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.

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

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 WELL SAID!!!!!!! (Btw I'm a private tenant...)

I agree. On MN people will be incredibly rude to council or HA tenants...when HA in particular are often the WORST examples of slum landlordery out there. We used to live in a HA house and the place was DISGUSTING. We paid quite a lot...it wasn't "cheap" or subsidised and yet the bath would not drain and there was mould. Repeated requests for them to fix it were ignored.

OP with private landlord:

I moved into a property with a safe asbestos floor.
I didn’t like it so I laid some tiles (DIY) on top.
They’re now cracked and broken.
I’m moving out, and landlord said he’s withholding my deposit to replace floor, and it include £x extra for asbestos work because I’ve now made the original floor unsafe because it will be disturbed by my tiles sticking to it.
Is my private landlord being unreasonable?

Elisandra I don't think you'll get your deposit back. If the LL didn't agree to the changes you made, he or she can claim.

The fact is that if you wanted to rent a gold star house with a fantastic repairs service you would paying a hell of a lot more rent for it. The choice is to pay the higher rent somewhere else or fund some of the repairs yourself.
I'm sorry you are overcrowded but I don't suppose you were overcrowded when you moved in so it's not really relevant to your repair issues.
Just to set the record straight, a lot of HA properties are re-mortgaged so that money can be raised for new build programmes. Its not a sector rolling in money, its all asset juggling with the rental money not being the only income stream.

In our local council housing kitchens and bathrooms have to be replaced something like every 25 years. Outside doors and fencing is painted every 8 years currently. Internal decorating is responsibility of tenant. You can refuse to have it done if you wish to do your own or live with what you have. We moved into our house 10 years ago. It was empty for 3 months whilst the council did repairs and I use that term very loosely. They ripped out a shower that was less than 2 years old, wood flooring and a greenhouse amogst other things. We moved in and decorated laid new carpets ect. Exactly 4 months after we moved in we had a letter explaining that we were due and legally had to have a complete house rewire. Now dont get me wrong I am grateful for not having to pay for this but I do feel this is the sort of thing that should be checked before handing over to new tenants.
Also a PP mentioned having free workmen. This is not the case. If you need the council to come out and fix/repair things unless you can prove it wasn't your fault you mow have to pay the going rate for the work.

I don’t think people are picking on the OP because she lives in council housing. That’s neither here nor there. She moved into a place with perfectly functional tiles, put her own on top and is now complaining that to change them will be difficult as original tiles were asbestos and will need a professional to remove. But OP created this problem in the first place by laying tile over tile.

Not so much to do with picking on council tenants, more to do with taking some personal responsibility for your mistakes and paying to put them right, not holding the council responsible.

She moved into a place with perfectly functional tiles, put her own on top and is now complaining that to change them will be difficult as original tiles were asbestos and will need a professional to remove. But OP created this problem in the first place by laying tile over tile

Again, what exactly are you picturing when you think of council flooring? You said you know what it looks like yet didn't answer when I asked if you would live with it yourself

When the council did here they shock horror clagged floor tiles over the council tiles. Did they do it wrong?

OP has probably stepped away.

In case not... OP, in later posts you mentioned you suffer from anxiety which you think is driving the asbestos worries.

I know anxiety isn’t fixed with logic, but can you try to find out what you’re dealing with? Check if someone from the council who deals with asbestos can speak to you, maybe call the charity Shelter for advice?

No-one here can know whether the tiles are an issue or not.

If they are, Shelter may be able to advise you on how to approach the council.

At the same time, make sure you’re in touch with your GP to get the best support for your anxiety.

In the very short term, a check off cut of Lino over your floor tiles might reassure you.

@MrsAriadneOliver you have no idea
Your one of those know if all's. I know what it's like to live in private accommodation and I sympathise as it's so hard, but you don't know what it's like living in a council house, you have 0 experience of it so why chime off on things you think you know. Yes council housing is subsided rent but that also means subsided housing. When you move into a council property it's an actual mess! It's disgusting so there's loads of work you have to do to make it liveable at least. Private you just move in with already laid carpets and decorated. You would never live with the tiles I had on my kitchen floor so why should anyone else

Yes council housing is subsided rent

No it really isn't!

@gamerchick what do you mean? People on this thread seem to think that people who live in a council house are getting an absolute bargain. Lol

I know, it's always like that on here. We haven't long got rid of the council houses are free belief without you believing them when they say they're subsidised.

They aren't and never have been subsidised.

Social rent is always below market value for rent in the area they are located, I think that’s why posters refer to “subsidised” rent. Most are capped at the LA Housing Allowance tarrif (which is very low).

Affordable rent - the next step up in terms of costs is also below market value, but not by as much; as social housing providers are able to access government funding to build affordable housing properties.

As for the asbestos - the landlord isn’t even obliged to tell you. If they have identified asbestos but it is safe then they can leave it alone. It’s one of - but not the only - reason you are required to seek permission for alterations to fixtures and fittings.

Some social housing providers don’t allow laminate or tiles anywhere in their properties, especially in flats but sometimes terraced houses due to the noise of normal life affecting neighbours. Did you have permission to tile the kitchen floor?

You will have difficulty proving that the floor was damaged when you covered it up because it’s been eight years. I would ask for a surveyor to asses your kitchen and ask if it currently meets decent homes standard. Good Luck. This isn’t going to be a quick or easy one to resolve, in all likelihood, if the landlord agrees the asbestos needs removing they will arrange it themselves to ensure compliance with the regulations, whether they charge it back to you or not will depend on if they believe it was damaged accidentally. They won’t accept it was damaged already when you moved I because they should and would have removed it when it was empty if they were

@NormaNameChange there is nothing that states that you have to ask permission to lay floor tiles. If that was the case they would have said so at signing up for the property. They said nothing. Added to the fact they have been to this house numerous times over the years and have seen these tiles and again said nothing