A Dundee mum fears her roof could fall in on her three-year-old daughter in the middle of the night due to Raac concrete.
Danielle Cowie lives in a terraced bungalow on Whitfield Gardens with her partner Peter McIntosh and their daughter Rylee.
In May, the couple were told that their neighbours on each side – both Dundee City Council tenants – had found Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (Raac) in their shared roof.
However, the council will not inspect their roof section for damage because Danielle and Peter are private homeowners.
The couple claim they have struggled to find a structural engineer to visit and have been left in the dark about the building’s safety.
Danielle, 36, told The Courier: “We bought the house during the pandemic so access was restricted but the home report didn’t mention Raac.
“It did say they couldn’t get access to the roof but we thought nothing of it.
Dundee couple fear for safety after Raac found in Whitfield bungalows
“In May this year, we got a letter from the council saying we needed to get a survey done as our neighbours had Raac.
“From that point, we have not been able to do much.
“We’ve tried to keep up to date mostly through our neighbours who are council tenants, but we haven’t heard anything since that letter.”
Danielle says her neighbours have had visual inspections by council engineers and their sections of roof were found to be safe.
However, she was not given the option of having the same workers visit her property next door.
She said:Â “I got in touch with some private structural engineers but they weren’t forthcoming with making an appointment.
“It would also be really expensive – about £2,500 – for an invasive survey and that could do more damage to the roof because they have to drill into it and could weaken it.
“So I am a bit scared to get that done.
“I don’t know why the council engineers couldn’t have visited us as well, and we would have paid for it.”
Dundee mum worried ‘roof could come down on daughter in middle of night’
Danielle and Peter, 55, say they do not feel safe in their home as they have not been able to find out if their roof is damaged.
The couple are also concerned that they may never be able to sell the bungalow due to the presence of Raac, and the expenses involved in dealing with it.
Danielle said: “Our mortgage gets reviewed next October and we are now hearing that a house with Raac is not mortgagable any more.
“We are just looking for communication from the council about if the house is sound or if they are planning to knock any down, like they are going to do in Aberdeen.
“It is pretty stressful that the roof could come down on our daughter in the middle of the night.
“We can’t sell the house and we can’t move out, we can’t afford to rent or have a second mortgage just to feel safe.
“The cost of a new roof would be about half of the value of the house.
“Our plan was to have this as a starter home and now we are stuck here with no option to sell unless a cash buyer was to come along, and that could leave us in negative equity.
“We are literally stuck and there is nothing we can do about it.”
She added: “The council built these houses in the 60s knowing the life span of the materials and here we are 50 years down the road.
“These should have never been included in the Right to Buy scheme, we didn’t buy our house from the council and the previous owners wouldn’t have known about this either.”
Council says Raac in ‘majority’ of Dundee properties is in ‘satisfactory condition’
A spokesperson for Dundee City Council said: “Where properties are privately owned, responsibility for maintenance lies with owners who are recommended to seek their own advice regarding the condition of Raac present within their property.
“Plans for an ongoing inspection regime in properties where Raac has been identified were agreed by the council in May.
“It was noted that the Raac in the majority of properties is in a satisfactory condition and will be dealt with as part of capital programmes.”
Dundee dad Wayne Hoskins set up the Dundee Raac Campaign Group after claiming he had been left ‘stranded’ in his home after the concrete was discovered.
This week, The Courier told how Craigie man Brady Macphail fears he could lose £40,000 on his flat due to Raac.
Meanwhile, West Ferry couple Hazel and Derek Boyle say their retirement plans have been “ruined” after Raac was found in the roof of their flat.
The Courier has taken a look at what to do if you have Raac in your Dundee or Angus property.
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