Over the past few months, I have had a number of concerns expressed to me by constituents about situations where the communal lights on the stairwells of tenements fail. This plunges the stairwell into darkness with obvious health and safety implications.
Just before Christmas, most of the lights on one side of Bellefield Avenue failed together as the wiring is communal and it was very concerning that a number of blocks of flats had no stair lights until that particular fault was detected and sorted.
There have been other examples of the stair lights failing in blocks in the West End and its bound to happen from time to time in tenement blocks where the wiring is old. Given that owners are communally responsible for repairs, getting repairs done can be complicated where a number of flat owners are involved, particularly where there are non-resident landlords.
I have sought advice from the Private Sector Services Unit at the City Council about grant aid for owners faced with a share of a bill for getting communal lighting systems upgraded. They advise :
“Grant assistance is available towards common repairs where the cost per flat exceeds £500. In calculating any approved cost of works we will also take into account savings above £6000.
The owners may wish to engage an electrician to test and report on the installations and obtain estimates. The overall cost to each owner will, as indicated above determine whether individually they will be eligible for grant.
Once they have the report and estimate, if they are needing help to coordinate the work and get everyone to buy-in, the Unit's Advice & Liaison Team can offer assistance in contacting owners and arranging meetings if required.”
The team can be contacted on Dundee 435400.