Multiple housing horror stories were brought forward at a Fife Council meeting on Thursday – as it was revealed there are currently 594 outstanding complaints about damp and mouldy council homes.

There's been a 400 per cent increase in damp and moisture complaints across the local authority’s housing sector, and the housing service has now committed update its action plan for dealing with such complaints.

Councillor Altany Craik (Labour), speaking at the cabinet committee meeting, said: “This is a problem we’ve faced for a long time. When I look at the updated service principles and priorities, the fact that we have to put ‘stop blaming tenants’ tells me everything I probably wanted to know.

"It’s not a lack of desire to get this right but I think it’s a lack of capacity. But we need to get this right and light a fire under ourselves on this.” 

Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay member David Barratt (SNP) spoke about two families in his ward that have suffered from mould and moisture in council housing. 

“One woman had mould developing in her son’s bedroom. She has been trying to keep the window open and heat the house more, but she’s felt it necessary to move her 11-year-old son into her bedroom along with his step dad and young step sister," he said. "She was told that the council’s specialist contractor has a significant backlog and that the council needs to undertake its own inspection before she can be referred to the specialist.”

In another instance, he said a woman in council housing waited weeks through the contractor backlog while she suffered repeated throat infections and her six-month-old baby was hospitalised with bronchitis which was suspected to be linked to mould. 

“In both cases, residents were expected to live in the accommodation while specialists worked through the backlog forcing them to potentially live in those conditions for weeks or months at a time,” he said. 

READ MORE: Fife Council pilot scheme to instal damp and mould sensors in homes

A Housing Services spokesperson told members that the typical wait time for an initial council inspection is between two and three days on average. 

“I’d be extremely disappointed if we’ve got cases not receiving that level of response,” she replied. 

The authority is also boosting its house service teams to reduce its reliance on specialist contractors that are currently experiencing weeks of backlog. 

A housing services spokesman said: “The process until recently was to approach complaints as part of a day to day core part of general business. We’ve recognised the need to lift it out of that general approach and have a more focused approach. The support we’re offering is much more holistic now.” 

The service is also implementing a six week review visit as part of its updated programme. 

As regards the goal to stop blaming tenants, officers said it specifically means to stop implying that lifestyle choices – such as opening or closing windows or the use of heating – is the only issue at the heart of condensation complaints. 

“We’ve always taken the problem of dampness and condensation seriously and we have always responded to complaints,” the spokesperson clarified. 

Damp and mouldy housing concerns are not a new problem. The department began a formal review of its current approach to tackling complaints following the coroner’s report in England into the death of Awaab Ishak which ruled that the two-year-old in Rochdale died in 2020 of a respiratory condition caused by exposure to mould.

The tragedy sparked a nationwide review of the way moisture in housing is tackled – including Fife’s housing services.