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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be annoyed at council waiting times

416 replies

Dancingfairy · 02/08/2017 19:54

My council has a 3 week wait for all repairs. The light in my bathroom has gone, it's not a standar bulb so someone from the council has to come to sort it. I have to wait 3 weeks! So I cannot use my bathroom after a certain time, I usually bath my children before bed but won't be able to for 3 weeks. Aibu to think it should be sorted sooner?

OP posts:
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6
ClopySow · 03/08/2017 18:34

Have they? Point them out please.

Like i said, i tried, it was impossible, i called the council for instructions and was told not to touch it.

Again - are you telling me i should ignore fire regs and risk 139 other flats because twats on mumsnet think i'm entitled?
And it would be ok because the council wouldn't know?

doobree · 03/08/2017 18:40

lostinasea you said I'm not envious of you. I'm not envious of everyone who rents. I do find the responsibility involved in being a homeowner hard sometimes. I don't expect people who aren't me to sympathise

but your first post said:

Must admit I'm slightly jealous though. I miss being a tenant and having someone I can ask to repair stuff. We went without a working shower for 18 months because we couldn't afford to get it fixed

So in fact you were slightly jealous (I said envious) and it definitely sounds like you do want some sympathy/ empathy for your shower situation else why mention it?

I said you had rose tinted spectacles and to me, you came across as a flippant because quite clearly you would not go back to renting no matter the costs of owning because you know perfectly well you are better off as an owner in so many ways. To repsond in that way to people having issues with LLs who clearly aren't enjoying the wonderful repairing service that you had, is insensitive at the least.

I have little hope that you will see why you got my goat though.

THANK YOU to chirpy today has been a particularly horrible day and being on MN does not help sometimes

Floggingmolly · 03/08/2017 18:41

The posts at 19.59, 20.34 and 20.47 at a cursory glance, seem to suggest it's quite simple to do.

doobree · 03/08/2017 18:44

I cant believe people are still advocating that a tenant should break their teanncy agreement and do electrical work themselves based on the say-so of some random people on the internet.

As I said before and as umpteen PPs have said, there are some rules that you just don't break.

GerdaLovesLili · 03/08/2017 18:46

Dear gods, all you need is a set of anti-tamper heads for your screw-driver, a ladder/sturdy chair and a £4.00 bulb from B&Q. If the council ask, you gave the unit a thump and it started working again.

Or you could spend three weeks moaning in the dark

ChasingHighs · 03/08/2017 18:52

Or you could comply with the fire regulations.and not put everyone else in your tower block at risk.

SaucyJack · 03/08/2017 18:54

There's nothing in the OP's posts to suggest she needs to perform electrical work Doobree.

If it's a standard DD bathroom lightbulb (which she has so far refused to deny or confirm) then they don't take any more specialism to change than any other bulb.

Floggingmolly · 03/08/2017 18:57

Why does changing a bulb yourself constitute a fire risk, but when a workman does it it's perfectly safe?
I'm not suggesting at all that op does it; just remarking that it's an alternative to waiting three weeks which seems to be causing her a lot of consternation.
And claiming that it's physically impossible is obviously bollocks.

ChasingHighs · 03/08/2017 18:57

If the council are sending someone out eventually,then they must be responsible for changing it.Or they would have told her to do it herself.

They wouldn't come out to change a standard light bulb

demirose87 · 03/08/2017 19:02

It's safe when a workman does it because they will be a qualified electrician.

GerdaLovesLili · 03/08/2017 19:04

Floggingmolly because idiot tenants have used bulb converters that allow you to plug in a cable for a hairdryer or similar into your light fitting. Which is incredibly dangerous. The tamper-proff units make this impossible.

GerdaLovesLili · 03/08/2017 19:09

These things: great for plugging your fairy lights into your living room light fitting, but also capable of running a heater or hairdryer and starting a fire.

To be annoyed at council waiting times
doobree · 03/08/2017 19:21

Saucy lights are electrical. And you (and others) have no idea what kind of fitting it is so how do you know what does or doesn't need doing to it?

I have known lights to be non-standard and require an electrician. Not just from being tamper-proof on the outside but some other issue.

As chasing says, the council wouldn't send anyone if it was something the OP could and should do herself. And if it was her responsibility, they'd be the first to make her pay for the work, not come out for free.

doobree · 03/08/2017 19:23

And with the tone of most of the messages, I'm not surprised the OP hasnt come back.

lostinaseaofbubbles · 03/08/2017 19:27

Doobree - there is a difference in being jealous of someone having a landlord to approach to sort out problems (or however I worded it) and being jealous of one random person who has decided to latch on to one little thing you've written and try to pick a fight with you.

I reiterate I am not jealous OF YOU. I am not jealous of all renters. It took me 18 months to replace the shower, why would I be jealous if the other situation takes more than 18 months to replace the shower.

I'm sorry you somehow took my comment personally. Please leave me alone. I've done nothing to you.

A lot of people make a lot of assumptions on these kinds of forums. Chirpy assumes I'm the picture of health and couldn't possibly understand how much life sucks.

And you assume that everything is about you. I said "I miss having a landlord to ask to repair things". I didn't say "I'm jealous of dobree".

I don't want your sympathy, I don't want OP's sympathy, or anyone else's sympathy. What I was trying to do was to say, with an example, that even in different situations things aren't always repaired instantly. I even ended the post by saying that I hoped they found themselves able to squeeze in her repair earlier (or word to that effect). I apologise if that it was misinterpreted or badly worded. I certainly didn't expect it to be picked apart to this degree.

Beebee7 · 03/08/2017 19:38

you seem to think that all property owners live in detached house. Owners of flats have many restrictions too (and rightly so, the leases are there to protect everybody). (pets, windows, flooring, gatherings etc.)

You might prefer to be a home owner, no problem with that. There is a freedom in renting that you don't have when you own your home (or part of your home when you pay a mortgage). The repairs have nothing to do with you, you don't have to budget to fix urgent roof, leaks, windows, plumbing issues. You don't care about the property market in times of uncertainty, if it crashes, you are safe. Nuisance neighbours are merely an inconvenience, you can always move, it doesn't matter if they are hellish or devalue your property. You have no risk of being stuck in a property which does not sell. You don't have to budget a fortune in stamp duty when you do move. Until you pay off your mortgage, the house belongs to the bank, too many people seem to forget that.

There's positives and negatives in every situation, I just don't think that being a tenant is that bad or that being a homeowner is trouble free if you have a limited budget. I am in the South East, so of course I admit that it's much cheaper to buy a home around here at the moment! That might change.

Agree with this by @coddiwomple.

However, I would say this only applies to social housing...

These days, renting social housing has a lot of advantages over buying. Not private renting though. Many disadvantages to that.

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 03/08/2017 19:49

And?

That's the way our world works. So if you don't like it, go off the grid and leave the modern world behind you.

Beebee7 · 03/08/2017 19:52

@WhatToDoAboutThis2017

??? Confused EH?

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 03/08/2017 20:03

Beebee7 I was not addressing you. I was addressing the pp, per their quote in bold above my comment.

dishwasher71 · 03/08/2017 20:05

All in all, I just think it is a sign of the times that we are now envious of people who live in council houses. I admit, I wish I'd not bothered to buy a house. I was a bit horrified to hear of a woman who'd bought herself a one-bedroomed flat many years ago and was now having to share her bedroom, albeit with a curtain running down the middle, with her 17 year old son. If she had rented, she might have had a chance of a two-bedroomed flat, either council or private, and perhaps with housing benefit to top up the rent. Buying is no longer affordable or even desirable for people, when they can't afford to make even the most basic repairs and some people, in houses that they have bought, are living in pretty much slum conditions. Backwards we go.

HaudYerWheeshtBawbag · 03/08/2017 20:09

Does your bathroom not have a window OP?

I work in this area, for us depending on the household circumstances it would be done within a week. Not council tho.

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 03/08/2017 20:13

Does your bathroom not have a window OP?

OP has mentioned her bathroom does not have a window.

HaudYerWheeshtBawbag · 03/08/2017 20:14

It depends on your council OP, what does your tenancy agreement say regarding repairs and maintenance?

CosmicPineapple · 03/08/2017 20:16

Or you could comply with the fire regulations.and not put everyone else in your tower block at risk.

Erm changing a light bulb will not cause a fire. The most it will do if done incorrectly is blow the bulb.
That kind of hysterical thinking is not helpful.Hmm

ChasingHighs · 03/08/2017 20:19

What do you think tamper proof means?