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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be pissed off at my friend who is a council tenant

317 replies

judgejudithjudy · 27/01/2015 11:34

Friends boiler broke down & was fixed for free within 4 days. When mine broke down, I had to apply for a loan to get it fixed & took 4 weeks.

All she's done is moan on Fb it's taken too long.

Felt like adding get a job & try paying for it yourself & then you'd have something to moan about!

Still paying off the sodding loan - how I wish I had a council house ??

OP posts:
blackheartsgirl · 27/01/2015 17:22

They aren't warm at all, theres no cavity wall insulation so doesn't retain the heat well. Also very draughty. we are on a prepayment meter for gas and electric and it works out expensive to heat.

They are slowly updating these externally local to me which involves rendering them on the outside and putting big thick slabs of polystyrene in between the steel and the outside rendering and then covering in pebbledash which should help but we are waiting in turn like every body else.
They are quite roomy inside though which is nice.

Also difficult to get mortgages and contents insurance for though because they are NSC.

VodkaJelly · 27/01/2015 17:25

I am HA, in the lovely North West so rents are not as high as down south. On a 5 week month my rent is nearly £800, it would be cheaper to private rent. I kid you not, cheaper to rent privately. And nobody is "subsiding" my rent, me and DP work so pay full rent, no HB.

In my old HA house we had a new bathroom fitted, and we had to have it done. It was great, they came round a week after I had given birth, we had to have the front door open all day - in January - and all the water cut off. A week after giving birth. Couldnt use the toilet, we had to go to Asda to use theirs in the day. I was bleeding and in pain and had to stay in the living room and change my pads in there. Was lovely.

And the mess was unreal, took me hours to clean up.

But in defence the builders they were lovely, we were told that the bath would be out of action for 3 days Shock but the builders had it connected and useable after the first day so "we could bath the baby", and made sure it was useable every day when they left.

EatShitDerek · 27/01/2015 17:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

blackheartsgirl · 27/01/2015 17:56

I don't envy you with your storage heaters Eat Shock

most ridiculous invention ever

ilovechristmas1 · 27/01/2015 18:04

blackheartsgirl thanks,hope they get round to you soon for the improvements

nemo81 · 27/01/2015 18:19

She obviously isn't a friend. If my friend had no heating i'd be lending her my electric heaters no slating her on mumsnet!

SaucyJack · 27/01/2015 18:26

Our council are more than happy for tenants to refuse renovations if it saves them money. Thanks to a previous tenant we have no heating system and a fifty year old bathroom "suite".

Do I win a prize for the shittest council property?

mrsruffallo · 27/01/2015 18:28

YABU When you rent, it is the landlords responsibility to undertake any repairs. Lots of people in council houses work btw

bettyboop1970 · 27/01/2015 18:30

Caronaim- its circa 1960's and looks shit (pardon the pun)! The weird thing is if I moved out it would automatically be replaced before house is re-let. According to housing inspector my house was 'missed' off the list when refurbs were done. So basically tough shit! The madness of it all!

PiperIsTerrysChoclateOrange · 27/01/2015 18:37

I live in a HA, I have spent thousands getting to a standard I like.

I will never own this house, so no matter what I do to it it will never be mine.

Starlightbright1 · 27/01/2015 18:39

YABU....

I live in a council house, work and had no heating the other year for about 6 months a couple of winters ago...Was replaced with 2 fan heaters and electric went through the roof.

Do you envy me too..no thought so Hmm

Altinkum · 27/01/2015 18:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bettyboop1970 · 27/01/2015 18:41

Saucyjack - we've probably got the same bathroom 'suite'. Also when I moved in my neighbour told (helpfully, infront of kids) me the previous tenant died in the loo, cheers. So not only is loo shite, I've also got a woo loo!!

ghostspirit · 27/01/2015 18:42

op i know how this could be fixed. give up your house. go stay in a hostel with your kids for god knows how long. and then get that council place you want and you can have your boiler fixed.... oh you cant as you would be making yourself homeless never mind...

plan 2 phone the council and say my friend had her boiler fixed faster than me and it was free. its not fair sob sob.

Altinkum · 27/01/2015 18:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Altinkum · 27/01/2015 18:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Sickoffrozen · 27/01/2015 18:47

I would never think badly of a friend for something so trivial.

perpetua72 · 27/01/2015 18:49

Yes YABU. Frankly you sound like a right bitch.

ghostspirit · 27/01/2015 18:58

my friend is a council tenant with children she has been waiting 2 weeks for hers to be fixed. due to waiting for a week then they never bothered to turn up. so had to rebook and she has to wait all over again. she has eletric/fan type heaters and its costing her a bomb in electric. her house is a 1920s-30s house so its a very cold house. your friend was lucky to have it fixed that fast. either thats life no need to bitch about your friend. its also nothing to do with working that would happen weather working or not. just another one of them threads

Norfolkandchance1234 · 27/01/2015 19:12

Yabu and you do not sound like a great friend to have.

creambun2014 · 27/01/2015 19:22

We had to go without water for 4 months once as we own but I still prefer that to not owning and having to wait 4 days. Although it was a pain at the time with the children.

YouTheCat · 27/01/2015 19:32

My god, your councils are all shit! My combi boiler stopped working because the pressure dropped when I bled the radiators and the council had a man out within an hour.

flashyballs · 27/01/2015 19:37

I will say 1 thing though, we are secure tenants, been here 6 years this year, I love the house and love where we are, we've also been given permission to get a driveway done, not that we have the money to get it done.

Wherediparkmybroom · 27/01/2015 19:38

I'm trying to exchange.... Kitchen doors missing, 28 yr old kitchen with mould, front door doesn't fit the new people are happy to take it in exchange I get an extra room plus dining room but we are waiting on the housing officer! I have even lodged the goat at a neighbours. On the bright side this house has a sea view and my exchange partner will avoid bedroom tax!
Please, please, please let it go through as we are tripping over one another.

pinefruits · 27/01/2015 19:49

My parents had a council house and were the first tenants to ever occupy it. Neither parents ever claimed any benefits and they paid their rent every week. This rent entitled them to getting any repairs that needed doing by the council to be done. They were her landlords, just as in private renting it is the landlords duty to maintain the house. Since my parents passed other tenants have occupied their old house and rent has continued to be paid. If all this rent had been mortgage payments instead the house would easily have been paid for by now. The council have done well out of it, it's their duty to do repairs. They've been well paid over the years.

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