A desperate mother of six claims her youngest daughter’s life is being put at risk by the state of her rented home.
Amanda Ross launched a scathing attack on her landlord and the local authority after the mould in her damp-riddled house aggravated four-year-old Sophie’s asthma.
The youngster had to be taken to hospital and treated with nebulisers and steroids because her attack was so severe.
She is on the council house waiting list and rents her home from property chain Touchstone Residential.
Mrs Ross claims that despite repeated pleas to her landlord, a series of problems had not yet been addressed.
And the 41-year-old said the “disgusting” state of the property was threatening her marriage and her daughter’s health.
Last night, she said: “We’ve lived here two years past February.
“At the end of last February the boiler stopped worked and I’ve been constantly on to Touchstone asking about getting the repairs done.”
Several inspectors have visited the house to assess the extent of the damage and draw up quotes for the work, but Mrs Ross said that 12 months after her initial complaint no action has been taken.
Mould has spread through the house, both the shower and toilet are leaking and window sills need replaced.
Mrs Ross said: “In October last year I’d had enough. Sophie keeps getting ill with it so I contacted the council and asked if they could house us. I’ve got my name in with them anyway.
“But they said the only way they could do it is if the house is unfit and they class this as just liveable, which is a joke.
“Their own clerk of works said he could smell the damp as soon as you walk into the house. You can smell the bleach I’ve had to use to keep it clean.
“He said I could clean it with every product under the sun but until it gets ripped up and treated properly the problem will still come back up.”
Last month Sophie was taken to hospital when her asthma was so severe she needed to be put on a nebuliser and steroids by doctors and Mrs Ross took her daughter to see doctors in Aberdeen again yesterday.
She said: “It’s not fair on her. She’s just turned four years old and every month she’s on antibiotics and steroids from the doctor and with inhalers.
“She shouldn’t be like that. The doctor even wrote me a letter to give to the council saying the damp and mould is affecting her health.”
But the waiting list for council houses in Aberdeenshire has now reached a crisis point – with 15,000 outstanding applications.
Mrs Ross and her husband Gavin have been told that due to the size of their family they can only be moved when a large property becomes available.
She said she would rather live on the street than in Aberchirder’s Rennies Lane.
She added: “It’s really getting me down. It’s over a year now. I just want somewhere for Sophie to lead a normal life and not be ill with it the whole time.
“As for the council, does my daughter have to die before they will offer me something?”
Last night a spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said the local authority could not go into detail about individual cases and added: “We of course sympathise with the many cases we encounter on a daily basis and do what we can to help.
“However, the reality in Aberdeenshire is that supply is inadequate to meet demand for housing.
“We currently have 15,000 applicants on our waiting list with a significant number of people and households presenting to the council as homeless.
“All applications for housing are given priority based on assessed housing need in accordance with the policy that was approved by councillors in 2013. This is the fairest way of allocating houses to those in greatest need.”
He added that the council was working to increase the number of affordable homes in the region to reduce the backlog.
A spokeswoman for Touchstone Residential said: “We are aware of the concerns raised and we are working with all parties to make sure that these issues with the property can be resolved as soon as possible.
“We will continue to liaise closely with the tenant.”