EXCLUSIVE: Hundreds of Edinburgh Council homes wait for mould and damp repairs
A Forth News investigation has found hundreds of Edinburgh council homes are currently waiting for repairs to damp and mould - and figures look set to soar this year
A Forth news investigation has found that hundreds of Edinburgh Council rental properties are currently waiting for work to get underway to repair mould and damp.
A freedom of information request (FOI) revealed that as of December 18th 581 homes had cases reported under "dampness".
The worrying substance of this research is that in all of 2022 the local authority tell us 728 jobs for damp were recorded as being completed.
Which means the Council has gone into the new year with more than three quarters of the previous years total awaiting work to begin.
This FOI says that the average wait for a tenant between reporting an issue and work being finished is 52 days.
But we know this isn't true for everyone - last year we brought you the story of Mum of 3 Nicola.
Nicola moved into her property in 2020, only to discover there were already damp spots in the flat.
The mould issue has only grown since, with the Edinburgh Mum struggling to link up with the council in order to get the work done.
Nicola told us at the time: "I've told them on several occasions that my son is asthmatic.
"He spent five years in and out of hospital.
"I'm worried because he's having to use his inhalers a hell of a lot more than he used to, that we're gonna end up back there because of the mould and the dampness - his room is absolutely freezing."
As part of our investigation we got back in touch with Nicola, who told us that whilst some work has begun, she still isn't happy with the speed or quality of it.
Work to the roof of the property has started, but nothing has changed inside - including replacing windows which were installed less than a year ago.
The Mum of three also believes mice are living in the walls, and could get into the flat, as a hole in her daughters bedroom has formed due to the wet conditons.
She's been offered decant properties but said they were unsuitable, as they were too small for her family - and the council tell us they are looking to find a suitable option for Nicola's family, but that flats of that size are in high demand.
"I know there's a lot of people in the same situation as me - and some are worse" Nicola told us.
"It angers me that the Council aren't dealing with this a lot quicker, it's so stressful and draining, especially when you feel that you're getting nowhere with the Council.
"I struggle to get the bairns out their bed in the morning.
"I try and put the heating on, but no wonder with the holes in the wall and the mould and the damp - what can I physically do that can make any of this better?"
Radio Forth got in touch with the Council's housing convener Councillor Jane Meagher about the challenges the local authority is facing.
Whilst she says their housing repairs teams are working hard go get to all the properties requiring work, Cllr Meagher admits they're busier than usual.
"We are still receiving a high volume of calls from tenants who are experiencing issues and problems. And it does feel like a particularly busy time for our housing repairs, teams who are out there responding to these calls." She said.
"On the plus side, it doesn't mean all of the awareness raising we've been carrying out to help tenants report issues to us is working.
"The cold weather does not help matters. Some tenants are stuck between a rock and a hard place, you know, do I heat my home and cut down on any potential damp problems? Or do I turn my heating off to an affordable level and live in a cold and damp flat? it's a stark choice that a lot of people have to face.
"People are very rightly concerned about rising costs, like energy bills and choosing out of necessity not to heat their home, which of course can cause further damp.
"There are issues to do with this and ventilation which are simpler to sort out. But others are much more complex and take longer.
"And all this means that waiting times are longer than we would like and would expect for our tenants."
The Council are seeking to take on the challenge though.
Cllr Meagher said: "We've introduced improvements to the repair service last year, and we're continuing to work on this.
"I can reassure tenants, it's an ongoing priority for us. And we do want to do something about the concerns coming in from tenants.
"And then of course, longer term, there are big issues we want to address too, with a lot of the social homes we have in Edinburgh and nearing 60 or 70 years old. And these are all homes that we're going to be improving through the council's retrofitting programme, which will bring older properties up to a closest standard of the new social homes were building."
Have you had problems with damp and mould? Get in touch via our social media pages.