AIBU to be upset at the council?

[TurtlesAreAwesome]

Sorry, this is likely to sound like a rant, but here goes...

I've been registered as homeless for a year and I've been living in the temporary accommodation that was offered for nearly 6 months. They promised to do the repairs soon after I've moved in. They've not done anything. I've got a 2 month old baby in a severely damp, cold house, where I can't take a shower (due to broken doors, mouldy and broken shower unit). I was meant to be having disability rails installed but they decided they can't be arsed doing that either. The occupational therapist said in September that the house is unsuitable.

The midwives and health visitor weren't happy that I was stuck in a house in such a state of disrepair on top of a massive hill when I've got a disability. So my housing officer offered me somewhere else (another temp) back in November. I've never actually been allowed to move into there, despite her promising it will be definitely before Christmas.

Basically the damp is getting worse and half of my door fell in yesterday. I called up the council before and they said there's another temporary place that they can't get rid of over 10 miles away, but I wouldn't be moved back to the area in which I'm living in and is on quite a rough estate where I'd stick out like a sore thumb and be very isolated.

Am I being unreasonable to be upset that other people are being offered things that would have been suitable for my daughter and I and they're just trying to get rid of somewhere on me and not letting me move into the place where I was offered?

No-one is being judgey, (whatever that actually means)

Lol, you reckon?

It sounds awful...but what's wrong with an estate?

Well it looks like its not just cynicism....

www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2015/sep/18/disabled-people-housing-crisis-adaptations-accessible-homes

Told their lives are too expensive.

A forever home is something you aim for when in a good job, steady relationship and ready to set down permanent roots.

If homeless, a forever home should be the last thing on your mind. Of course you may have to put some towards your rent, not everything is free. As for your mention of it being on an estate like it's beneath you, you dot get to be picky if you want somebody else to magic up a property and pay for it.

There never seemed to be a plan, having a child whilst already homeless and then having done nothing all through pregnancy to change the situation. Cynics would wonder if it was a move to get a pace quicker or a bigger one whist not having to work either.

That couple did not get told there lives where too expensive, the council did not have suitable stock for the customers need and the only option they could give her while she took the new job was to put her into a care home while a suitable home became available... which it did 7 months later!!! Maybe you should read the article before make daily fail headlines!

so Helena what do you expect the council to do? house everyone who needs a house, make aids and adaptions for all of those who need it, in a ideal world that would be fantastic, however reality hits like a sledgehammer, council don't have enough homes, new houses aren't being build, adaptions cut, staffing cut, services cut, my local council has now stopped ALL funding for DV, we now have no provisions to offer DV victims the budget was cut 100%.

There is no money!, they cant help everyone, they don't have the resources to do so, the government made sure of that by cost cutting!

My HA has just made 380 people redundant, the council had to make 84 people redundant this year and 102 last year.

Idealism is a wonderful thing, reality and demand is another.

Sheldon - that post was uncalled for. You really have no idea. Go back to your bubble.

Sheldon is really quite unpleasant on most threads - best to just completely ignore what it says.

OP I am really sorry you've been given such a hard time on this thread. I don't have any advice for you as I've never been in this situation but just wanted to offer a hand hold.

How are things this morning?

Sheldon, I shall go and build myself a castle and work 100 hours a week just to satisfy your own interests. By the way, a cynic would know there's less demand for a 1 bed flat. Also, a cynic would know that I'm not on JSA, so I have no reason to keep myself out of work longer. I'm looking for a suitable job for when my baby is older enough because I actually want to.

Thanks Elfie and Pigeon. The environmental health person is coming around later and I will update.

Jamie i know there have been many cutbacks but when tenants on the ground see headlines about HA CEO pay and photos on twitter of the latest lavish housing awards ceremony (there seems to be one every couple of months) while tenants have been waiting weeks for heating to be fixed surely you can see why they get pissed off.

Some of your previous posts on this site have tarred a lot of tenants with the same brush.

You cant complain when you get the same attitude back in return.

Having said that i do know it must be hard for ppl who actually work on the ground in HAs whose hands are tied.

my owned flat is a bit of a mess frankly, but I (and ex) still own it. it is a hell of a lot different to being forced to put up with the conditions in a rented flat as you have no control over that and that increases the stress. Also it is the landlords duty to sort it. as an owner you have a choice about which repairs you prioritise etc while saving.

also it being yours is a hell of a lot different in it being rented and having no security. It is an unfair comparison.

good luck OP hope things chane soon.

Hugs OP

You've already been given some great advice and support and it seems like you're doing everything you can to help the situation.

I just wanted to add that your posts are flawlessly written with regards to spelling, grammar, punctuation etc. You seem like a coherent and intelligent young woman.
I'd hire you.

No Helana, I do not tar everyone with the same brush at all, be that in my private life or my personal life, so STOP with the BS personal posts!!! I never brought my profession into this post YOU did, all I have done here is try and aid the OP in the right direction and determain if she's getting everything she is entitled to.

So really your last post is uncalled for and untrue!

Previous posts also I have commented on individual posts, I've never once tarred everyone with the same brush, it's very rare I state what my profession on MN, I think maybe 4 or 5 posts in the time I have been on MN, which has been several years.

I may comment from time to time in saying I work in this field so have you done XYZ, however I actively try and avoid those posts as for me mumsnet is my personal life.

I think it is YOU who is tarring all council and HA as the same, and god forbid if anyone who works in the field try's and helps OPs. You really need to take your judgemental attitude elsewhere, and allow posters to try and help this OP.

OP, did you call the council to raise a formal complaint?

Jamie i apologise but the OP mentions the fact that she needs disability rails in her first post and yet you asked her if she had attempted the repairs herself.

A broken hinge.......yes fair enough. But the problems with the shower/shower tray need to be fixed by the landlord.

We are talking about a disabled person who is unable to or struggling to shower.

Just seen a post from an HA tenant on fb............complete with photos of a hole in the bathroom wall.

9 weeks she and her two kids have been without a shower and their date for the fix is the 10th February.

When I had a HA flat, it seemed that they took the mick with repairs. My bath didn't drain...they sent someone to look who said "Hmm...yeah...doesn't drain" and then I heard nothing!

The fence outside...a little tiny thing of maybe 8 feet in length needed to be repaired so they sent THREE men who took two days!

Yes, and your point being? I have disability rails in my property and I can still do repairs!

A disability does not mean you cannot or are unable to do repairs. Just because you're disabled does not mean you cannot do repairs, Saying your disabled does not mean you cannot do anything for yourself

So they don't have a shower, have they got a bath? If so, they are not a priority, as they have an alternative bathing.

That will problerly be the next available appointment that they could get for the plumber or electrician (depending on the type of shower) to attend. You see most councils have just had to cut 50% of their work force, thats the reality Helana, so instead of critising the councils, who hate that they cannot get repairs or provide service users reasonable time scale, they don't have the staffing to get repairs done in 31 days or emergency repairs done within 24 working hours, they simply done have the staffing to meet this criteria, condemn the government, not the workers trying their damn hardest taking pay cuts just so they can keep their jobs!

Wait, you are disabled and you have a 2 month old and you live in an area without a housing crisis?! Are you sure you haven't been accidentally dropped off a list somewhere along the line? Maybe I'm just being ridiculously naïve but I would have thought you'd be pretty much top of most priority lists.

I can't believe the conditions you're having to live in. I'm so sorry I'm also really quite shocked that someone in your family hasn't taken you in (or temporarily let you stay in theirs and they stay in yours if you would lose your place on the list by moving in with them). They feel close enough that you don't want to move away from their support but they don't seem to be actually supporting you much?

I'm really sorry that I've not been able to post much today. I don't think my baby girl is very well as she's crying constantly so the cuddle monster has been extremely busy today. The environmental health inspector came to see the house today and he agreed that there are lots of repairs that need sorting.

Jamie She has no other bathing facility. I understand staff have been cut which makes jobs like yours harder or next to impossible.

Ive seen some great workmen but ive also seen my neighbour get flooded twice by works being done.

A firm called Liberty Gas taking four months to put in a boiler and six rads. Flooding the tenants bedroom and then insisting it was wet before.

An HA up north put in a new biomass heating system after insisting to tenants that it would be cheaper. It wasnt It was more expensive Their attitude? If you want more heat you will have to pay for it. Ive got a thread on here about it.

A housing trust in the same area is evicting pensioners from their sheltered housing so they can build housing TO BUY.

Im not having a go at the people on the ground . Most of them are doing the best they can.

But some of the attitudes ive seen in RL and online from sub contractors has been appalling.

Thank you, welcome to wonderland.

I don't have a bath in my house either, only a broken shower unit.

Turtles I hope your little one is okay: the damp in the property will not be helping. Did environmental health have any ideas of how you could go about getting the landlord to do the repairs? They must be able to threaten to issue a fine or something? It's unbelievable they'd leave you in there with a baby!

Sorry haven't read all of the post but used to work in a local authority housing department. Only thing that made them Really bend over backwards was when the local MP turned up to talk to them about someone who was bending their ear constantly. That is the thing to do. Write to your MP/telephone/email every day until you get a response set out exactly how bad your situation is. Keep on at him/her. If you make enough of a nuisance of yourself (without being obnoxious) then the MP will want to get rid of you by putting pressure on the local authority to rehouse you so you stop bugging him/her. Also ask the housing department to tell you how many point you have towards being rehoused, ask for a review, ask them to explain how they have allocated points and check that they have got everything in your file and that you shouldn't be higher up the list. Be calm and friendly towards the housing department staff. They are more likely to help you if you are not antagonistic towards them. As difficult as your situation is it's not their fault where you find yourself and they don't go out of their way to keep you somewhere unsuitable but the old saying that you get more with honey than with vinegar is true. Housing staff have people blaming them constantly for problems that they didn't make and can't resolve but they are likely to try harder to make sure you get the maximum points you qualify for if they don't feel that you blame them.