To be upset and angry over this?

[householdprobs]

I moved into my council home in 2011 so around 8 years ago. When I moved in I asked the council if there was an asbestos in the house ( it's a 1935 house) and I was given a survey from sample homes of the same time in my area. I looked at the report in my email and then just forgot about it. Then today i was trying to email the housing and find the address in my email as I was searching that email with report came up, I forgot about it over the years but referred back to it today. He report said that the asbestos is present in some tiles and on a sink pad. I was aware in my kitchen floor when I moved in there was some tiles of some sort so I just put ceramic tiles over them but the tiles that were in when I moved in were not in Great condition they were cracking on the edges. But I just left it. Then I checked under the sink thinking surely they wouldn't have left the sink in from decades ago with an asbestos sink pad on!!! I was told when I moved in this was a new kitchen because the last owner let the previous one go to a mess. Low and behind o check and that sink pad is still there !!! Asbestos was banned from 1984 so this kitchen has been in this house since before 1984 and they couldn't even Been bothered to change the sink in all that time!! I'm so angry and upset. This kitchen is disgusting ! All they do is screw cupboards back on. And also the tiles are worrying me now as well. They knew about these asbestos products but didn't inform me UNTILL I enquired yet they are aware of them ! Imagine I started to rip up the tiles to put my own on and didn't know, it's a good job I just out mine in top. I'm worried now because after pulling up the grip between living room and kitchen I could see the tiles some parts handing off.

OP find out if/when another asbestos survey is due. Your house may be different to the sample properties from years ago. They may well decide to remove it if the floor is cracked and the sink
is damaged to a point it may need replacing in the near future.

Atleast where I’ve worked in the past, it’s always been removed if noticed during a related repair, as a precaution.

Also.... YOU have responsibilities here too...

You have lots of good things being a council /HA tenant...

Many, many, more rights than a private tenant.... Enjoy them...,!!

Subsidised rent/below market rent... (try and find a similar house locally for same/less money).
Better build quality often.
Larger square meterage
Larger gardens
Security of tenancy... In private sector you're only a maximum of 6 months from being thrown out (there doesn't have to be a 'reason').
Ability to do DIY /decor as you want it
Endless supply of workmen at no cost to you...

Etc etc etc

@thegardenfairy why do people like you assume everyone can buy a house? Is pure delusion! At the moment I can't get a mortgage, and I'm in no position to get one, although I'm hoping in the future I'll be able to as I would love to own my own home. Stop assuming everyone can buy a house it's unhelpful. And just because I don't own this House and I rent doesn't mean I should just put up with it

@IamtheDevilsAvocado yes certificates are of course important when it comes to electricity, gas and plumbing or extensive building or structural changes but putting in your own kitchen cupboard to minimise costs shouldn't need certificates. It's me who will have to pay for anything that's not done right not for council because I'm liable in this instance.

@Ellisandra why are my ceramic tiles a 'botched job'
?? They are perfectly laid thank you very much but obviously thinks wear down over the years and ceramic cracks esp if you drop things in them so they now need to be replaced ( I've had these for 8 years, time for a change) I was just concerned about damaging the asbestos ones under neath which the council are liable for because they left them in and it's not my fault is it? Why on earth would I live with flooring like that? Of course I would cover them with my own flooring. Would you keep flooring from a previous tenant or that are not yours? No you wouldn't so why should social housing tenants. Your talking like we should live in squalor just because we are 'Lucky' to have social housing

@Ellisandra oh and there is only so much fixing and patching up you can do of cupboards. Would you be happy to live with a kitchen sink work too rotting with mould behind it? If you was in he private sector housing would you put up with that? If I came on here talking about a private landlord you'd all be shouting 'get that landlord to sort it!' But because it's social housing you seem to think it's acceptable to live with a rotten wood kitchen

@householdprobs were you worried about damaging the tiles when you put your tiles over the original vinyl tiles? How do you know 'you' didn't cause any damage.
Anyway - vinyl floor tiling has 2-5% non-friable asbestos (typically), they pose no risk to you, unless damaged - which you may have caused in the past.
It sound like you don't want to abide by the rules of your tenancy - while the council have responsibilities as well - they have assessed the asbestos in you house and have deemed them of low risk for management only. You have to accept this.

@BriennetheBeauty how can we damage tiles by covering them ? They were not right when we moved in. We covered them because who wants to live with worn black tiles ? We have the right to put in our own flooring and the council never advised us not to, like Ive said I only know about these tiles because I enquired about them, if I didn't ask they wouldn't have told me. The council could have removed them whilst the house was empty before letting it to a new tenant. They don't care that they put others at risk as long as they save money but yet I can't save money by fitting my own kitchen instead of having to have a company do it. It's double standards. They expect tenants to live with a rotting kitchen which is attracting an infestation of wood louse . So I have to follow rules yet they don't ? I'm sure I read some there that by law hey have to label asbestos products which the council obviously don't do

@householdprobs - I didn't say you had damaged then only that you MAY have done so.
They are not putting you at risk - they are being managed, the council know about them, they are on their asbestos management register.
If you want the legal framework on CAR (Control of Asbestos Regulations) I suggest you read this: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg223.pdf
The other aspects of your kitchen are not really my concern - you have to wait for the council's response to your request.

Ah, it's one of those threads.
OP - AIBU?
MNetters- yes you are
OP - no I'm not!

Stop trying to put words into my mouth.

Nowhere have I said that social housing tenants should live in squalor. Don’t be ridiculous.

Actually, it’s perfectjy normal for private renters and buyers to live with someone else’s flooring. It’s onmy social housing where there can be policies to remove flooring. Some lucky people buy a house then immediately refit all the flooring... but not many!

The reason I say your ceramic floor tiles were a botched job, was because you have said you fear you cannot remove them safely. You could have fitted a marine ply layer as a barrier between both floor tile layers - I’m sure there are other options too.

You are just spouting nonsense that the council is forcing you to pay out for professional fitting.

That did not happen.

You’re waiting for a free visit, where they may well tell you - “yes, fine - joinery changes are OK, don’t touch the electrics, and btw when you remove the sink that’s an asbestos pad so don’t damage it, and call us for disposal”.

Like I said earlier, save “angry and upset” for when there’s actually an issue.

As for the kitchen damp... that’s shit, and landlords should fix that, private or social. I don’t want a race to the bottom, I’ve lived in some pretty ropey private rentals.

If your taps need to be replaced, or a sink unit resealed (or whatever is causing the rot) then of course you should call for repairs. But for a level of imperfection, it’s just normal wear and tear and you don’t need a new kitchen.

The council could indeed have spent money and time on asbestos removal for low risk tiles.

Multiply that up by a huge number of houses... and you’ve got less money for actually needed repairs. Like kitchens?

Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill OP. It isn’t worth being ‘upset and angry’ about.

But because it's social housing you seem to think it's acceptable to live with a rotten wood kitchen

But it’s a privilege to be able to replace it if needed You are lucky in that respect. Count your blessings.

I've had these for 8 years, time for a change - our carpet here is over thirty years old. It’s older than me. Can’t change it though!

I do live with a shitty kitchen in private rental, and not a thing I can do about it. Joists went underneath bathroom floor, he got cowboy builders in to do a crappy job and the same problem is happening again. The roof leaks. Floorboards are subsiding. Any repairs needed, we do ourselves otherwise landlord hikes the rent up. Housing is at such a premium around here that we can’t afford to move, and can’t move out of area because of DH’s job.

They don't care that they put others at risk as long as they save money but yet I can't save money by fitting my own kitchen instead of having to have a company do it. It's double standards

But you are saving money because you are living in social housing? Surely you should be grateful for this? Many people are crippling themselves with private tent rates, or are homeless? Also, if you lived in a different country you most certainly wouldn't be getting these benefits. If you want a new kitchen then save and put one in properly like everybody else? And if you don't like the council's standards for asbestos then move. You are coming across pretty entitled to be honest...

putting in your own kitchen cupboard to minimise costs shouldn't need certificates. It's me who will have to pay for anything that's not done right not for council because I'm liable in this instance.

One of the reasons many councils insist on tenants getting consent to have changes made and only grant permission when the work is done by professional companies is because a badly done job can cost thousands to put right.

Building companies have insurance, so the councils know that they will get those costs covered in the event of anything major going wrong. My BIL has third party liability cover of £1,000,000, because he undertakes some work for local authorities, and that's what they ask for. If you can afford to pay the cost of putting right significant damage arising from fire, flood or simple incompetence, then you can afford to pay a proper contractor to put in a new kitchen!

A family I know decided to have their council house made open plan and a new kitchen put in. The tenant's brother in law did the work.

He took out 2 load bearing walls without putting in any support, flooded the ground floor of their house and the 2 neighbouring properties and somehow managed to balls up the drains for the whole terrace.

The cost of putting it right ran close to £100k.

why are my ceramic tiles a 'botched job'
?? They are perfectly laid thank you very much but obviously thinks wear down over the years and ceramic cracks esp if you drop things in them so they now need to be replaced ( I've had these for 8 years, time for a change) I was just concerned about damaging the asbestos ones under neath

Well, it is a botched job then. You should never lay ceramic tiles on top of existing vinyl or other "soft" tiles. If there's any movement whatsoever in the flooring underneath, the tiles will move and crack. And did you check first that there was nothing (wiring or plumbing) underneath the flooring that might require access, or if building regs re access apply? You should have taken the old flooring up and put levelling compound down first and, ideally, have removed the skirting and replaced it after you'd laid the new tiles.

@LakieLady why the hell would I put my family in danger by removing asbestos tiles myself ?? Wtf? Stupid bad advice from you there
And we put our own flooring on because who wants to live with black cracked asbestos tiles !

There is nothing under the tiles that require access no plumbing no nothing

And @LakieLady your story of your brother in law is completely different, he caused structural damage by removing walls, it's hardly the same as taking a cupboard off a wall and replacing it ! How can you compare replacing a cupboard with taking down a wall like they are the same thing lol

You should have paid for someone to come and remove the asbestos tiles before you laid your tiles. Problem solved?

@boomboomshakalack why should I fork out money for that? When it's the councils responsibility. They had chance to remove them prior to me moving in. Yes it would have cost them money but it's their duty to make sure these are not a danger.

You’re so entitled it’s unbelievable.

You say asbestos was banned in 1984. However, the import of blue and brown asbestos was banned in 1985, and white asbestos wasn’t banned until 1999. I just had a quick google and asbestos bitumen sink pads use white asbestos, so there’s a good chance your kitchen sink isn’t as old as you thought.

who the hell wants to live with cracked tiles

why should I should I fork out money for that? When it's the councils responsibility

Why should taxpayers fork out their hard-earned money for your new tiles? Do you expect everything handed to on a plate? Yes, put your hand in your own pocket and pay for your damn tiles!

We have a housing crisis in this country, hundreds of thousands of people on the streets, families everywhere in B&Bs and hotels for months and years, and you think taxpayer money would be better spent improving the aesthetics of your kitchen tiles? Shame on you!

Why do you think it unreasonable for the property owner to want proof that a kitchen has been installed correctly? It's perfectly possibly to do a total botch job - I remember viewing one property many years ago where the owner proudly explained how he had put the cupboards up with nails.