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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

The state of council houses

124 replies

BraidyBee · 30/07/2018 16:43

Aibu to wonder why the majority of people in council and housing association properties don’t look after them? Or at least why they don’t in my area. I live in a nice town in a relatively nice area and after years of being in private rented me, my dh have been offered a council property. We were offered one five years ago but refused it outright due to the state of it and the amount of money (at least 5k) it would ha e cost to fix ie full of damp and mold, plaster hanging off the walls, kitchen and bathroom falling apart and it was absolutely filthy etc.

I’ve since viewed five properties locally with friends and family that they have been offered and they’ve all been in a similar state. Then on Friday we viewed the house we’ve been offered. I went with no expectations and i was right to ad I would have been extremely disappointed. I didn’t expect to walk into a palace and I would have been fine with the fact it was basic and a blank canvas, ready for us to put our own mark on it, but omg! The plastering again was in right state, the carpets had brown stains which were either shit marks or cig burns. The bathroom absolutely stunk with mould in the corners and on the ceiling, the stairs walls up the stairs were black stained, the kitchen units were all stained chipped and marked. The garden was full of waste, cigarettes butts, glass, rubbish and all sorts. All the paint work was also chipped and filthy, tiles were broken in the bathroom and kitchen and in general it was horrid.

I have friends that have left council properties and bought their own houses and they left their houses immaculate for the next tenants. Is it really too much to ask for people to look after their homes and to have a certain degree of pride in them. I know people in council properties are in general less wealthy than people who own their own homes but come on, some of these people have been in their homes years and have let them rot instead of slowly
investing money into them.

Don’t get me wrong I’m greatful to be offered a property and have no issue what’s so ever with spending money on it to decorate and carpet but why the hell should people like me who take pride in their homes have to shell out for new door frames to be put in, for new plaster work that you can tell has recently been done but not looked after, for a new bathroom, new kitchen cupboard doors etc. It’s a joke.

OP posts:
BraidyBee · 30/07/2018 17:31

Fair enough. I’m not judging people who are disabled and can’t physically do the work or who can’t afford it. I’m registered disbelief, although I’m very lucky in the fact I manage (just some days) and I manage to hold down a job. The people I’m talking about here and those who have sufficient inform and are capable but chose not to make their homes nice and kept in a decent state.

OP posts:
hungryhippo90 · 30/07/2018 17:32

Given that whilst privately renting your rent must cost at least double what it would in a council property why don’t you just accept the property?
Get your partner to fill holes in walls, pay a cleaner to come and help you gut the new place one day,
Get everyone who you can get together round to help you paint the place and buy pizzas and beers/wine for everyone who helps.
Get a carpet fitter in and you’re done.

I just don’t think you’ll get where you wanna be with cleanliness of a new home unless you get a cleaner in prior to moving in, or you get accepted to have a new build council home.

If it’s in a serious un clean state do have a look on the Zoflora addict Facebook pages, people will give you cleaning tips to get a new place into tip top condition.

5foot5 · 30/07/2018 17:32

its been discussed time and time again on here that HAs will rip out improvements made by tenants before the next tenant moves in yet people will still come on here and spout the opposite and/or blame it on the previous tenant.

Exactly.

My late Mum lived in a HA bungalow in a close where most of the tenant were older people. (And incidentally they all looked very well kept with well maintained gardens)

Mum's neighbour was an elderly lady who had been in the house quite a while and had spent a good deal of her own money having improvements made to the bungalow. Mum used to visit her often and said that it was beautiful inside.

However, when the old lady died before it was let to new tenants the HA pulled out all of the non-standard fittings and replaced them with ones that were standard for that property - kitchen, cooker, bathroom - the lot. Even though the ones that they were pulling out and discarding were of better quality than what they were replacing them with!

BraidyBee · 30/07/2018 17:33

I was told by the housing officer that a family lived in the property and they’d moved out as they had bought their own house. So clearly they had sufficient income to keep their home nice if they can afford to buy.

OP posts:
Dodie66 · 30/07/2018 17:34

When we gave up my dads council house we had to remove everything including carpets. Then before the next tenant came in the council went in and did it up ready for the next tenant, sounds like your council is not doing their job properly

BraidyBee · 30/07/2018 17:34

Thanks hungryhippo i’l definitely look into it. My dh is very handy around the house so I’m sure he could make it work.

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HelenaDove · 30/07/2018 17:35

Then i apologize Winterfell Thanks Smile

HugAndRoll · 30/07/2018 17:35

I just wish we were eligible for a council house. I'm a single mum with two disabled children (at the time both got HRC, one now gets MRC because their night needs have slightly decreased, the other still gets HRC) who, when at risk of homelessness, applied to the council list and got allocated band E!

PortiaCastis · 30/07/2018 17:36

Isn't the council/H.A responsible for repairs plastering and things like mould

BraidyBee · 30/07/2018 17:37

Honestly I don’t have a problem with them ripping out carpets. I wouldn’t want someone else’s if they were in a bad state. But the door frames are cracked, some of the doors are hanging and not fitted properly, the fire looks a hazard etc. I asked them if they were going to sort this before we moved in and they said no. But then they said they want rent paying from the day we sign up despite the fact it more than likely take us a month to do up.

OP posts:
Storm4star · 30/07/2018 17:37

Actually if you go on the chat board there have been a few posts about people moving into houses they've bought that have been left filthy, and in a terrible state. There's a thread there right now where the previous owners have ripped out the bathroom and taken it with them! So you are being ridiculously judgy. It's got nothing to do with council vs privately owned. Some people just don't care full stop.

Leesa65 · 30/07/2018 17:38

Lucky you have good credit and a credit card to bung the decorating expenses onto .

flamingofridays · 30/07/2018 17:38

Most of the things you mention should be fixed by the council not the tenant.

I also disagree that most people don't look after their council houses.

BraidyBee · 30/07/2018 17:39

Omg how can you seriously not be a priority for council housing? You should be at the top of tneir list. You would be if you lived in our area. We are in the bottom band as we aren’t a priority but we’ve been on the list for over ten years and every now and again they list priorities that are only eligible for people in the bottom band, so that’s how we got it.

OP posts:
Mousefunky · 30/07/2018 17:39

As others have said, the council are responsible for a lot of those issues. I’ve only ever lived in a council house once when I was about ten when we were made suddenly homeless. My DM spent lots putting wood flooring and new carpets down and when we moved out they pulled them all up for no reason whatsoever and billed my mum for the cost of removing it! Craziness!

Also, flooring is expensive and I would gather if you are living in a council property chances are you’re not very wealthy.

YeTalkShiteHen · 30/07/2018 17:39

The people I’m talking about here and those who have sufficient inform and are capable but chose not to make their homes nice and kept in a decent state

I’m guessing that inform is an autocorrect of income? So these are people that you know well enough to know their income?

Eliza9917 · 30/07/2018 17:40

Maybe they don't see the point in renovating and improving a property that isn't theirs?

HelenaDove · 30/07/2018 17:41

Braidy your post of 17.37 demonstrates that your problem is with the HA not the previous tenant.

BraidyBee · 30/07/2018 17:41

How am I lucky? My credit rating used to be shocking, and I mean as low as it could be as I didn’t have credit. I decided to get one credit card a few years back and made small purchases and then paid it off in full each month. I did tnis every month and made sure my bills were paid on time, as after housing, food and clothes for us and our kids, bills are our next priority. I don’t want to have to put a big amount on my credit card but we haven’t much spare cash after paying high private rent so it’s our only option.

OP posts:
RossPoldarksFloozie · 30/07/2018 17:41

YeTalkShiteHen

Nothing to add to the thread but that username is fab!

HugAndRoll · 30/07/2018 17:42

I'm not sure Braidy. Luckily (after 51 rejections because we get housing benefit, even though my mum agreed to be a guarantor) we found somewhere to live. The landlord is only letting it for five years though, and I get a maximum of a year tenancy each time so the risk is always there. I'm currently doing a part time degree (the max I'm allowed to do as a carer) to try and get a job that will fit in with my caring responsibilities so I can eventually buy.

glamorousgrandmother · 30/07/2018 17:43

On council estates near me the badly maintained house are the ones that have been bought and are now privately rented. The council owned houses are well maintained.

BraidyBee · 30/07/2018 17:43

No Helena not really. I’d say we already lived in a council property and something went wrong with it due to us damaging it then we’d repair it ourselves.

OP posts:
specialsubject · 30/07/2018 17:44

maintenance and fixes should indeed be done by the council . however it doesnt cost money to put rubbish in a bin and not to kick a place to bits.

it does.cost money to smoke and keep a dog but those are choices.

HelenaDove · 30/07/2018 17:45

Braidy you mentioned the fire is a hazard A tenant attempting a repair on this in a HA property would be in breach of their tenancy agreement by doing so.