An Edinburgh man struggling with long Covid says he was forced out of his home after his yob neighbours caused a flood resulting in extensive damage to his flat.
Nurudin Ismail had his Tollcross flat flooded by upstairs neighbours on May 6 causing water damage across his home.
Edinburgh Live reports that the residents above "deliberately took the basin off the wall and cut the pipes", causing a huge flood which saw water streaming into his flat and even onto the street outside.
As a result, 39-year-old Nurudin was put into temporary accommodation by housing association Canmore Dunedin for three weeks while it sent a painter to make repairs.
They later deemed the flat "habitable" - despite wires hanging from the light fittings and water damage in several rooms.
However, the housing association says other repairs have since been made to make the property safe.
Nurudin has suffered from long Covid since September last year and struggles to breathe. The damp and water damage caused by the flooding only made this worse.
As a result, his GP sent him to get an x-ray to see if there is permanent damage to his lungs.
On top of the draining ordeal, he had been forced to sleep on a friend's sofa while waiting for a response from his housing officer at Canmore Dunedin.
When inspecting the property, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service identified a number of hazards in house, warning the heavy saturation of water in the ceilings "could pose a risk of falling at any time."
Nurudin said: "I have been a tenant with Canmore for the last 11 years. I had to move out of my previous flat due to anti-social behaviour and I've just moved in another one with anti-social behaviour issues.
"The survey guy told me we will fix everything but the housing officer refused saying we're not responsible for your flooring and the carpet, but they have offered me partial repairs.
"I have health problems and this has really affected my mental health causing major anxiety and stress.
"On Monday the housing officer called the police to my house to try and get me sectioned claiming that I was mentally unfit.
"That stressed me out even more, the police came round and I explained the situation even the police officers agreed the house was uninhabitable.
"They realised I was mentally sound and left but the whole ordeal was terrifying. I have been off sick since September last year for long Covid and a blood clot.
"I was recovering but since this incident I now feel sick, stressed and anxious."
Police Scotland confirmed they were called to the property on Monday at around 10.30am but the person spoke with the mental health team and was deemed OK.
It isn't just the huge amount of stress caused by this incident which feels never ending to Nurudin, with many of his personal belongings that are irreplaceable have been destroyed.
He explained: "The damage of the house lost a lot of my things, things I can't buy and replace that meant a lot to me.
"Lots of my sentimental belongings have been destroyed and I don't have any support from the housing officer."
The 39-year-old continued: "No repairs have been done since Covid and if they [maintenance] do come it's very poor quality services but most of the time they don't turn up.
"Many times I have been waiting for repairs to be done and no-one turned up with different excuses all the time like no access at property.
"I still don't have a shower and I'm left with a flat with a poor quality paint job and a house full of damp.
"The lack of support makes it very stressful living here."
Dunedin Canmore says it has now completed all of the repairs necessary for the flat to be "completely safe".
A spokesperson said: "We've been doing everything we can to help our tenant whose home was flooded as a result of anti-social behaviour from the neighbour above.
“This includes repainting the flat and providing a new carpet. We also offered the tenant a temporary move while our team carried out a full investigation and carried out repairs.
“We are in regular contact with our tenant and will continue to support him while we carry out the finishing touches.
“The flat is completely safe to return. All of the electrical repairs are now complete.
"However, our tenant has told us he doesn’t wish to return due to the smell of fresh paint.
“If he has any concerns, we would urge him to contact us directly.”
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