Housing Association to paint or not In this situation?

[Tricicorn]

After 4 years of trying to get repairs to replaster large areas of interior walls that are literally crumbling away, they are coming to sort it out this week. In addition to the crumbling plaster there are also some large subsidence cracks to some of the walls and window ledges that they are finally repairing too,

When the replastering is done and the walls in an acceptable state who should paint the affected walls?

I have been unable to put up pictures, curtain rails or shelves for years as any nails just wouldn’t stay in. There are huge gaps between window frames and walls in some places and the flat is as draughty as hell.

The HA have fobbed me off and failed to carry out repairs even though 2 surveyors said the work needed doing, until I sent an email to the CEO pointing out that they hadn’t fulfilled their obligations to maintain the property as per the tenancy agreement and threatening to make a formal complaint to the Board if the repairs were not carried out by the end of February.

I have paid my rent in full each month since I signed the tenancy 10 years ago, I keep the flat very clean, well ventilated and am a quiet, considerate neighbour. Being nice has achieved nothing in the way of getting repairs done and after being messed about for so long I feel they should paint the place after making good the walls. Is this reasonable would you say?

Anyone?

I dint think they’ll paint the walls. Ime painting and carpeting is done by the tenant in HA properties. That being said you have been messed around a lot and you lose nothing by asking.

Get your tenancy agreement out and check it.

Ours would paint it white. But they wouldn't wait for the plaster to dry properly and wouldn't prep the wall properly etc so if this was us there's no way I would ask them to paint it. They might offer some Homebase vouchers if we asked them which would help towards paint, especially if it's in such bad condition due to their failings, but DH would always prefer to decorate himself as he then knows it's done properly.

Thanks. Tenancy agreement doesn’t cover decorating which has arisen as a result of failure to carry out repairs to plastering caused by structural issues so I’m non the wiser.

Normally interior decoration is tenants responsibility but in this case it will need painting due to necessary repair work to plastering. I think in the light of being messed about for so long I will ask them to paint and see what happens.

I think it's your responsibility to decorate ? It is at my housing association any way .

Make sure the plaster is dry, sanded, damp dusted, under coated etc if they do agree..

If they do paint I bet it would just a white or magnolia do you want that?

Good luck with that!
I had a 4 year battle over a wall that had lost nearly all its plaster after water damage from a dodgy roof, they repaired it badly 3 times (kept not damp proofing OR fixing the roof) and the plaster kept falling off, letting water in, fucked my BT point and made the floorboards rotten, eventually the window started to drop down the wall.
They finally repaired it after I got environmental health round.

The HA wouldn't even pay for a bit of paint as a goodwill gesture.

After a swap the new tenant has gone to the press after the rotten floorboards under the wall gave way. I thought they'd been repaired, turns out they just stuck plywood over it and unrolled my carpet back over.

They get away with shit people don't believe unless they live it!

I lived with the whole wall like this for 4 years and they wouldn't chuck me £20 for a tin of paint

If they do work to the house, whether it spoils your decorating or not, they usually leave it to you to redecorate at your own expense.

MIL had her HA house all decorated lovely one year. Paid for it herself of course but just when it was finished, the HA announced they were updating the heating system. They came in, ripped all the radiators out and put new ones in in different, more energy efficient places. It ruined her new decoration and she had to redo it all. She also had to take up her old carpets so they could get access under her floors, so she was faced with a further bill for replacing all of them because they had been down so long, lifting them ruined them completely.

Just as she finished the new decoration and had new carpets and laminate laid throughout the house, the HA announced the kitchen updates. It was a huge job and she again had to redecorate certain areas and her new kitchen flooring was ripped out and replaced with a HA one with the new kitchen.

She never got refunded for anything..

lilmishap that’s dreadful. They are such buggers. And yes, until you’ve dealt with the ongoing shite of a crap HA people can’t appreciate how exhausting and endlessly difficult it is.

Instagrump after I decorated for the first time the HA decided to replace the storage heaters with gas CH. As with your MIL loads of damage to new paintwork and carpets. It’s soul destroying as well as a waste of hard saved money.

Some people do believe it. But just think social housing tenants should be grateful and put up with it. The result of residulisation.

Its mentally and emotionally exhausting dealing with an HA. It can seriously affect mental health.

They dont come under the FOI either.

I agree there is a sense that you should be grateful for a roof over your head Helena no matter that it’s crumbling and damp and might have a whole host of problems that no one is interested in dealing with.

If we are abiding by the terms of our tenancy agreement the HA should abide by theirs. The only way I’ve got anything to finally be done is by threatening to make a formal complaint and contact my MP if nothing is done. It shouldn’t have to reach that point though.

Find out if the structural work Is being covered by the HA insurance or their own pocket. Our house required massive structural repair and the HA said they would give us B and Q vouchers as a gesture of goodwill for having moved us out of our home for 8 weeks with 4 small children and I was happy with that... however a few days later when collecting post a builder mentioned how excited we must be to have our house decorated by professionals

Turns out the work was covered by insurance and the HA had claimed for a decorating team to redecorate the entire house... then were trying to give me £50 in vouchers and pocket the difference

I refused and they had to allow the team to decorate the entire house it looked amazing!

Frustrated good grief! CFuckery in the extreme!

Thats fraud. Jesus!