Johnstone mum hits out at council over housing situation

Water has been seeping into the walls of the Macdowall Street property for a number of years, with rats also recently being spotted inside the council flat.

The resident, who asked not to be identified, said the current situation was having a negative impact on her family's physical and mental health.

She told The Gazette: "There is dampness affecting all the rooms, including the bedrooms, toilet, living room and kitchen, and my kids have got asthma, so it's not healthy for them.

"The rats are coming up through a hole underneath my kitchen cupboard and a gap in the side of my unit in the wall.

"My kids are afraid to come out of their bedroom, won't sit in the living room and are creeping up and down the hall in case one of the rats runs out in front of them.

"You're also petrified to go in and cook a bit of food, as you are scrubbing everything down before you can cook and put anything on the units. It's really not a way to live."

Renfrewshire Council has now offered to temporarily move the family into another council flat so repair work can be carried out at the property.

However, the concerned resident said that the alternative council flats that had been offered so far were "not acceptable" for various reasons.

She added: "I would like the council to give me an offer of housing that has a front and back door, something decent, so me and my kids can live happily for a change.

"I feel that the council have treated me like rubbish, they've not listened to anything I've said and nothing seems to be their fault.

"I've cried down the phone to them and I'm trying to get an appointment with the doctor for my own mental health because of this."

A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: "We have offered the tenant several properties of varying types as temporary accommodation for her family to stay while we carry out works in her home.

"The tenant has not yet agreed to any offers made, however, as soon as the tenant accepts another property as a temporary move, these works will take place.

"We have also offered a mould eradication treatment that can be applied while the tenant remains in the property. Access to the property to carry out this treatment was declined; however, we can reschedule to a suitable date for the tenant with her approval."