A FURIOUS mum claims living in her new-build home is like ‘calling house on a game of disaster bingo’ after years of ongoing problems with the property.
Tracy McFadzean, 41, has lived in the adapted property in the Muirend estate near Stepps, Glasgow, with her husband Robert, 35, and daughter Elise, 8, for five years.
Tracy McFadzen has been having issues with her new-build home for years
The bedroom had black mould
The kitchen cabinets fell off the wall – twice
The front door is too small for a full-sized adult wheelchair
There is a new rat hole under the gas meter
The house is only five years old but has been plagued with problems
The family was allocated the newly-built property by North Lanarkshire Council in 2018 after Robert found himself needing to use a wheelchair full-time for a long-standing illness.
But Tracy says the house has been riddled with problems since the trio moved in as the first council tenants to occupy the building.
The family say they “feel trapped” in their home after dealing with disability unfriendly doors, cabinets falling off the walls, black mould and dampness, a refusal of a disabled parking space and even RATS.
And now Tracy – who is a full time carer for ex-mechanic Robert – says she’s at her wit’s end after rodents appeared again.
She told the Scottish Sun: “This place was supposed to be a fresh start and all it’s been is a complete nightmare with one problem after another.
“And every time I reach out to the council, their response is always completely underwhelming.”
Tracy described the issues with the property as a ‘bingo card’ of issues as she tries to resolve them individually.
She continued: “Within the first two weeks of moving in, the kitchen cabinets fell off the wall – and again two years later, damaging in the kitchen floor and surfaces during lockdown when we couldn’t get them fixed.
“The front door is too heavy and too small to use with a full-sized wheelchair.
“And we’ve has spent over a year to try to get a suitably accessible door for the home.
“I feel forced to refuse the options given by the local authority as they don’t fit Robert’s chair and the frame needs to be wider.
“We’ve also had black mould and dampness plague the second bedroom – it bled through the internal walls to the brickwork outside, I’m worried my little girl would get ill from it.”
Tracy says she has also been refused a disabled parking bay for Robert due to the roads not being formally adopted by the council.
She added: “We’ve been we can’t get a parking space so it makes it difficult to leave the house with Robert’s wheelchair.”
But Tracy says she’s at the end of her tether after RATS ate away at her car interior as well as buried under the property perimeter.
And despite the council pouring concrete into the holes left by the rodents, the pests have returned again.
She explained: “We’ve had rats in the back garden, it’s disgusting, it is because where the house is built.
“I’ve just found a new rat hole at the side of the property this morning, so this is most definitely an ongoing issue!”
North Lanarkshire Council responded to the McFadzean’s issues after the Scottish Sun got in touch.
A council spokesperson said: “A wider door was commissioned for her home, kitchen repairs were completed in 2020 and proofing works were carried out to the home in 2021 following a visit by our pest control team.
“On 6th of June 2023, the tenant called our customer service hub to request a further visit from pest control. We will process this.
“We inspected our tenant’s home in January this year following concerns of dampness and arranged for a specialist inspection to be carried out.
“There was an issue with condensation and we applied mould inhibitor paint to the walls within her bedroom and issued advice re ventilation.
“We again visited the tenant on June 7 and she confirmed to us that all damp issues were resolved and she was happy with the works we carried out.
“We continue to support our tenant and have passed on a contact name and number for her to discuss all aspects of her accommodation including making a request for an allocated parking bay.”
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