A Sherwood Park family says their new home is uninhabitable.
Elden and Karen McNaughton say they were forced to leave the house after living there for just a week because pollutants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Elden has asthma as does Erin, the couple’s four-year-old daughter.
The family took possession of the house on October 5.
Three days after moving into the house, the couple says Erin was having trouble breathing.
“I was having severe difficulty breathing in and out. And on Thanksgiving, we did a standard test to determine the air quality. It showed levels too high for us to live here. So we went to a hotel on Thanksgiving night “Elden told CTV News Edmonton.
“Our daughter was born premature, so her lungs are sensitive. We were recently diagnosed with asthma and we had it under control. So watching her cough and struggle to breathe is really difficult,” Karen said.
The McNaughtons say they notified the developer, Streetside Developments, owned by Qualico.
Elden and Karen McNaughton say they had to leave their new home in Sherwood Park after less than a week due to concerns about indoor air quality. (Nav Sangha/CTV News Edmonton)
Tests conducted by the company showed there were no problems, so the couple hired a private company to perform further testing.
The report concluded that there were high levels of volatile organic compounds, which can be released from various construction materials.
“These are neurotoxicants that affect the nervous system and often also cause or exacerbate asthma,” Dr. Tim Takaro of the Faculty of Health at Simon Fraser University told CTV News Edmonton.
The report also found high levels of formaldehyde and silica, which exceeded Alberta’s occupational health and safety code for workplaces.
He also noted that “there is no standard developed for residential properties.”
“In terms of a normal level for a home, a home should not have formaldehyde in the air,” Takaro said.
The family shared the report with Streetside Developments, but the developer stood by its evidence.
Elden and Karen McNaughton wear respirators in the basement of their Sherwood Park home. (Nav Sangha/CTV News Edmonton)
“They said this would just be a battle of experts,” Karen said, adding that the family tried contacting the Alberta New Home Warranty Program, but had no luck.
“They don’t deal with anything related to air quality unless it’s mold, but they offer mediation between the homebuilder and ask the residents, but Streetside rejected our offer of mediation,” he said.
The developer offered to buy back the house, but the McNaughtons say the company is refusing to pay the cost of the hotels and Airbnb units where the family has stayed for the past seven months, more than $20,000.
“They told us they would compensate us for everything once they finished testing and knew what to fix.”
“We’ve spent about 20 thousand dollars on hotel and Airbnb fees. We spent six to seven thousand dollars on our own private air testing. And we’re still paying the mortgage here, taxes and utilities,” Karen said.
“We’re not trying to cheat the builder, we’re not trying to get rich off the builder. We just want to live in the house we bought,” Elden said.
“We were trying to be reasonable and negotiate with them, but they just shut everything down.”
In a written statement to CTV News Edmonton, the vice president of Streetside Developments’ northern Alberta division said the following:
“We are in contact with the McNaughtons and their new home warranty provider to address their concerns. We remain committed to working toward a resolution.”
The McNaughtons aren’t sure what their next move will be.
“Airbnb makes money in the summer, which means prices go up. So if this doesn’t resolve itself… we don’t know where we’re going to live. We’d have to look for a different rental situation.” “Elden said.
“We just want to live in our house and for her to be okay, but we can’t do that right now,” Karen said.