The state of council houses

[BraidyBee]

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.

BraidyBee Are you elderly, ill or disabled?

Can you see how other people might be, and that they dont all manage as well as you?

I do regular home visits and most of the families live in social or private rented houses. They are not elderly and the majority are not ill or disabled. However there are many families that live in filth. Thete are many reasons and I suppose tha if it is your family norm you expect the same when you set up your own home and the cycle continues.
At least twice a month I go to houses and have to think of a reason not to sit down as the place is so dusgusting with grease and dig shit in the kitchen.
I don't think it's always a case of not managing because of a delibrating condition but that's what they have got used to. We( the team i work for) on occasions have gone into a home and helped clear out the clutter, and done a ' how clean is your house's revamp on it only for it to be a state within 3 months.
I have no clue to what the answer is.

It's nothing to do with being poor and everything to do with standards and values

This,

All cleaning and tidying need is effort.

Agree that Councils rip any fixtures and fittings out. This happened to me when I got my house, massive chunks of plaster ripped out of walls, I had to complain to my MP to get the Council to replaster walls, also the garden was like a jungle as the previous Tennant's were very elderly and couldn't manage it.

Redneck you need to read the OPs post at 17.37

its stuff the HA/council should be doing.

@RossPoldarksFloozie thank you as is yours!

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

You spelled goat wrong

Our local council estate is immaculate to be fair. Residents keep their own areas clean and tidy, people will pick up rubbish from the road and bin it etc.
They have sold several properties off and you would be hard pressed to find a difference in the condition of the houses.

However, I have many family members and friends who live in both council or HA accommodation and the refusal to do ANYTHING with regards to simple maintenance is staggering.
One Uncle lived with my Nan and she begged my Dad to come and replace a single screw on the letterbox because he wouldn't (she was ill and unable) because it was 'the council's job'
Even my BF wouldn't glue a tile back down, despite it being a PITA for her family because 'they can come out and sort it'
That mentality I just don't get.

I call bullshit OP. Councils strip out and clean and bill the ex residents as necessary. Houses are not being let in the condition you state. You are a goady fucker looking to start a council house tennant bashing thread so DFOD.

Of course it's to do with values not income!

We grew up living in a one bed flat until I was 8 and my sister was 10 because our father left and my mum couldn't afford to move out and we were on the housing list but nothing was available (in the 80s.) So 3 of us in one bedroom with a lounge, tiny kitchen and bathroom for 8 years.

My mum was cleaning to make ends meet but we were those poor kids who had very little. We didn't have fancy furniture (not many people did then) and it was all hand me downs/second hand stuff anyway.

My mum still kept a clean and tidy home. It was basic but immaculate.. because she was brought up working class in the 50s post war where people had pride and values.

Having fancy furniture and a posh garden isn't what people mean by keeping your property nice, clean and tidy.

I own my flat and it was an absolute state, and I've lived like this for the first ten years because I couldn't afford to do anything. I've just started to make it nice, and have planned a seven year timetable to complete all the work that needs doing. I can see why Council tenants can't afford to do any work. A lot of them will have no money.

I won't tell you then OP about the house my friends bought, gorgeous Georgian country ex vicarage, fabulous garden, mature trees,walled veg garden etc previous owners professional but very elderly and despite have children living nearby clearly not coping and had not been for some time. Stained mattresses in the hall ways, piles of rubbish n rooms they weren't using, rooms they were using filthy dirty, carpets soggy around chairs etc rocket furniture abandoned in sheds and garage, Bathrooms and kitchen indescribable, a thick layer of grime and grease covering every surface, sticky floors. It took them two weeks to get the place clean enough to feel they could unpack any of their own belongings. Then they could actually start assessing the material damage to the house the neglect had caused. Fortunately the original fireplaces,cornices and ceiling roses, floor to ceiling Windows and even the chandeliers survived!

Not being able to care for something does not always mean deliberate neglect and vandalism.

Well bully for you, Braidy. You are obviously a superior sort to all those brigands in council housing and everyone should bow down to you.

Different values? Different values to what/who/where/why?

I once bought a flat in a new-build development. The cheapest property was probably in the region of six times national average income. Something like 25% of properties were reserved for housing association tenants. I had reason to visit one once, they had a phone on the wall near the front door, and wrote numbers they needed to remember on the wall in ink. I can't imagine the purchaser of a brand new immaculate house doing that.

It’s funny you know, it wasn’t until I owned my own home that I marked the walls of a doorframe as a height chart for the children.

One tenant who does something a bit odd isn’t a reason to demean all social housing tenants, nor are any of the things OP describes exclusive to social housing tenants.

They’re just an easy group to bash for the lazily judgy.

So its ok to assume that all social housing tenants write on the walls based on one that youve seen

Must be ok to assume that all doctors are serial killers based on Harold Shipman.....................oh wait because that would be ridiculous right?

We are in the process of decorating the house . There is no damp or plaster work but it’s still costing £££ to do and I don’t even want to think of the flooring which we have just redone. We bought this house it was a mess dirty bastards they were! My sister lives in council and it was prefect when she moved in apart from the decor which wasn’t to her taste. I hate the stigma that tennents get!

A big problem is HA's use the cheapest contractors so any work they do is, ime, really shoddy and shit. My windows were replaced 5 years ago and are awful, despite trying my best to keep them nice and there is mould around the sink as it hasn't bloody been fitted properly but they won't correct it. The boiler goes wrong every winter as an overflow pipe isn't at the right angle, but they won't correct it

For those talking about people you know with disabilities/fleeing DV etc and living in social housing, they can apply to the local probation area to have a community payback group come out and do the gardens (they will be supervised by a member of staff) , they often do work like this as well as schools, sheltered accommodation etc

hey can apply to the local probation area to have a community payback group come out and do the gardens (they will be supervised by a member of staff) , they often do work like this as well as schools, sheltered accommodation etc

But these don't exist in all locations.

That scheme doesn’t exist in our LA unfortunately. Disabled people can pay less than the going rate for the council to do it, but still have to pay and people fleeing DV don’t get any help.

Yep, Ye, but people still believe it's a universal service and also that every council has the decorating grants that used to exist about 25 years ago. Those are long gone in most place, you can't even get a loan for putting flooring in or buying appliances, it's the likes of Brighthouse.

There's a council estate about 15 mins from me that looks like a warzone. Rubbish in the road, trollies in the front garden, people going around on horseback even.

What's wrong with people riding horses?

Happens all the time where I live.

Ive lived in council properties, I’ve lived in private rentals and I now own.

Given the choice between council and private, I’d go council every time! Cheap rent and a landlord that actually does repairs. Private landlords are mostly cunts ime.

Owning a house, while a massive privilege, is bloody expensive 😩

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.

That explains everything, OP. You almost certainly got a hard to let property, and I daresay it was hard to let because of its condition.

I think you should think yourself lucky. A bit of hard graft and spending a bit of money and you'll have a nice home, at a low rent, and your tenancy will be secure as long as you don't break any of the terms. In many parts of the country, the only people who can get council properties are those who are homeless and that the council has a statutory duty to house. They will almost certainly have to spend a long period in temporary housing before they get allocated a place.

And after a few years, you may well have the opportunity to buy it at a significant discount.

@LeftRightCentre aye that too! It’s misinformation and assumptions followed by uncalled for judging frankly.

And don’t get me started on the pernicious, odious bloody companies like BrightHouse and their contemporaries who prey on the most financially vulnerable, they ought to be made illegal!