HOUSING tenants and flat owners have reported stairwells that “smell like a public toilet” and drug paraphernalia left discarded for a week in a common close due to lockdown cuts to cleaning services.

Glasgow Living Rent campaigners have been urging tenants to name and shame social housing landlords and factors for serious lapses in cleaning, as part of a national campaign taglined “hygiene kills the virus”.

The Scottish Federation for Housing Associations said social landlords operating a reduced service are following government guidance and added: “We know that many are still carrying out services.”

However, James Roberts, of Wyndford Tenants Union, who is leading the Glasgow Living Rent campaign, argues that cleaning is an essential service and said landlords have a legal obligation to keep tenants safe.

He said that he was contacted by tenants who live in Birness Drive in Pollockshaw, which is managed by GHA, who said: “There are spillages in the lifts and on the landings that haven’t been dealt with for weeks, and the stairs smell like a urinal.”

In response, GHA said it operates a “rigorous cleaning regime” in multi-storey blocks including Birness Drive.

Mr Roberts said “good progress had been made” but tenants were still reporting problems.

He said: “One of the housing associations where we initially had reported that not much was going on was Elder Park and we are now hearing that some effort has been made in the past week.

“What we are finding is that some of the bigger housing associations aren’t really pulling their weight. Some tenants have been keen to stress that the rent has still been put up and they are rightly angry that the cleaning is not being done.

“We’ve been told that it’s staffing levels, and another excuse that’s being bandied around is that social housing landlords are following government advice.

“But that simply isn’t the case. Cleaning is an essential service and social landlords have a legal duty of care to their tenants.”

READ MORE: Housing tenants urged to name and shame negligent landlords 

The campaigners have pressured Housing Minister Kevin Stewart to put legislation in place to ensure cleaning is maintained.

While the Living Rent campaign is largely focussing on housing association tenants, some factored owners have claimed they are still being charged for cleaning services that are not being carried out or operating at a reduced service.

One owner, who lives at 91 North Woodside Road, said owners had repeatedly contacted Queens Cross Housing Association (QCHA) about the issue. He sent the Glasgow Times pictures of the close stairwell, apparently thick with dirt.

He said: “It’s supposed to be done weekly by QCHA who are contracted to do the works – but still send bills.”

Another owner who lives in a street in North Kelvinside said there was an incident where “non-residents” accessed the building and left drug paraphernalia in the close. She said owners reported it to the police but a week later, the area had not been cleaned despite them contacting the factor, several times.

However, one West End property owner claimed factors are not to blame, saying it is up to the cleaning firms contracted out whether the service is carried out during the current lockdown.

He said: “If the owners are not happy with the cleaning then they contact the factor.

“The factor can then only instruct another cleaning company if the residents are unhappy with the current company.”

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Other owners have said they are happy to step in and clean stairwells to protect staff.

Partick Housing Association said it is following government advice and is currently in discussion with contractors about resuming close cleaning services.

READ MORE: Living Rent campaigners call for 'rent holiday' for tenants affected by coronavirus

A GHA spokesman said: “We have a rigorous cleaning regime in our multi-storey blocks which, since the crisis began, has included extra deep cleaning and disinfecting. Foyers and lifts at Birness Drive are cleaned twice a day and landings and stairs cleaned every week.

“Lifts, door handles and switches are sanitised every two hours. Our concierges patrol the blocks twice a day and will clean up any spillages straight away. If any customer has any issues they should get in touch with us, and our teams will get to things as quickly as they can.”

A spokesman for QCHA said: “Right now all our close cleaning services focus on touch points such as door panels, and handles, hand rails and lifts.

“We also continue to clean stairs and common areas and this work is carried out either by our cleaning contractors or estate caretakers."