Aibu to think the council should clean your house before you get the keys?

[Kellyjohnson23]

I'm so sad today,got the keys but it seems totally impossible.
Everywhere is dirty,muck everywhere,the walls are scruffy,the skirting boards and doors are a horrible dirty yellow (that the white has turned into )
I don't have anyone to help me decorate so it's all on me.
I just feel sad

You could pick up an off cut for 20 quid. I really like the lino you have !

Hey, that's going to be lovely when you're all sorted out and moved in! The bathroom looks decent which is always good. The living room is a good size; you have nice natural light coming in there and in the bedroom.

But yeah, it's depressing to move in somewhere that hasn't been cleaned up. I'd expect better in a rental property (which council rentals are!) although I've had mess left by vacating owners when I've bought....

I like the Lino too!

My previous neighbour was hardly ever home. He'd come home, have a wild party until stupid o'clock and then go. Turns out, in the 7 years he'd been living there, he'd never done any housework, never used a bin etc. Whenever they had parties, they used to wee up my front door - literally open the door, wee, go back inside - they were doing that in the flat too! They also used to vomit on their doorstep - again, also in the flat. It was a small one bedroom flat and he'd have up to 50 people at his parties.
My HA had to call in specialists to fumigate the place before my new neighbour moved in because it was so filthy.

Her flat is beautiful now and i'm sure yours will be too! I hope you and your daughter are really happy there

What's wrong with it? The photos don't look bad at all. My mum is in a HA property, when she moved in the carpets had all been peed on, obviously they were all ripped out straight away and eventually replaced.

Currently her downstairs floorboards and joists are rotting away. They've sent someone out many times to put the job on the system to get it sorted but every time it gets back to the office it gets removed as there's no money. She'll probably fall through the floor one day. With that and the mould due to poor insulation and other problems I think she'd settle for a bit of dirt.

That looks fine!
I once moved to a flat that had syringes hidden everywhere and blood/heroin spray on the ceiling

I was surprised by how nice it is op. I was expecting some dump. It will look nice once it's carpeted and got blinds/curtains and some pictures on the wall. I speak as a longterm renter who has had to move a gazillion times & start over making each house my home. I would kill for a secured tenancy. I know that it is hard to leave somewhere that you have put your heart and soul into but honestly try and find the positives.

Maybe you are just a bit homesick? I cried for hours when we moved into one of our properties. Like you I was convinced it was too filthy to rescue. A day of cleaning later and it was a different story. It was one of the best places we've rented.

BTW that bathroom is okay. It looks clean. If it wouldn't out me I'd put photos of my rental bathroom on for you to make you feel better! Mine is about thirty years old, has no flooring just painted floorboards and is literally disintegrating with every clean.

It's not as if everyone in either private rented or places they've bought finds them immaculate on moving in - far from it!

Anywhere around here, people count themselves lucky to get social housing at all. At least you won't have a landlord deciding to kick you out after 6 months or a year, because s/he wants to sell the place or move a relative in.

🙄

Join DIY ON A BUDGET -OFFICIAL on Facebook and they'll have you glittering everything in no time.

Crikey OP, I was expecting a disaster zone but that really doesn't look all that bad.

I used to be a letting agent in the private sector and have seen much worse. Of course it would be nice if all landlords - HA, private, whatever - had their properties cleaned before reletting, or if all tenants left properties fully cleaned, but sadly that isn't often the case.

The same is true if you were to buy a place, my house was really grotty when we bought it from an elderly lady who sadly had no one to help her with cleaning and domestic stuff.

Roll your sleeves up OP, you can completely transform that place is 3 weeks.

I wish my house was that clean and nice when I moved in OP. I Don't think the previous tenants done any house work for years. There was upto 6 layers of wallpaper super glued down in every room. It took me years to get off.

I do think council houses should be clean - I know budgets are tight but I think it encourages tenancies to start as they mean to go on and maintain a high standard. If people feel valued and respected at the outset then they tend to return the sentiment. And then it is isn't hypocritical to complain if they don't!

Also a lot of ill/ disabled people would really struggle if the whole house was grimy. And especially if furniture is arriving on the same day.

I think freshly decorated is too much, but things should be in good repair. I've had a (private rented) property where the wooden window frames were so rotten and mouldy, that you couldnt actually clean them as they came apart. Same with the skirting. Yuck. I've had to live in some truly minging properties :(

I do think your house looks pretty OK though OP. Get stuck in and you'll be there soon. Thank your lucky stars that you aren't surrounded by furniture and boxes as that makes life very difficult!

I recommend painting the walls (after proper preparation) as soon as you can as it will make a big difference. Perhaps choose one room that you notice a lot and start there. It will give you a lift.

Also it looks so BIG! Wow! I think we are definitely going to have to move north to try to get us a council house as we are not having any luck in the south despite my DH being really unwell and having physical needs. There is just too much demand down here, and they priortise downsizers over couples with medical needs. Ho hum :(

Keep going OP!

My kids have lived in a number of flats at university and afterwards and all of them have been clean before they've moved in. Some people sound very resentful that the OP has got a secure tenancy but that's down to previous governments not due to anything the OP has done. Of course a new home should be clean when it's let. That's the basic standard we should expect, surely?

It's empty isn't it? So just hoover and clean the sides. The council don't decorate to how you want it.

What's wrong with the bathroom?
Tempted to post a pic of mine!

I second taking before and after photos of decorating, wish I had as I've ended up doing so much here and it would be nice to be able to compare.
My one decorating tip is to use water-based gloss/satin for the woodwork - you'll need to sand the current paint a little (just rought it up a bit) and use an undercoat/primer so the paint sticks but it stays whiter much longer than traditional gloss paint.

I know it seems like a lot of work but this is your home, you have a blank slate to decorate how you want! I think you need a nice to toat new house and a scented candle for atmosphere and start planning!

It looks absolutely fine. We moved from our old HA house to a new one last year and we were told we had to rip out our old flooring before we left, which was a shame as we had lovely vinyl down and it would have been nice for the new tenants to have the option of keeping it. So we had to leave ours looking in similar condition although we cleaned. But your walls etc look fine, smooth plaster and nothing peeling off the walls. Just needs a lick of paint and the bathroom looks great to me.

If I do 4 hours per day for 3 weeks I should see a difference.
I did notice the difference even after painting the radiator white and 2 door frames

I guess in a way I should be thankful I have this house for 23 days yet ..so I don't have to paint around things and sort flooring etc
I have £300 saved towards my carpet fund ..would you keep this or pay a decorator to help you out ?

I'm sure it will all be ok. It looks like a lovely bright flat. It's boring having to do all the work yourself but you just need to get on and do it. I understand that is easier said than done with a two year old but once it's done I'm sure it will look lovely.

Don't try and cut corners with preparation of woodwork or it will only chip.

YANBU to be disappointed with the house not being clean. I think it's basic manners to leave a property sparkling clean, council/private rent or bought.

YABU to think that because it's a council property that you are paying for it should be cleaned for you. People private renting or buying wouldn't have that promise.

Ours was a terrible mess 18 years ago. There were polystyrene tiles on the ceilings still! Also a big hole in the front room floor. The council did replace the ceiling but the rest was down to us. I was 8 months pregnant so we decided to pay an extra three weeks rent on the flat we were in and the new rent just so dh could do some slapping paint on! We were so happy and grateful though that we just got on with it. Honestly yours looks fine. Your bathroom is nicer than ours is now!

Absolutely nothing wrong with any of the rooms judging by those pics, all houses look grubby without furniture. Lino can be as little as like, £4 per metre square.

Download a couple of audiobooks to listen to while you clean it'll fly by.

Your walls look fab!! I had 7 yes 7 layers of wallpaper to remove from every single room took two weeks 9-7 to do it!!

You have a decent blank canvas, there.

I spent the first day in this house, heavily pregnant, in the kitchen with the sun streaming in, scrubbing nicotine stains off the I sides and undersides of the kitchen cupboards. Now that was grim. Almost as grim as the piss soaked carpet in the bathroom of the house I bought before this one. Even the floorboards under it needed scrubbing.