Family fear for their safety and sanity in Soroba flat
A father-of-two is worried about the health and well-being of his family because of what he describes as a recurring damp problem.
Daniel Smith, who lives in a second floor flat on Shuna Terrace, took to social media this week after consistent concerns about the poor condition of his Argyll Community Housing Association-owned (ACHA) property appeared to fall on deaf ears.
Mr Smith accused ACHA of not ‘caring’ about its Soroba residents, triggering a tirade of like-minded complaints. He claims that over the past six years he has filled in numerous online repair reports which have all resulted in the same outcome.
‘I fill in a report, someone comes out to look at it and basically nothing gets done to fix the root cause of the problem,’ he said.
‘I have been told the problems are down to condensation (damp) and people running across the balcony above (kitchen ceiling collapse) and advised to buy a humidifier and open the windows.
‘My walls and ceilings are black, the flooring is uneven and spongy in places and part of my kitchen ceiling has just caved in. It’s not condensation!’
When asked by The Oban Times to comment on the issues in the flat this week, ACHA insisted there was no damp problem in the building.
‘In relation to that property, we had an issue of condensation, not dampness, which relates to heating and ventilating,’ stated chief executive Alastair MacGregor.
‘The problem with the kitchen ceiling has come from a leak in a common external walkway. On inspection, the association discovered someone had left a section of carpet on the walkway which had blocked the drain and contributed towards the water ingress.
‘The association has removed the affected plasterboard and installed a temporary section of ceiling and will carry out any external repairs necessary then reinstate the kitchen ceiling.
‘There has been excessive rainfall in the past three weeks and from time to time leaks in buildings will occur.’
Mr Smith, a scaffolder, has lived in the flat with wife Shannon for just over six years and says it was in poor condition when he moved in. The couple have children aged five and three and spend much of their time worrying about their welfare.