Glasgow family still in ‘uninhabitable’ home two years after first reporting damp

A Glasgow family are living in an ‘uninhabitable’ Wheatley Homes property — two years after first complaining to the housing association of damp.

Mum-of-four Danielle Johnstone says she, her husband John and their four children aged between ten months and fourteen are living in a house ‘riddled with mould’. The family moved into the property in Glasgow north in July 2021, and Danielle says she first noticed damp just months later.

She says the house now has “furry mould” in several areas, that the living room walls are dripping with water, and her children have developed respiratory health problems she links to the damp property. She said the family’s physical and mental health had been affected by the conditions, including the health of her husband John, who has multiple sclerosis.

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In early October, the family were moved into an Airbnb for two weeks while contractors carried out work to install thermal plasterboard and infra-red wallpaper at the property in an effort to solve the issues — but Danielle says the family returned to find the house “destroyed”, with damaged furniture, furnishings, and personal belongings.

A spokesperson for Wheatley Homes said the home had been fully tested and is safe and fit for habitation. They added that it treats 99.2 per cent of mould and damp cases within 15 working days and that traces of mould had been removed from the property. The spokesperson apologised to the family for “stress and delays”, and admitted that the quality of plasterwork and decorations in the home “didn’t meet” the housing associations “high standards.”

Danielle said she felt her concerns “were not taken seriously” when she first reported damp to Wheatley Homes in late 2022, and that she was told to “air out the house”, which she said the family was “doing anyway.”

“It kept coming through faster and faster,” said Danielle. “The next stage was anti-mould paint, and that didn’t work, and then they put up thermal wallpaper. We did everything they said and allowed them to come in."

Danielle said the house has been examined by various surveyors this year, before the housing association resolved to install insulated plasterboard and infra-red heating, with the family moved into an Airbnb for two weeks on October 1.

“When we returned, I realised workers had destroyed most of my house,” Danielle said. “There’s thousands of pounds worth of damage because of them.

“I wasn’t for turning, so I left them for another week to try and rectify it, but a week later it wasn’t much better. There was plaster everywhere, there was paint everywhere and scratched beds. Not one worker covered any of my things.”

Danielle said she has contacted the local housing director, but says she still doesn’t feel she is “being taken seriously.” She added: “We have been ‘Priority A’ for being transferred to a new house since January. It’s not suitable, and they don’t have a long-term solution for the house.

“We’ve been back for three weeks, and on Sunday, we noticed that the walls in the living room are dripping with water and my son’s room has furry mould growing on it. The walls they insulated a couple of weeks ago are discoloured, so there’s water running back through.”

Danielle posted a video to TikTok complaining of the conditions. She said: “I don’t know where I stand, but what I do know is that this house is totally uninhabitable.”

Danielle believes the damp conditions at the house have caused her two youngest daughters, 4-year-old Remi and 10-month-old Nova, to experience respiratory problems. She said: “One of my wee girls is now on an inhaler because she can’t get rid of the persistent cough, and my baby girl is on her second course of antibiotics because she can’t get rid of it, too.”

She added: “Evidently, we shouldn’t be living there.”

A Wheatley Homes Glasgow spokesperson said: “We take reports of mould and damp very seriously, with 99.2% of all cases treated within 15 working days. Our specialist teams removed traces of mould and fitted an infra-red heating system, which has dried the walls.

“We carried out tests today which showed the home is fit and safe to live in, but further repairs will be needed to fix these issues in the long term. Regrettably, the quality of plasterwork and decorations in the home completed by a third-party contractor didn’t meet our high standards.

“We’ve apologised and compensated our tenants for the stress and delays. We’ve offered the family temporary moves and homes in other areas of the city, but these were declined as they wish to stay in their community.

“A house in their neighbourhood became available this week [Wednesday] and will be offered to the family. They continue to have our highest priority for a move.”

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