08 March 2024 , 01:52
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Tenants Cleo Black, 28, and Kalyani Singh, 27, were terrified when their ceiling collapsed while they were in bed.
The Edinburgh couple had been dealing with a leak for months before the incident in October. They reported the leak, which was coming from the flat above, to their letting agent DJ Alexander back in July. Despite attempts by the estate agents to contact the upstairs tenants' letting agent, no repairs were made and four months later, 15-20 kilograms of debris fell into their kitchen, leaving a huge hole in the ceiling.
Alongside other members of Living Rent, the couple protested outside DJ Alexander's Wemyss Place office. After this, they spoke to CEO DJ Alexander who apologised and offered them £2,550 in compensation, which they accepted.
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15-20 kilograms of debris fell into the kitchen (Living Rent)Recalling the terrifying incident, Cleo told Edinburgh Live: "The leak started in July. The amount of water coming through changed regularly. Sometimes it would just be a drip, other times it was pouring through like a tap. We had to put buckets down. It affected our electrics and it stopped us from cooking."
London flat for rent for £1,400 a month with bed tucked away in kitchen cupboard
She added: "In October we were in bed and we heard it come down. My wife was up for work just 15 minutes later. What would have happened if she had got up earlier and was in the kitchen? She could have been hurt! It was lucky neither of us were in the kitchen.", reports Edinburgh Live.
"We were really stressed, there was fear. We weren't expecting it to happen." Cleo had to quickly clean up so their cat wouldn't get hurt, then they called DJ Alexander for help. A team came fast and put a board over the hole. Kalyani said: "This has kept us constantly stressing over the condition of our house while negatively impacting our daily lives and putting a strain on our finances.
"This was before the traumatic experience of our ceiling collapsing while we were in bed abruptly waking us in the early morning hours and terrifying our cat. DJ Alexander could have easily avoided this if they had responded in a timely manner."
Cleo Black, 28, and wife Kalyani Singh, 27, heard their ceiling cave in after months of dealing with a leak. (Living Rent)Cleo added: "Our mental health was under serious strain during this period as we were forced to deal with a near-constant and unpredictable leak. The leak was unsanitary and created unsafe living conditions for us and our cat. We felt completely ignored by the letting agency which caused more stress. We could not use our hob or oven as the leak was directly above causing issues with electricity and the possibility of a fire hazard."
Izzi Brannen, a representative for tenant rights group Living Rent, expressed dismay saying: "It is unbelievable what landlords think they can get away with. To have constant water dripping in your flat is horrible enough, but then to be ignored to the extent that your ceiling collapses is shocking behaviour."
"Time and time again landlords show their true colours by behaving as if they are above the law. No one should be forced to live in a leaky home, let alone with a collapsed ceiling. It is appalling that Cleo and Kalyani were forced to put up with this for so long."
DJ Alexander, the letting agency, explained their side of the story to Edinburgh Live, stating: "It was a complicated situation due to the leak from a property above that is managed by another agency. We have apologised to the tenants and they have received compensation which I understand they are happy with."