Single mum left out on street by landlord
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A SINGLE mum has slammed a "heartless" landlord for changing the locks on her flat, leaving her and her toddler daughter homeless.
Kirsty Maclennan returned from a day trip to her mother in Fort Augustus last Monday (October 8) to find a note on the door of her flat in Ness Side, Inverness saying Albyn Housing Society had forced entry while she was out in order to carry out a routine gas inspection.
The locks had been changed and the note gave her a number to contact to get hold of the new keys.
With 21-month-old daughter Amelia in her arms she said: "I panicked.
"Amelia’s nappies and milk were inside and I have a bowel problem and wear a stoma bag so I needed in for my medication. I was totally stuck."
The 28-year-old said she phoned the housing society straight away, asking for the keys, but claims staff told her the company had been trying to reach her for three months to get entry for the heating check.
She said they suggested she "book into a B&B" because it was not possible for her to get the keys that night.
"I didn’t know what to do," she said. "They were heartless."
Without enough money of her own Miss Maclennan said a social worker eventually took her to the Fairways Travelodge where a single room was booked for her and her daughter.
"I didn’t sleep a wink and I couldn’t get Amelia settled until midnight," she said.
"I was worrying wondering what I was going to do. The out-of-hours guy seemed to be saying I wasn’t going to get my keys back until I paid a £150 charge to cover the cost of a locksmith."
Miss Maclennan said the keys were eventually handed over when she visited the society’s offices the next day, with no-one able to explain why they were withheld overnight.
She has asked to see a record of all contact attempts made by the company and is lodging a formal complaint.
She claims the only contact she had with the landlord was on September 13 asking her to be available on the 24th, a date she turned down due to a hospital appointment.
Homeless charity Shelter Scotland said: "This will be an alarming story for many people who feel housing association homes should offer real security to tenants.
"Instant homelessness without an investigation as a punishment for failing to meet an appointment seems like a disproportionate penalty, even if a tenant is at fault.
This was echoed by Inverness Ness-side councillor Alasdair Christie.
He said: "This is a difficult and horrendous situation that a vulnerable mother has found herself in where the child needed to get into the house for changing and feeding and the stress that must have caused to mother and child must have been awful.
"A complete investigation by Albyn and their sub-contractor is what has to happen to make sure this does not happen again."
After the Inverness Courier got involved Calum Macaulay, chief executive of Albyn Housing Society, said: "As a registered social landlord it is our legal responsibility to service gas boilers annually to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our tenants.
"However, we are investigating the circumstances around this case as it is clear there have been shortcomings in the service delivered.
"We are deeply sorry to have caused distress and we are in touch with our tenant to investigate fully. The £150 charge has also been cancelled."
