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This place is minging... so I’ll take my fight to court
 
Yvonne Harvey says that damp on the ceiling in her kitchen, inset, at 68 Crossmyloof Gardens in Shawlands affects her son Jack's asthma Pictures: Jamie Simpson
Yvonne Harvey says that damp on the ceiling in her kitchen, inset, at 68 Crossmyloof Gardens in Shawlands affects her son Jack's asthma Pictures: Jamie Simpson
 
Wires from the water tank at the house are exposed and pipes lead from a large hole
Wires from the water tank at the house are exposed and pipes lead from a large hole
 
 
Frank McAveety
Frank McAveety
 

by John McCann

A MOTHER of two has told landlord Mohammed Aslam I'll see you in court' - after he refused to repair dangerous wiring and plumbing at her damp house.

Yvonne Harvey, 42, said she contacted Mr Aslam in September, asking him to repair a dilapidated immersion heater that is the only source of hot water in her home.

She has started to withhold her half of the £650 a month rent she pays Mr Aslam in protest at the state of the detached house in Shawlands.

And when he tried to evict her and eight-year-old son Jack with just five days' notice, she decided to take him on.

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Ms Harvey, who has the other half of her rent paid through benefits said: "The place was minging when we moved in four years ago and I had to decorate and put a new floor in the kitchen.

"But there's bad damp because of leaks, the central heating doesn't work and there's bare wires in the water heater.

"It's up to him to fix them and he won't do it."

Yvonne spoke out after the Evening Times revealed disgusting conditions in another of Mr Aslam's flats which was forcibly shut by Glasgow City Council.

The landlord has been criticised for renting out slum properties to families, including a number of flats let to Roma families in Govanhill.

HMO legislation currently does not protect tenants when everyone in the property comes from the same family - and calls are now growing to close the loophole.

Yvonne showed the Evening Times the hot water tank and exposed wires that connect it to the electricity main.

She said when water heated, it sprayed out near the wires and flooded the cupboard below so the ceiling collapsed.

The tank's insulation blanket is charred near the wires, as would happen if there were a dangerous short-circuit.

The bar worker and care assistant said she and Jack, who is nine this weekend, drank bottled water because the only working cold tap was in the bathroom.

Later this month Yvonne will face Mr Aslam in a civil hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court in a row about rent arrears and the repairs.

Mr Aslam said he would repair the property.

But he blamed his tenants, saying: "You should have seen the house when I let it out. There wasn't any water leaking then."

He insisted he would get the family evicted when they met in court.

Mr Aslam insisted wires to the water heater had been covered when he last saw them.

He blamed the family for the fault and said: "The cover has been removed and I am trying to find out why."


MSP to act over slum housing

GLASGOW MSP Frank McAveety is raising the issue of slum housing and the lack of regulation with Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell.

Mr McAveety took action after we revealed the conditions endured by Roma families in Govanhill, in his Shettleston constituency, earlier this week.

The MSP said: "Whenever a new community comes to Glasgow, we see an increase in demand for housing, and clearly people are being exploited for an individual's benefit.

"That is to the detriment of the whole community."

Mr McAveety said he would be writing to the minister "to raise this issue with him as a matter of urgency".

Publication date 16/04/08

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