The Edinburgh postcodes with worst damp and mould in 'living hell' homes
Stark figures have shown the ‘damp and mould hotspots’ in Edinburgh’s council houses.
Data exclusively obtained by the Freedom of Information Act have revealed the number of council houses with reported damp in each postcode.
While the numbers of homes with reported damp have dropped since 2022, the top four worst areas are EH4, which covers areas including Blackhall, Davidson’s Mains, Clermiston, EH14 (Balerno, Currie, Baberton), EH11 (Dalry, Saughton, Stenhouse, Gorgie), and EH16 (Niddrie, Prestonfield, Gracemount, and Craigmillar).
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Residents from the Craigmillar and Gracemount areas have spoken to Edinburgh Live about their experience as black mould spreads across their walls.
Samantha Gibb, 35, moved to a council house in Gracemount at the end of October 2023. She was shocked when she went upstairs to find the bathroom was ‘covered in black mould’.
She said: “The house feels cold from the damp. The frames around the doors and windows are coming away because of it, I have had to drill them on. They don’t feel wet, but just cold. I only moved in October and I wanted to get the living room all nice for Christmas, but that isn’t going to happy.”
The mum-of-two choked back tears as she said she was in a ‘living hell’. She added: “This was meant to be a good move for us, all of our family is around here. We were all really excited but it’s turned into a living hell.
black mould along the skirting boards in her daughter’s bedroom
“Me and my 11-year-old daughter have asthma and I’ve noticed her chest has gotten worse since we moved here. She tells me is feels heavy and I’ve had to keep off her school for a week because she has felt so unwell. I noticed I’m using my inhaler more too.”
After Edinburgh Live contacted the council about Samantha’s concerns, an inspector visited the property three days later and the mum-of-two is now waiting to be re-homed.
Paulina Niedzialek lives in a council flat in Craigmillar Court and says she feels ‘unsafe’ as mould and damp spread through her home. Edinburgh Live saw the damp and mould patches that she found throughout the flat – but her main concern was her daughter Ola’s bedroom.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Paulina explained how she found mould in Ola’s cupboard and at the back of the chest of drawers where her toys are.
black mould in daughter’s room
She said: “The council have put double walls in, but the condensation is still so bad. There’s mould in the corners of my walls, in my daughter’s cupboard, and it’s getting on her mattress, so I need to buy her a new one. Ola gets a runny nose a lot, and we’ve had to take Maja to the hospital three times for her chest. I’m worried it’s this flat.”
Regarding Craigmillar Court, Edinburgh Council confirmed officers are piloting a ‘whole house retrofit’ approach to council homes, meaning they are in the process of ‘upgrading lots of older homes and making them much more energy efficient.’
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In total, 1,429 council homes were reported to have damp and mould in Edinburgh, although is down from a staggering 1705, which were reported in 2022.
As of 2023, 198 council homes in the EH4 postcode area, which includes Blackhall, Davidson’s Mains, Clermiston, Cramond and Craigleith, had reported damp. This was down from 270 in 2022.
In the EH14 area, which covers Balerno, Currie, Baberton, and Hermiston, 186 council homes were reported to have mould and damp in 2023, which was down from 230 the previous year.
Some 160 council homes in the EH16 area, which includes Gracemount and Craigmillar, had reported damp in 2023 – down from 192 in 2022. Meanwhile in areas covered by EH11 – including Dalry, Saughton, Stenhouse, Gorgie and City of Edinburgh – 153 properties owned by the council had reported damp – down from 172 the previous year.
Councillor Jane Meagher, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “I know damp or mould can be distressing for residents and I sympathise with anyone who’s experiencing this – we take the health and wellbeing of tenants seriously. I would urge any tenant who is experiencing mould or damp in their homes to get in touch with us.
“I’m pleased we’ve made significant progress in implementing the actions in our Dampness and Mould Service Improvement Plan since it was approved in May. This includes establishing a dedicated team who respond to concerns from tenants about damp and mould in their homes, installing dampness sensors in 500 homes as part of a pilot to help us take action pro-actively, and improving our damp survey waiting times.
“Longer term we’ll be able to improve living standards for so many people thanks to the £173 million spending package we agreed in March to upgrade our existing homes and build new homes. The work we’re doing will make homes modern, greener, and more accessible. In many cases, we’ll drastically overhaul the fabric of buildings and improve energy performance.
“This will help with issues like damp, help to lower tenants’ fuel costs and support Edinburgh’s net zero carbon by 2030 commitment. It will take some time to roll out and it may involve a bit of short-term disruption, but the longer-term benefits for tenants will be significant.”
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