AIBU to refuse temporary accommodation for external work to our home?

Jesus thats horrific. Im absolutely disgusted. And they even compounded it by saying you couldnt prove that you didnt live like that

Jennifer’s point is clear

Works to her estate were done without any of them being forced to move out.

Needing access to 'facilities' is a bit vague isn't it?

@JenniferBooth tell me what you suggest then? Allow properties to fall apart and be a slum landlord, or cause tenants some disruption to maintain their home? I am not sure what your argument is here.

Im not the one saying ppl should decant so therefore why am i being asked to provide a solution. Surely thats for the ppl who think OP should decant and i dont You are just pissed because a decant cant be applied to half an estate at the same time and ive really spoiled the fun of the SH haters by pointing this out.

I had my entire house hacked off and re rendered about three years ago. It was hideous. The hacking off was extremely noisy and took longer than expected. After the hacking off the house need to “dry out” before the render was done - the house was then absolutely freezing (the work was done during the summer months), and it was colder than winter.

There were also dust, bits of render all over the place.

There was a hosepipe used daily Luckily I had an outside tap conveniently located for the work otherwise it would have needed to be through the kitchen window.

Honestly it was a nightmare and I wish I’d even thought the need to move out. As it was a private properly there wasn’t anyone else involved to suggest. The other issue was needing to move cars away from drives etc, and of course the scaffolding going up and down.

If I needed to do it again I would definitely move out for the hacking off/drying out period.

We should all be grateful for a safe roof over our heads but OP is not obliged to be extra grateful because she happens to have a secure council tenancy.

Don’t do it. I made that mistake and came home to find the place destroyed. Some sort of tar tracked through all my carpets, oily handprints everywhere, cigarette burns to my sofa and windowsills (with the butts still lying there), multiple breakages, along with missing jewellery, DVD’s and personal documents. The damages cost me thousands and the whole place had to be stripped and redecorated. They even stole all the food out of my freezer!

My neighbours had it even worse. They found beer tins everywhere, the workmen had clearly been using their bed and there was graffiti of male genitalia spray painted on their walls. It was horrific.

Insurance won’t cover the damage if you allow them in. I tried to sue but got nowhere because I couldn’t prove my house wasn’t a dump beforehand. These days I take full walk-through videos and photos before letting any social housing contractor in.

@JenniferBooth this thread isn't about you though is it? The OP here has asked a question that we're trying to help with. And this is the first time you have asked me so it isn't AGAIN.

But to answer your question, wherever I could so the works could be done to restore properties to a safe and inhabitable manner and get people back in their homes ASAP. But i don't work for the council or the LA so it's not my job to arrange.

However, you seem so invested in it, so where would you put half an estate?

Read your own post back You said yourself the asylum seekers are taking up the accomodation. I live in a small town too London it aint

yes but i ask AGAIN where do you put half an estate

Well first of all I'd stagger the work so you are dealing with a reasonable amount of tenants at a time. And I would first assess whether we could avoid the property needing to be vacant, but if it was unavoidable, I'd have to find them alternative accommodation for the duration of the works. If I would have to arrange works at such a time that accommodation was available. We seem to find accommodation for small boat arrivals so I am sure we can manage it for social housing tenants.

But at the end of the day, if the works are essential then the work would have to be done at some point. The alternative is leaky damp and structurally unsound properties, the tenants of which I'm sure would have no hesitation to complain about.

So flexibility is needed from both sides.

Would you feel differently about workmen using your loo if you were paying for the work yourself and therefore the extra cost of a portaloo. We had workmen in for the last two weeks and it would have been awful to deny them access to a loo. Was happy they left and I gave it a thorough clean but they were all respectful.

This is a no win for the LA though

They have work to conduct which wil be messy, noisy and dangerous.

So they try and house tenant elsewhere while this is going on - tenant kicks off and refuses.

So they carry out the work while tenant is there - tenant complains about noise, mess and intrusion around their life. Work takes longer as the workmen don't have unfettered access to get done what they need to. Complaints continue on all sides. Everyone is pissed off

So they don't carry out the work at all - tenant kicks off because work isn't done.

@allowaccess you say it isn't that bad now, but what is your proposed course of action when there is scaffold around your house, hammering all day and part of your roof off while they try and fix it all?

External generator
External stopcock
No need to access a property for those

Facilities will be possibly using taps for a water supply for the site and sockets for electrical equipment, not having a shower after work.

When the contractors did our flats involving half the estate they had their own office and portaloo in the larger car park.

Absolutely shocking they think they can use your facilities! An absolute invasion of your privacy, especially as they assume you'll be out of the way for weeks. I don't even know how I could begin to prepare my flat for something like that.

When my council does works, they set up a little cabin which has a tiny kitchen and room to sit down, as well as a toilet for the workers.

And yes asking a family to move for weeks should not be done lightly, especially if there's anyone with SEN. My neighbours stayed in their flat during really extensive exterior works. I'm surprised you've been told to go.

It's their home!?

For electricity they can use and do use an external generator
For water they access an external stopcock and pay the water company separately

It is their house. That's what a tenancy agreement is for.

OP stay put. They can take you to court if they want you to vacate.

Where would you have put half an estate bearing in mind there is a housing shortage?

Because it’s not one of the options. They’re not asking to be allowed in to use the loo, the problem is OP is being asked to vacate during the work, for reasons we don’t really know.

OP, it sounds as if the work has started with you still there (‘it hasn’t been that noisy’), will that continue to be the case or will the work stop if you refuse to go into the offered accommodation?

What from a tenant perspective or from a local authority perspective?

Portaloos are pretty cheap to hire so it won't be to save money for that. Housing a family will cost far far more. They probably do want access for water and power.

What outcome do you want OP? If they can't complete the works because you won't allow access and won't move out will you accept that your hone improvements can't happen?