Can't move into housing association house until January

Not if it's a communal dish.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/help-guides/freeview/who-is-responsible-for-my-sharedcommunal-aerial#:~:text=If%20you%20live%20in%20a,faults%20with%20a%20communal%20aerial.

Waiting another 3 months for an affordable secure tenancy is not the end of the world. It shouldn't be this way, but she is lucky to have been offered anything so quickly, let alone a house with a garden. She's had a safe roof over her head with a generous friend, she's been able to keep her dogs - it could have been far far worse.
Everyone in/waiting for social housing is "top priority".

Sounds par for the course.
I was offered a HA property in March, and wasn't able to move in until June.

Thankfully I wasn't staying with anyone, as that sounds cramped. Wonderful friend though and I hope your cousin is suitably grateful.

Lovely 2 bedroom house with small garden. She knew she would be accepting it so both her and her friend loaded up their cars with cousins belongings, expecting to get the keys same day. This is how it normally is, you get the keys the day you view.

I've never heard of the viewing and move in on the same day. It's generally 4-8 weeks here.

I had to wait 2 months between viewing and being given keys to my previous HA property.

I don't live in a housing association property but I had a leak in my toilet cistern (a long standing leak that the previous owner had not spotted so the damage was extensive) last year in my new house and the water came pouring down the ceiling and one wall below.

It took a while to get sorted because after the initial emergency repair to stop the leak:

• the insurance company sent someone to inspect the damage
• the plumber had to come back to fix the leak more permanently
• the insurance then arranged for a company to install drying equipment in that had to be in place for two weeks
• I then had to send a builder quote to the insurance for approval before they could start to repair the damage to the ceiling and re-plaster part of a wall
• I had to wait for approval and then wait on the builder to start the work and the work involved two different stages, cutting off and replacing a part of the ceiling, the re-plastering on one wall.

Basically my point is that sometimes water damage takes time to sort out so the timeline is not unreasonable.

The end is in sight and it is such a positive step to have a housing association property to move into that it is best to let them fix everything so she can move into a property where everything has been checked, repaired and is working fine.

And yes, your friend should be pleased to have a safe home coming her way where she does not have to pay for repairs. That is not diminishing what she went through, it is just pointing out that there is a real shortage of social housing in this country and many people who rent privately have to chase their landlords to get any repair done (and run the risk of being evicted for doing so...) and home owners even with insurance have to pay for repairs.

As for the person who is moaning about their housing association not prioritising repairing their TV satellite dish. Give your head a wobble.

Surely being top priority means repairs should be top priority too??

Top priority has got her the lovely house. It can't magic up more workforce and resources to fix unforeseen damage. Even in a private house paying for repairs yourself, you often can't get trades to sort it without a delay. There's more people who need things doing than there are skilled people to do it, it's that simple and your friend's unfortunate circumstances don't make any difference. By definition, virtually everyone getting a new place in HA will be a priority, whether it's others like your friend or people even worse off with mobility issues etc. Getting angry and impatient won't help. Looking forward to the lovely house being fixed and a fresh start in the new year is better. It's not that long.

Come on!! A year without TV because you were too lazy to sort out a satellite dish. That is entirely on you.

Thank you for your insightful opinion @baketray 👍

This. many people end up in hostels or B& B's. Bottom line is there just isn't enough social housing. Just be patient.

That was my post as well

I can't believe someone who's getting housing is ungrateful and can't wait a few extra months for the repairs.

Yeh life has dealt her a shit card, but she's got some hope and a roof over her head and from what it sounds like bloody amazing friends. She is very lucky.

Was just thinking this as I scrolled past the comments in horror. It isn't lucky or fortunate to wait over a year for housing when you're fleeing domestic abuse. Just because this is the situation for a lot of people doesn't mean we should find it acceptable. Safe shelter is a basic human need and we should want good quality, timely housing for people that need it within our communities.

It’ll soon be January and the wait will have been worth it. HA tenancies are like gold dust. Tell to hang in there and she’ll be in secure housing for as long as she needs it. The waiting list in my Borough is ten years x

You obviously have not had any serious work done recently - that is a reasonable to urgent timescale. She has a date, any chance she can rent a small storage place and put lots of things in there to ease things at the house she staying?

The end is in sight. She needs to be as easy a house guest as she possible can be and sit it out. It won’t be done earlier.

Like all public sectors, there will be staff shortages. No point your cousin getting peed off about it. She needs to try to look forward.

It's just how it is I am afraid op. We were left with no boiler for a week over Christmas when we lived in our HA. We had no upstairs toilet for almost a month. Termites which we had to treat ourselves, damp, which never got dealt with. Windows that didn't open. The list is endless.

Then they had the cheek to try and charge me for leaving a 2 month old oven in situ when we left because we knew the woman moving in wanted it!!!

🙄

Huh?!
Yes lucky in that she has a friend who can put her and her family up, but in all other respects, to quote Mumsnet vernacular - are you on glue?!

She should find her own house if she isn't pleased with the housing association. Talk about ungrateful.

That's just how it is, inconvenient but she still has a house she likes to look forward to. Another few weeks, though difficult, will be forgotten eventually. She is lucky to be offered this house, whilst obviously a priority it could have been house she hated. Plus the stress of wondering where she will end up has been taken away. It's just a case of waiting it out.

Hahaha.

I've lived in a housing association property for 15 years. You're very naive about repairs. 3 months is actually a decent time frame. I've been waiting years for some repairs in my place. We spent a year with no TV as the satellite dish was damaged during a storm.

Some people have literally died from mould issues in their properties.

Oh don’t be daft op

Could she look at a private tenancy instead?
I suppose they will see it that she is in a safe property at present when other people will be living in property that needs fixed first?

Surely you can see that the poster was saying lucky to get a house / home?

It's obvious the HA is not responsible for any of the awful challenges your cousin has faced. It's also obvious that there are more people wanting places than there are places available.

How about saving the anger for the partner who put her in this position?

Of course she's not lucky to have the terrible life circumstances that have lead to her being a priority for housing

She's lucky because she's getting this house after only a year though. terrible though her circumstances are, they are not unique and others in a similar situation have waited longer and had worse housing at the end of it.

Given that the end is in sight she may be able to move to a different friend or relative for thr last 3 months so as to not impose on one person's kindness for too long.