Mould nightmare for Ayrshire families at new - Hunan Handle Mould Group Co.,Ltd

One residents claims she was told to leave her heating on all day to prevent mould and should only have her windows open for 30 minutes per day.

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Mould, lack of hot water, heat and water leaks are a few of the issues that a number of Kilwinning tenants are claiming they're having to deal with while renting properties with Cunninghame Housing Association.

Back in 2019, the new build homes on Weirston Place was recognised as the Large Affordable Housing Development of the Year at the Scottish Home Awards.

With Cunninghame Housing Association set to increase the rent from £460 per month to up to £490 per month, residents are now considering moving house due to the rise and conditions of properties.

Louise McLeod, a resident at Weirston Place since July 2018, said: “The cost is now starting to worry everyone.

“My parents are in a 4-bedroom council house in Woodwynd, Kilwinning and they only pay £325 per month. Their home is also in a much better condition than ours, with not many issues.

“We moved into our two-bedroom mid-terrace house a couple of weeks after it was built. We had problems with mould since we moved in. It has sent myself, my partner and our 4-year-old to the doctors many times within the time we have lived in our home. My son was under investigation for asthma at one point. We are constantly unwell.

“We’ve had to clean it weekly to keep it at bay. Spent lots of money trying to find products that work. To this date, we are still wasting money when the problem shouldn’t have happened to begin with and Cunninghame Housing Association continues to tell us that we need to sort it and pay for the issues ourselves.”

Katie Lawrence, a resident who lived at the property for almost six years, added: “There is black mould in my bathroom and everyone is told to just wipe it down with bleach and that someone will come once to reseal the window but it would be up to me to do it next time.

“When we first moved we had other problems. I have been left four days without heating and hot water when the weather was at -3C. I spoke to someone at the agency about this as I have a disabled child who needs a bath every day and I had to pay for a hotel for us to stay in as my house was unliveable.

“Following the phone call with the agency, someone came to fix it and told us that there is a problem with a boiler and it will probably happen every time it rains. It already happened four times.

“We have had kitchen cabinet doors coming off and we've been told we need to sort them ourselves and just little things like this that have needed to be fixed but have been difficult to get sorted with them.

”I feel like we don't get anywhere with them when we phone and when we do speak to anyone they are abrupt."

Following the complaints from the residents, a spokesperson from Cunninghame Housing Association said: “The Association is aware of three complaints received in relation to properties in Weirston Place, Kilwinning and investigations are ongoing. The Association is committed to resolving these issues at the earliest opportunity to ensure a satisfactory outcome for our tenants.

“These matters are being treated with the utmost importance and we will ensure regular engagement takes place with the tenants involved.”

Cunninghame Housing Association visited Weirston Place on Thursday, March 2 but left residents "confused".

Louise said: “It was only on Thursday that they visited and offered to help repair the damages but they are still expecting us to pay for treatment, paint, flooring and more.

“Katie was told she’s to have her heating on all day to prevent mould and should only have her windows open for 30 minutes per day. It is not a healthy solution.

“They offered to pay for her repairs to be painted but I wasn’t offered this.

“They are telling us different information.”

Wierson Place residents are now waiting for further actions from Cunninghame Housing Association and hoping that it can be resolved.