Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think the 'decent homes standard' is the joke of the decade?

233 replies

ladyfirenze · 02/03/2011 12:58

Has anyone had their council homes 'upgraded' lately? Mine was done over christmas. Me and dc's were strongly advised to de-camp to a property provided by the council. This meant entirely moving house/storing white goods etc. Six weekd later we moved back. During this time we had a new kitchen put in, and new radiators as well as a re-wire.

I knew that I'd have to redecorate the whole place (three bed flat) but was promised help with the cost.

We got £160.

Also, because of the building, we had to use 'trunking' for all of the re-wire.

It looks shite. The trunking is cheap nasty looking crap, badly done. They had to come back over a period of two weeks after I'd returned to do 'snagging' and there are still bits which are sub-standard work.

The kitchen is okay, but wasn't actually done to the agreed plan. They had a huge hoo ha when I asked them to, and due to an exposed meter it couldn't be left. Their customer care is rubbish, and I was accused of being responsible for the kitchen not being correct... wtf??

six weeks on and I'm slowly getting the house sorted. I'm quite cabaple, but there are many who aren't, and will be left in a worse position than before.

OP posts:
Rhinestone · 02/03/2011 15:54

When I decorated my flat I had to pay for it myself. Wouldv't been nice if someone had given me £160 towards it.

Mists · 02/03/2011 15:56

Fanella as a home-owner you can get a loan unavailable to council tenants.

My first property had a bit of a crappy kitchen but it was reflected in the price and it wasn't half as bad as some I've seen in social housing. When I came to sell the fact that I hadn't bothered to update it was also reflected in the price but I still made a shedload of cash.

FanellaFudge · 02/03/2011 16:00

I'm not a home-owner, we rent. At £950 per month. No chance of us home-owning for a long while yet. Nor is there much chance of the kitchen being updated...not as long as we're living here and paying the rent, anyhow.

RealityIsKnockedUp · 02/03/2011 16:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BertieBotts · 02/03/2011 16:03

If we're all moaning about our situations, I'd love to decorate my house but I'm not allowed to. Wouldn't mind paying for it myself either (although a £7K kitchen - lol)

Maybe the OP feels better for her rant. Just because someone is in a different situation doesn't mean her rant is unjustified. It does seem an awful waste for them to do things craply and then spend more money fixing them.

belledechocchipcookie · 02/03/2011 16:05

I'd love a new kitchen. I'd stay here for another 8 years if the landlady did some work on the bloody house! Sad

DillyDaydreaming · 02/03/2011 16:05

Could chipping direct me to where the rents are just £58 a month? Only I pay £90 a week and would like to downsize this Hmm

RealityIsKnockedUp · 02/03/2011 16:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RealityIsKnockedUp · 02/03/2011 16:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

FanellaFudge · 02/03/2011 16:06

The OP doesn't appear to moaning about the waste of money though, she's moaning because "It looks shite."

sixlostmonkeys · 02/03/2011 16:09

the Op has not been given a new kitchen. The council have put a new kitchen in their property. there is a difference (explained at length already)
Central heating has to be paid weekly for by the tenant.

RealityIsKnockedUp · 02/03/2011 16:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BertieBotts · 02/03/2011 16:09

But I wouldn't want something for free that I didn't like. Even if it was better than what I had before (unless what I had before was actually unuseable and desparately needed). I'd rather put up with the shit old one and save up for a new one that's actually what I want.

RealityIsKnockedUp · 02/03/2011 16:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

fortyplus · 02/03/2011 16:11

To those of you who believe that Council Tax pays for improvements to council housing - it doesn't. Councils that retain their stock have two separate accounts - the 'General Fund' and the 'Housing Revenue Account' (HRA).

The HRA is a ring-fenced account that cannot have money taken out or deposited for anything other than tenants' rent money and various government grants.

Where I work the tenants actually have nearly half of what they pay in rent taken away to subsidise social housing in other areas. This is bout to change under HRA reforms imposed by central govt - our council is about to take on a debt of several hundred million £, the interest for which will be paid solely from tenants' rents.

ChickensHaveNoEyebrows · 02/03/2011 16:12

What is trunking, please?

RealityIsKnockedUp · 02/03/2011 16:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mrsscoob · 02/03/2011 16:13

I hardly think its the joke of the decade! I think its right that councils upgrade kitchens if they need doing but the way I would look at it is that the work should be done to a functional standard and comply with health and safety regulations, any cosmetic extras should be done at the tenants expense.

Reading some comments on here though it really does shock me this council house envy! I can understand people who rent privately but not homeowners. I also think they have a pretty blinkered/daily mail view of what council housing is like, the majority of the council homes in my area are actually un-mortgagable and have to be cash purchases as the banks won't lend money on them.

saffy85 · 02/03/2011 16:13

"move into a rental where the landlord is legally obliged to keep your home to a livable standard."

Yes they are legally obliged to do this, however, they will drag out the process for as long as possible, fob the tenant off as much as they can, and generally not spend any money fixing the problem for as long as they can get away with it. Or they do in my experience anyway.

OP, I'm not a council tenant (bloody wish I was though- rent would be waaay cheaper!) but I feel your pain, your home is your home, council or not and it does sound like a rush job- not a shock really as they probably have a smaller timeframe to do this stuff in than they normally would.

sixlostmonkeys · 02/03/2011 16:14

tenant pays for the central heating ie radiators, boiler etc. actually the CT pays a lot for this over time - and doesn't even get to choose whether a decent boiler is being installed [shocker]

ChickensHaveNoEyebrows · 02/03/2011 16:15

Ah, thanks Reality. I have trunking, I think. Covering the sky cabling. I wouldn't let the man dig in to my walls.

shesparkles · 02/03/2011 16:17

I don't know about other local authorities, but where I live the money used for the upgrading of council properties comes from rent alone, not council tax

Which would be why I put in my own kitchen and sorted out the bathroom.

However, when I had a repair botched by council contractors and they left the place in a state, I kicked up merry hell until the decor etc was reinstated to the standard I had i.e Laura Ashley wallpaper in my bedroom. Had it been my own property, the problem which needed repaired wouldn't have been left to get as bad as it did, due to the council's lack of action

Original poster
ladyfirenze · 02/03/2011 16:20

I definately feel better for the rant. I'm tempted to go and photo what bits I'm moaning about Grin

OP posts:
FanellaFudge · 02/03/2011 16:21

Council house - Laura Ashley wallpaper.

Isn't council housing for people who can't afford to privately rent or buy a home? Confused

RealityIsKnockedUp · 02/03/2011 16:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.