbestos has been found.
“And we know that they’ve had problems with legionella in some of their other properties and they’re saying that they might at some point do checks on the water tanks but they also haven’t done that yet.
“They were recently investigated by the Scottish Housing Regulator for non-compliance for tenant health and safety and we think that they’re very much still failing at these properties.”
The petition is calling on LHA to conduct a full survey on all aspects of tenants health and safety, including for electrical equipment to be checked, as well as the asbestos survey, and also legionella checks.
Living Rent and the tenants of Glen Street are demanding a meeting with LHA to discuss the issues mentioned but also neglect more generally.
And they want a clear timetable set out detailing when all this will be addressed. They have given LHA until June 19 to respond to their demands.
Kerri added: “People have tried to complain before and nothing has happened for a very long time now, and they’re either ignored or spoken to very disrespectfully.
“One tenant who’s waiting for a shower to be installed and has faced long delays, was told that they should be grateful for having a roof over their head.
“That’s not good enough and Linstone needs to improve their communication with tenants and address these issues.”
LHA has been contacted for comment by the Paisley Daily Express in relation to this story.
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