AIBU? Council repairs leaving my 86-year-old mum with nowhere suitable to live

I think the problem is that there's a house in central London that will revert back to the council and OP would like to live there.

The actual problem is that a frail elderly woman has been living in those conditions for a long time and the carer (the OP) should've never let it get to this.

Mostly agree with last 2 PP, except on the other thread OP confirmed it's not an 1 bed place, there are other parts of the house but they are uninhabitable.

I think it went like this:
OPs mum has had this council house for many years.
She's also been mentally unwell for many years.
Due to that, she's not been doing any upkeep or cleaning,not keeping the house in reasonable state, maybe hoarding.
Also due to that, she's not reported repairs as they've needed doing, or not allowed workmen in to do them. Likewise she's not allowed/not had the ongoing upkeep works the council would do, like a new kitchen/bathroom every 30 years, updating wiring etc.
Because the work's been left for such a long time, it's now uninhabitable.
The council have said it's unfit and OPs mum has been assessed as unable to cope living independently. So they've offered the mum supported living but have no duty to house OP.
OP says the offered temporary accommodation is unsuitable but won't say what makes it unsuitable so it's pretty obvious the unsuitable part is that OP can't live there.
OPs now in the position of being homeless and if she's been relying on benefits as a full-time carer she's got no money to house herself.

Council repair departments are absolutely shit - I once had water running down my kitchen wall from a leaking pipe near the ceiling (when a single parent with 2 special needs DC under 7) and was put as an 'urgent' job - meaning they'd get to it within a week. When I got my council house it had a leaking toilet, 2 separate gas leaks, the boiler was condemned and there was a hole in the kitchen ceiling. But councils do rolling upkeep of their properties, they put in new wiring and kitchens etc on a planned maintenance programme because it's their assets they're maintaining, so this house being in this state when OPs mum has lived there for decades means OPs mum has either refused that ongoing upkeep, or the house or the people in it were too unsafe for workmen to be there.

TLDR: Council repairs are shocking but this house hasn't got in this state just from that.

OP you need to say what the problem is with the temporary accommodation your mum's been offered, or no one can advise you because you're not saying what the actual problem is.

No I'm not. As I explained in my post you quoted. The tenant is responsible for paying for a repair if it's them who's caused the damage. They're not responsible for actually doing the repair.

The only exception really is the many LL who won't even let you voluntarily upgrade something, eg fit new taps of a type of your choosing, and if they do agree then they'll make you responsible for those taps you installed and anything that goes wrong with them or resulting from them forever more. Generally not a pressure that's in the tenant's best interests to put on themselves.

My post you quoted was in response to someone suggesting that basic DIY repairs was tenants responsibility to sort out. I was pointing out that it really isn't, not even in circumstances where the tenant has caused the damage (I used the example of householder's kids putting a ball through the window). The LL doesn't want you getting your mate bodgy Bob round to "fix" it badly. They want to use their own people.

I was going to say the same
This lady needs to be somewhere that better suits her needs, possibly sheltered accommodation or even Residential care but I suspect that leaves OP with nowhere to live.
I am sure there has been a lack of repairs by The Council but that level of damage over a long period suggests serious neglect by whoever was living there. It may be that the residents were unable to look after the property which has contributed to the work that needs to be done but the sheer scale of it means that it is unlikely The Tenant will ever live there again
You need to ask SS to help house your Mum OP and find yourself somewhere else to live

I could be wrong but guessing that OP has moved into her mum’s council property and only her mum is on the tenancy? So the other property is unsuitable because it’s a type of residential home or there would be no room for OP? If that’s the case, it’s not a nice situation to be in but again, this is all my assumption. If that’s the case, the council is only responsible for housing mum and if mum is bedbound, it’s likely a care facility is going to be the only thing that can meet her needs (outside of being cared for by relatives). Obviously if OP is a full time carer, that will be her main source of income too.

I could be totally wrong (this is not a pile on!!) but if it’s the case, I think having a honest chat with Shelter will help and see what all your options are. Whatever the circumstances, I hope you get sorted.

Edited as posted twice.

Having read all the OPs posts on this and her other thread, I believe that both the OP and her DM are at crisis point in their lives. The property they live in seems to be 1 bedroom only with DM living downstairs. It is in total disarray - years of neglect likely due to lack of upkeep by the tenants. I would guess that the OPs DM is the actual tenant and the OP moved in some time ago. As she isn’t a tenant, she has no right to remain there should her DM be moved elsewhere. Her DM has been in hospital for 3+ weeks and will not be discharged back to the home, but will likely be moved to a care home or other temporary facility. The property will then fall back under the control of the Council and need fully refurbishing. The OP may well become homeless.
OP, you need to address your own housing needs as soon as possible - the council are under no obligation to house you - I suggest you speak to Shelter.

You really do need to answer why the accommodation offered is unsuitable.

if your mother leaves her council house for private rented she may be deemed to have given up her tenancy.

You should seek advice from shelter as well.

I just think the house is a red herring. She’s 86, bedbound, frequently hospitalised and living in squalor. She needs to go into a care home surely and be looked after properly. On the pictures posted on the previous thread there was horrible disrepair certainly but also it looked insanitary. Some of it was a cleanliness issue which is the tenants responsibility.

Sorry @PinkCampervan YOU’RE wrong here according to Shelter. Tenants are responsible for damage caused by their or their visitors’ own neglect. Landlords may be responsible for fixing the damage, but tenants can be billed for it.

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/landlord_and_tenant_responsibilities_for_repairs

But how has the house become uninhabitable? Whose responsibility is it to maintain council houses?

Councils get prosecuted too! Well, they certainly used to. I used to work for a solicitor who took a lot of disrepair cases against a London council.

If she is in hospital now then the hospital discharge planning team will help her to achieve a safe discharge. They can’t help with renting a private flat I’m afraid but at 86 with mobility problems they would likely arrange a temporary care home placement. This is by far the easiest thing to do and happens quite a lot when old frail people don’t have a suitable place for discharge. Have you spoken to the hospital discharge planning?

How on earth did the council pass the property for gas safety with a broken gas pipe ffs?

Start the complaints procedure and take it all the way to the Ombudsman. This sounds absolutely disgraceful.

@WhiteWinePls as above, why is temp unsuitable? Is it because it's over 65 sheltered housing so only 1 bed and no space for guests?
Has she really been reporting repairs for 20 years and they've done nothing?

Why is the accommodation they’ve offered her unsuitable

I agree. Moving back into the private rented sector from LA housing means you go to the bottom of the list for rehousing into social housing. And because there's such a lot of pressure on social housing, councils can't afford to have a pool of empty properties to decant people into while they do major repairs. Lots of councils have to lease private sector properties to house homeless families who would otherwise be in B&Bs.

It's an utter disgrace that the council allowed the property to get into such a state that repairs can't be done while tenants are in situ imo.

A lot of people on this thread should consider themselves lucky that they’ve never needed a council/housing association house. I know loads of people in similar situations and most councils are extremely slow and disinterested in any repair work, a private landlord would be prosecuted if they did the same.

Why aren’t you answering anyone that are all asking the same question? Why was the temporary accommodation unsuitable?

You haven't though! You said you would quote in future, but at least twice more you have just quoted the persons name yet again and not the info/question they asked!

Bottom left of each post has a 'quote' button. Press that before replying to people please- then we all have half a clue as to what question you are answering.

The hospital will not keep someone in for months whilst they are getting house repairs. They will discharge to temp accommodation or even to street homelessness if treatment is completed and suitable housing options are refused. I have known people in their 80s get discharged to hotels and B&Bs.

Why is the other accommodation unsuitable? Genuinely, answering this may get you more targeted help, dodging it repeatedly makes you look dubious.

I've been wondering this too.

OP be aware that this may complicate matters. If you leave without being evicted by bailiffs you could be deemed voluntarily homeless. If you keep paying rent and don't leave they may never do the repairs. You might be better off securing that private rental you found, if you can. Depends on your attitude to risk and how much you want a council flat (and how much you're likely to get one). Losing that private rental then finding out several weeks or months later that you're ineligible for temporary housing might be a disaster, especially if you don't have a job or even a car.

Not due to her housing issue but due to her being suicidal.

She's already lost her health.
She's losing her home too.
And almost all her possessions, except those she can fit in a small room.
She's lost her daughter's constant company, possibly for the first time ever, if OP never moved out.
She'll know she's facing a care home, which may give her concerns or fears.
And with a care home comes the loss of any residual hope (however futile in reality) that she'll ever return to anything resembling normal life.

I think that's enough to make anyone suicidal, don't you?