to feel angry about this...house exchange related

[pinkie1982]

We live in a one bed HA flat. I am 18w pregnant.
We have found someone that wants to downsize, he is known to us anyway.
We went to view the property quickly in December, decided we owuld go for the swap.
The other party have the property inspection this Friday, my DP went there today and found that there are light fittings broken, plug sockets off of the wall, no windows in the main bedroom open - which is obviously a fire risk and we know the house won't be passed off in this state. They aren't clean people and everything needs removing and starting again and bleached all over.
But...it seems that we are expected to complete these repairs. We will as it is only things that won't cost a lot and DP will do them, we can't chance anything getting in the way if we can possible help it. We cannot afford to private rent (before anyone gets in with that one!) and have been looikng for a swap for two years. The other party will be moving into our flat that needs nothing doing to it at all. It just pisses me off.
I think we are just going to have to bite our tongues and do it...grrr

YANBU - its unfair, BUT hang onto the thought that in the long run you will have the house you want, they will still be horrors and live in a pig sty whilst you are settled and enjoying life.

That said YANBU to expect the people leaving to leave a house safe and clean. Won't HA organise repairs to electrics and window?

Gawd so it's perfectly fine to move into a shit tip because you don't get the fees like in private? Give me a break.

The house won't be passed. You have to look after the property before you're allowed to move.

I've said it before on here and no doubt I will say it again. It's sad that people are jealous of people living in council or HA accommodation. It's very far from a bed of roses, it's not free, it's no longer (generally) substantially cheaper than inflated market rents, and some of it is sub standard and wouldn't meet the health and safety standard for housing in the UK.

Surely it's better to want to improve housing for everyone in the UK, not want to drag people down further. The attitude of " you're lucky to get it so don't moan about living in a place which is electrically unsafe and a fire risk with a baby" is disgusting. And as for the "half a million" comment - oh fuck off.

HA PROPERTIES ARE NOT FREE.

Nobody is saying they are rent-free, just that there are no charges incurred in the exchange.

I'm assuming (perhaps wrongly) that the HA won't do the repairs themselves because they are minor maintenance and/or cosmetic jobs that anyone could do safely themselves. This would be the case under our Housing dept. here anyway.

If it's just a case of screwing a wall socket back on or WD40ing the window hinges then it's fair enough IMO.

I wasn't talking about HA being free in the sense that you do t don't have to pay rent, I'm not a fucking moron. But you are EXTREMELY lucky to be able to move to a bigger home without paying a penny, it simply doesn't happen in any other sector, mortgaged properties or privately rented.
It's all very well and good banging on about everyone's right to live in a home that is up to a decent standard but surely a tennant has to have some accountability too, if you want a secure tenancy then quite simply yes, you should have to do some work on the house, update, redecorate etc etc otherwise where does it all end?

The OP is a tenant, looking to move into a property vacated by another tenant. It's NOT unreasonable to expect the property in which you're about to take up tenancy to be a decent state - maybe a bit of a spit 'n' polish needed, but it should be habitable. Can't believe some people on here think you should just suck up a property you're renting being half-trashed because it's HA owned. The owner should still be ensuring it's in a decent state for the new tenants!

Yes you do have to pay a lot to get a mortgage. But you get a house at the end of it, which once you've paid off, is yours. I am very lucky to be able to own my own home. Does that mean I am supposed to begrudge HA tenants because the don't pay stamp duty?!

When you pay your mortgage you will own your home, sick of people implying ha/affordable/council housing is free!.
I live in a one bed flat that cost the council/ha 50.000 to build including all fees.
It's six years old.
Rent - £110 p/w
Service charge - £33.99 p/w
I only have to live here for another four years & the council/ha will be in profit & considering the md of my ha earns nearly £650.000 a year they are not doing to badly

It will be worth it in the end .... Just keep remembering that ,

We exchanged from a flat to a house ... I've lived with a broken patio door amongst other stuff for 5 yrs just because that's the condition I accepted the exchange In ... Some people have the misconception that the HA /council will repair everything whenever .. They don't .

Yanbu but u do have to suck it up .

Happy new house ... Hope it all goes well !

We had to lay out plenty of momey when we moved in, removing (literally) rotten carpets, six layers of wallpaper, holes in walls and floorboards, the garden was over my waist and contained ...interesting items!

But we are lucky, we can live here until we die, paying the rent whether we are 35 or 85, or move out after spending thousands on rent and maintenance, unlike the poor people who paid half a million for their house and presumably expect to recoup that half a million when they OWN their house after paying the mortgage. The tenant next to me has lived here since the house was built 70 years ago, I imagine she has paid a huge amount of rent over the years.

Well everyone's idea of lucky is different, isn't it. I just find this envy and attitude of "suck it up" very distasteful.

But I must stop there and go ask about eyebrows on style and beauty...much more fun!

I did a house exchange (council) a few years ago, as far as I know all of them have this rule of having to accept the property 'as seen'. What I did was wait a few months and then ask for repairs to be done, as the property was never inspected by the council so they had no idea whether the damage was done by me or the previous tenants. AFAIK it's the way most tenants deal with the issue. It wasn't too bad though - just some internal windows and doors needed sorting, nothing unsafe.

Can someone please point me in the direction of these free HA properties please? I live in a HA house and it costs me £500 per month.

OP YANBU. I've been trying to swap for 3 years now but unfortunately no one wants to live in the Ghetto.

I'm saying this as a council tenant before I get flamed ..... If tenants stopped calling out council for trivial crap that is a easy fix for themselves ( broken toilet seats , letter box rattles etc ) then there might be enough left to do the actual jobs that make a home habitable .....

Too all the haters , have u ever seen what is deemed liveable when you take on a property ??

YANBU from I wouldn't leave anyone else to clean up my mess POV - but other people have different standards and after a year you will have a bigger better property.
I bought a house, moved from a private rental. So I paid all the fees etc too.
Exchange took several months (lost title deeds) the house was being lived in by the owners 21 yo son who was not keen on being made to move out.
So whilst nothing was trashed it was absolutely filthy, thick mat of dog hairs on the stair carpet, stains on the living room carpet I was told by the carpet cleaning bloke was pet urine...when we were redecorating I realised the odd stains on the living room walls were where someone had thrown teabags at them...as well as things like thick black grime in the shower and shit stains all over the toilet.
I was 7 months pregnant and working full time - had left the rented flat spotless, cleaned the carpets etc ...and then had to start cleaning (and redecorating - we expected some but not as much as we ended up doing - we bought it because it needed nothing doing to it!). I got the keys when DP was at work, so I went in on my own the first time and ended up in tears.
Previous owner did apologise on the phone to me - the removal men had made a bit of a mess .

Over the years we also discovered lots of things had been done by 'Mr. Bodge- it' - the list of concealed DIY disasters is truly remarkable - coupled to the fact that we had the local nightmare as a next door neighbour ..and we were stuck there with a mortgage to pay ...

I agree that ideally people should be clean, but there a number of reasons why they aren't.

In terms of other issues, the reason why so many people in HA properties are having to downsize is because of the bedroom tax.

When you have to top up your rent, there is nothing left for upgrading/decorating.

Depending on your circumstances, many people have to choose to decorate and that includes flooring or eat.

Even keeping properly clean, is affected by income, especially for single, no children benefit claimants.

That's why HAs let things slide, the houses aren't always ungraded/small repairs done enough, by the HA and they can't punish people for being poor, or unable to carry our repairs themselves.

To site the windows is ridiculous, that's the HA responsibility.

Just to add I took on a HA property in a terrible state and fought for repairs to be done.

But the neighbours that are still living in below standard homes, would live to be able to have them nice, but don't have the money, or family/friends help with repairs/decorating, ladders, garden tools etc are expensive.

When you pay your mortgage you will own your own home! Sick of people implying that ha/council housing is free!
I live in a one bed flat that cost the council/ha 50.000 to build including all fees, I pay
Rent - 110 p/w
Service charge - 33.99 p/w
If I live here for another four years the council/ha will be in profit & considering the md of my ha is earning 650.000 a year they are not doing to badly

(Posting this again as it disappeared)

Thanks everyone.
We are swapping so the other tenant is still living there. I am annoyed that he is not willing to fix anything for it to pass, whether cosmetic or not. HA will have to sort out the window, I know that, but it's the principle of it all. I think he knows how desperate we are to move and that ultimately we will end up doing the minor repairs.
Yes I am trying to look at the bigger picture but this has really peed me off today.

We pay full rent and council tax, so not 'free'. We had to pay a deposit when we moved into our first HA property, small but still a 'fee'. For the swap property we also have to have a credit check and be able to pay a months rent up front. Still not 'free'.

We have had to do up the last two flats we have had with HA from scratch (the first one was mostly painted black - ceilings included, carpeting in all rooms/stairs). You don't just move in and give it a coat of paint, we replastered all the holes bashed into the wall in our current one, which cost a fair bit. They aren't that habitable mostly.

I am not ungrateful as such but am resentful that I feel at this point in time am being taken for a ride.

Literally NO ONE has said that the HOUSE IS FREE!! Just the MOVE is, FFS.

OH has just told the tenant to report the window as a health and safety issue, they should come out pretty quickly to do that. There is no escape route from that room.

He isnt unable to keep the place clean, just lazy. There are many 1 shops around, I can't see how being on a low income would stop you buying some bleach and sponges?! Especially when you know there are people coming to look around you home. I think it's laziness in this case. He is 30 years old and no restrictions on being able to fix these things or clean. Just one of those people who think 'someone else can do that'.

"The other party have the property inspection this Friday, my DP went there today and found that there are light fittings broken, plug sockets off of the wall, no windows in the main bedroom open - ....
But...it seems that we are expected to complete these repairs. "

You are expected to repair light fittings and plug sockets in a rented property? That doesn't sound right. Back when I rented, by law, all electrical repairs had to be carried out out by a fully qualified and accredited electrician. Has that changed?

YANBU at all to feel angry, everyone is entitled to clean and safe accommodation. On the other hand, a property purchaser may face similar problems when they have already forked out huge sums of money for moving costs, so I can see why some people think YABU.

We will find out on Friday, they should give the tenant a list of what he needs to repair and there are 14 days to do it in. Hopefully HA will do it, but am expecting them not to.
DP was in our loft and he accidently knocked a plug socket off of the wall with the ladder when taking it down, the wires came out. I contacted the HA who said as we broke it they wouldn't replace it. So DP did it. This is why we are thinking it will be the same in this case. Hopefully not though.