[A-List] Britain's powerhouse economy, classless judiciary

[Keaney Michael]

Asthma mother pays the price of health 

BRUCE McKAIN
The Herald, 19 February 2002

      AN asthmatic mother who lives with her young son
      in a flat plagued by dampness, condensation and
      mould has lost her fight to force her council to
      remedy the situation.

      Three judges agreed that the conditions in which
      Judith Robb and her son are living are damaging to
      their health, but two ruled that Dundee City Council
      was not responsible for the situation.

      They said that, although it might seem harsh, the
      real reason for the conditions in which Ms Robb
      was living was that she could not afford to use the
      availabe heating facilities.

      The decision at the Court of Session follows
      yesterday's re-port from the Child Poverty Action
      Group which found that three quarters of a million
      households in Scotland cannot afford adequate
      heating.

      Lady Paton, who ruled in favour of Ms Robb, said
      that she was living in conditions which no-one
      should have to suffer.

      She said: "A flat intended for use as a home, with a
      persistent condensation dampness problem
      resulting in the growth of mould on walls, damage
      to decoration, mould on bedding, clothes and toys
      and one room becoming unusable, cannot but be
      classified according to our law as a nuisance."

      Ms Robb's ground-floor flat in Balunie Crescent,
      Dundee, was built in 1958. She moved in in July
      1996 and noticed mould on the walls and ceilings
      the following month. The growth continued and she
      complained to the council from January 1997
      onwards. The dampness in her son's bedroom
      became so bad that he could no longer use it.

      The flat had an electric heater in the living room,
      there were power sockets in the two bedrooms and
      the hallway where heaters could be plugged in, and
      extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom. The flat
      was also double-glazed.

      Ms Robb's father also had given her additional
      heaters, but she could not afford to use them.

      She went to Dundee Sheriff Court seeking an order
      under the Environmental Protection Act requiring
      the local council to take steps to improve her living
      conditions but her case was rejected.

      In her appeal at the Court of Session, all the judges
      accepted that the conditions amounted to a health
      hazard, but Lords Cameron and Johnston ruled
      that Ms Robb had failed to prove that Dundee
      Council was responsible for that state of affairs.

      Lord Cameron said: "At the end of the day, Ms
      Robb's problems are caused by the fact that the
      flat is inadequately heated, primarily because she
      is unable to pay more money to provide the
      necessary further heating."

      Lord Johnston agreed, saying: "Although it may
      seem harsh by reason of the fact that Ms Robb's
      restricted finances are obviously not her fault . . .
      the inevitable conclusion must be that the person
      responsible for the nuisance is not the landlord but
      the tenant, that is Ms Robb. If the problem is
      financial, another course has to be pursued."

      In her dissenting judgment, Lady Paton said that,
      because of its design and construction the flat had
      a pronounced vulnerability to condensation
      dampness, a state of affairs attributable to the
      persons who brought the premises into existence -
      the council and its predecessors.

Full article at:
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/archive/19-2-19102-23-50-33.html

Michael Keaney
Mercuria Business School
Martinlaaksontie 36
01620 Vantaa
Finland

michael.keaney at mbs.fi