A BORDERS housing association property has now been deep cleaned following concerns raised by a resident last month.

As previously reported by the Border Telegraph, concerns over the cleanliness of a property operated by Scottish Borders Housing Association (SBHA) were raised last month by a resident who shared photographs of public walkways in the building full of rubbish, as well as health concerns over damp found in their flat.

The resident of Bannerfield, in Selkirk – who we agreed to keep anonymous – has since contacted this newspaper, highlighting that despite promises made by SBHA, they believed no deep clean had taken place.

Although rubbish was initially cleared from the stairwells and public walkways in the building last month, further rubbish had appeared outside the building.

The resident told us: "They are saying that the building has been deep cleaned. Not at all.

"If the building had been deep cleaned it would be immaculate.

"All they have done is brush up [mess]."

According to the resident, a representative from SBHA told them on Monday, November 13 that a deep clean had taken place on Thursday, November 9.

However, the resident told this newspaper that the rubbish outside the building – including a rabbit hutch, straw, and cabinets – had been outside the property before Thursday and still hadn't been removed during the reported deep clean.

"If they had cleaned on Thursday, why has the rubbish not been removed?", the resident questioned. "Why not take it all at once?"

They added that the representative from SBHA told her that it is not SBHA's responsibility to deep clean the communal stairwells in properties it manages.

"I have a chronic spine injury, how can I clean a building?

"They are just using excuses, far too many excuses."

A spokesperson from SBHA said: "We take all reports of damp and mould seriously and, since receiving this report on October 13, we have worked with the Tenant to access the home to carry out an inspection.

"At this inspection no damp and mould was detected, however, listening to the Tenants concerns, we provided them with relevant advice on air circulation and ventilation in the home and have agreed to carry out some preventative work to reduce risk of damp and mould occurring in the future.

"We will continue to work directly with the Tenant to provide assurance and support as required.

"While the cleaning of communal stairwells is the shared responsibility of residents living in the block, we carried out a thorough clean to the stairwell last week and are working with the residents to ensure that they uphold their responsibility to keep the area clean and clear at all times to provide a clean environment for all."

The resident added that although they do not feel a thorough deep clean has taken place, there has not been a recurrence of rubbish left inside the building since this was cleared away last month.