A Dundee mum who has been left with rain pouring through her ceiling since Christmas Day says she fears she will “run out of buckets”.
Nicola Smith, who lives with her 11-year-old son, rents a three-bedroom house from Sanctuary Scotland in the Ardler area of the city.
The 41-year-old says she first noticed water leaking through her living room ceiling in the early hours of Christmas morning.
She immediately reported the issue to the housing association but says she was told it was not a matter of urgency and would be dealt with after the festive period.
Sanctuary Scotland told Dundee mum leaks are ‘not an emergency’
The problem has since escalated and Nicola, a full-time university student, now has three major leaks in her living room ceiling.
Officers have now agreed to address the matter this week – but Nicola fears extensive damage has already been caused.
She said: “I first noticed the leaks about 1.15am on Christmas.
“I went down to the living room and walked over the rug and realised it was wet.
“It was dripping off the ceiling – it was one drip at this stage and I put one bucket out.”
She then called Sanctuary Scotland’s number for emergency repairs.
Nicola added: “They said because I could contain the leak they weren’t classing it as an emergency.
“I said, ‘It’s Christmas Day – what am I meant to do?'”
More leaks when it rains
She added: “It impacted our Christmas Day because the bucket was in the way and we had a towel lying around as well – so it reduced the amount of room we had.
“We had to keep a constant an eye on our grandson to stop him knocking the bucket over.”
When the rain worsened after Christmas – so did the leaks in the ceiling.
Nicola said: “There was a bubble in the ceiling so we had to burst that to let the water come out or it would have gotten bigger and bigger.
“Then a couple of other bubbles appeared so I put buckets there.
“Any time it rains – more bubbles.”
But she claims Sanctuary Scotland were unwilling to help and told her she needed to call back on Wednesday January 4.
The housing association eventually agreed to treat the issue as “urgent” and send a roofing specialist to the property as soon as possible.
She said: “Why is it urgent now but it wasn’t on Christmas Day?
“They say a specialist should visit within the next week – I’m still just waiting on a call.
“I am worried it will get worse while I wait. I am running out of buckets.”
Repairs to happen on Friday
A spokesperson for Sanctuary Scotland said: “We can confirm a roofing contractor will be visiting the property to carry out the required repairs on Friday.
“While it was initially determined the leak did not require an emergency call-out unless there was a significant change, following further conversations we have brought the work forward and we are sorry for any inconvenience this issue has caused.”
Conversation