A woman living in an Aberdeen City Council bedsit has spoken out about how “lucky” she was that she wasn’t home when the ceiling collapsed above her bed.
Nicole Kruschak moved into the property on Bedford Road last May and has been complaining about issues ever since.
Miss Kruschak, who is originally from Germany, was at first happy to be given a home but soon realised there was a problem with damp, an “army” of mice, and an abusive neighbour.
The 51-year-old was also diagnosed with bronchitis by her doctor, and would wake up every night coughing.
However, in March the ceiling collapsed when she was not in the property. The council had forced entry for gas work repairs and she was left without a key for two weeks.
She came home to find a large piece of the plasterboard had landed on her sofa bed, exposing the wooden fixtures of the room above.
Water had also poured down from the ceiling, staining the walls and destroying most of the clothes she had in a cupboard, leaving the whole bedsit smelling strongly of damp.
She had to get rid of most of her clothes that were damaged in the process.
‘I was lucky that I was not in’
“I don’t understand how they are allowed to rent the flats,” she said. “I don’t know how the other flats look really, maybe they’ve got the same problems.
“But it’s unbelievable. It is really unbelievable they are allowed to rent this kind of flat.
“The sofa folds out as a bed, normally I pull it away from the wall and I sleep in the middle of the room. I was lucky that I was not in, because, the ceiling fell down on the bed. If I was here I don’t know what would have happened.”
Her partner, Richard Walton, said they had noticed cracks up the wall long before the ceiling collapsed.
He said: “We told the council about it when she moved in in May, we complained and we complained but nothing got done.
“I really feel sorry for Nicole.”
Aberdeen City Council has offered Miss Kruschak temporary accommodation, however, she declined the offer because she has been staying with her partner.
According to Miss Kruschak her bronchitis symptoms have eased since staying with her partner. She still has a chesty cough but no longer needs to wake up through the night with the coughing.
Abusive and threatening neighbour
Miss Kruschak and her partner have also complained to the council about a resident in a neighbouring block of flats on the same street.
They claim that the man has been abusive and threatening towards them both, tormenting the 51-year-old whenever she stays at her home.
She has also allegedly had xenophobic and abusive comments scratched into her front door, calling her a “nazi” and threatening her.
She is worried about her own safety, as well as the young girls who live nearby.
“It frightens me that they put me, a solo woman, in that kind of place,” she said.
“It’s a pity, in a way I enjoyed it here, the garden was quiet. I was glad, happy I got my flat.”
Her partner, Mr Walton, says he has also been threatened by the same neighbour when he was visiting her.
A police spokeswoman has confirmed they are aware of the incidents and have investigated the reports of hate crime, however, are taking no further action.
Council determining ‘safety of the address’
The couple now want to move from Aberdeen.
Miss Kruschak handed over her keys to the council on Tuesday so that repair work can begin on the property.
She says she feels “helpless” as she worries the council may move her back to the bedsit on Bedford Road once the repairs are complete.
They contacted Shelter Scotland for help with their situation, and a spokesman has confirmed they are now assisting the couple.
Aberdeen City Council has said they have tried to make contact with Miss Kruschak to address the issues.
A council spokeswoman commented: “We’re currently making inquiries to determine the safety of the address and if found to be unsafe, then alternative accommodation would be considered at that time.
“An offer of temporary accommodation was declined by the tenant.”
