AN IRVINE couple say they feel embarrassed, anxious, depressed and hopeless as they battle their housing nightmare.

The pair, who wish to remain anonymous, look likely to be spending their second consecutive Christmas sleeping on the floor - with their own room uninhabitable.

To add to their woes, there are five kids who stay at home, and the couple have serious fears about their health should these issues persist.

The told their story just weeks after a coroner slammed a housing authority over the death of two year old Awaab Ishak as a direct result of black mould in the flat he lived in.

The Irvine couple said their problems arose around a year ago, with the main issue being black mould.

The property is owned by Irvine Housing, which is part of The Riverside Housing Group, and the property’s tenant has been far from impressed by their handling of their issues.

They said: “Me and my partner have been sleeping on our living room floor as our bedroom had a leak and was letting water in and created black mould it was unlivable.

“The floor has started falling through, it doesn’t feel safe to walk on, the room doesn’t keep any heat so it is always freezing even when I have my heating on.

“My kids can’t even have friends over or sleepovers because they are embarrassed as we have a mattress on the living room floor. The way I have been treated is a disgrace and inhumane. I wouldn’t wish this treatment on my worst enemy.”

The problem was first reported in February of this year, after one of the couple went to decorate the room. As they peeled back the wallpaper, they realised the extent of the issue they had.

Inspectors came to the house, and the couple believed the issue was on its way to being sorted. Though months later no progress had been made.

The pair thought these delays were due to Covid, but they soon found out the repairs they needed had not been reported to Irvine Housing to be corrected.

The tenant added: “Another inspector was sent out the end of August 2022, I think he was a superior inspector, and he told me all the jobs needing done and actually told me it was a cracked tile in the roof that was letting the water in so they would need to repair that first to make sure there is no other leaks.

“He said would need to wait a week or two to make sure there is no other leaks. It was September they came and fixed the tile I was left for six weeks without hearing anything or given any appointments to get the inside of the room fixed.

“I was constantly told I would get calls backs to get appointments but I never did. It was like a joke to them I explained we were sleeping on the living room multiple times and how this was affecting my family’s mental health. I suffer from anxiety and depression so this made my life a living hell.”

The tenant also claims they have been incorrectly charged rent arrears for months, leaving them out of pocket.

Riverside Scotland’s managing director Diana MacLean, said: “We are hugely sorry for the delay in fixing this issue and for not meeting our values as a landlord. Although the repair works to the bedroom and roof are now underway, the length of time the customer has had to wait is unacceptable and falls well below our usual standards.

“The issue with the damp in the bedroom was first reported to us in February of this year. We carried out an inspection of the property but unfortunately the works were not completed, in part due to a change in our third party contractors at that time.

“A further complaint was made by the customer in August about damp and mould in the bedroom and we conducted another inspection which identified a number of repair issues including a broken roof tile letting water into the property. The repair works to the bedroom and roof are now largely completed and we will redecorate the bedroom this week.

“The service we have provided in this instance simply isn’t good enough and we are currently in the process of completely restructuring how we deliver customer services. I have contacted the tenant to apologise for this failure. A member of our housing services team will be in touch to resolve their rent account enquiry and a senior member of our team will be going to the house to apologise in person.”