Furious Dundee flat owners affected by Raac have been told to fork over thousands for new hallway lights by the local authority.
Residents in Menzieshill have been hit with bills upwards of £1.5k each for rewiring works on communal hallways.
The invoices are part of a £1m investment the council announced to upgrade lighting in 93 blocks of flats.
Some of the homeowners have also been billed for Raac repairs they were not consulted on.
Announcing the work, depute lord Provost Kevin Cordell said it “enhances their [residents] quality of life”.
One angry homeowner said: “Look at this sh***, why would it improve quality of life?”
‘Excessive for nine lights’
The Courier has seen letters stating the costs from two different blocks on Dickson Avenue.
The prices in those range from £11,345 per building to £12,752.
A second homeowner, given an individual bill of £1,725 for their share of the work, called the costs “excessive”.
They claimed only nine lights would be replaced in their close despite the eye-watering sum.
“They are going to replace seven interior lights and two exterior lights, the total cost will be £11,340.80, which works out at £1,260 per light,” the homeowner told The Courier.
“My share of the bill is £1,725.43.
“We think it is a bit excessive and when speaking to the project officer he said they would not deviate from the price and would not give me a proper breakdown of the costs.”
Raac homeowners hit with double whammy
Some of the Menzieshill residents affected were also hit with a £7k council bill for unwanted Raac work earlier this week.
The Courier revealed on Tuesday that homeowners in mixed tenancy buildings – both private and council – were being told to pay for a pilot scheme that began on their properties without consultation.
Homeowners and campaigners are against the scheme as it does not remove the defective concrete, instead covering it over.
They say that because the Raac won’t be removed they will still be unable get mortgages for their homes.
As part of The Courier’s Trapped by Raac campaign we have been calling on all levels of government to unite and find a solution for homeowners and tenants.
Since Tuesday, The Courier has seen further letters from worried homeowners who are being billed nearly £7k for the work.
Campaigner Arlene Jeffreys got her bill on Wednesday for pilot scheme works at Cart Place.
She is now awaiting a second bill for lights.
A spokesperson for Dundee City Council said: “Each of the blocks in which work is being carried out has at least one council tenant and where communal works are undertaken to mixed tenure blocks the council re-charges a proportionate share of the costs of these works to private owners.
“This type of work benefits hundreds of residents who have external and, in some cases, communal lighting that now complies with the relevant British Standards and enhances their quality of life.”
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