AIBU in thinking if you have a Council house and the Council are modernising it you shouldn't really moan about it?!

[Mydietstartstomorrow]

So I'm in B&M in the queue listening to a customer moan on and on about how the Council have only given her 3 weeks notice that she is getting a new kitchen and bathroom fitted and this is totally unacceptable and how it's going to disrupt her life! Checkout lady then moans that she contacted her Housing Association to find out she's not entitled to a new bathroom for some time yet. AIBU to think some people feel so entitled? What about the people (me) who own their own home and cant currently ever imagine having the money to have a new kitchen and bathroom fitted?! Oh, and the loft was being insulated also!

The hard wired ones have battery back up and yes HA's will often replace them, you know as part of being a responsible landlord and making sure there are working alarms.

The hard wired alarms have back up batteries in case of power outages, HA/Councils should be automatically checking smoke alarms at annual gas services.

As for replacement of smoke alarms, you need to remove a wire (which will be connected to the main electrical supply) therefore any HA/Council worth salt, should not be asking tenants to change batteries.

Also for a back up battery, they start beeping 7 days for the battery to stop operating.

Battery operated alarms, Yes, as there is no danger for tenants to change these themselves.

YABU

One thing people like you don't seem to realise is that when you own your home, you own any improvement to it as well. The ha owns my home, they put a new roof on (which is a story in itself!) They own the property, and therefore the roof, I won't be taking it with me when I leave will I? They benefit from a property fit to live in that I pay rent on (yes, rent, from my wages, that I earn from my job, I realise it's a hard concept to grasp for some that someone in social housing might work and pay rent, it doesn't fit the scrounger image we have does it?!) Without said roof, the place would have continued to leak like a sieve and actually I do feel entitled to live somewhere without getting rained on when I'm paying for it.
I was told in January that the roof would be done this year. I got precisely zero notice of when, and the scaffolding turned up a fortnight before the work started. It was February, and the work took 3 weeks, because there were days it couldn't be done due to weather. There were 3 and 4 days at a time where there was a ceiling and a tarp between us and the elements. It was freezing. My rota rotation was also nights for the first week, zero notice so zero chance to organise sleeping anywhere else or time off too - ever tried sleeping through a roof being renewed? That's without the shouting, swearing and radio blasting. Then I was threatened with court action because they rang me 8 times between 1 and 3pm (now on days and at work) and they needed access to check the boiler flu - right there and then and I was 'being obstructive' as I didn't answer the phone, and wasn't in for an appointment I didn't know I had, that they didn't know I had until 1pm. Remember I'm paying rent for this place too (I know unbelievable!)
The inconvenience was one thing and unavoidable once it happened, and the appointment and ensuing threats were something else. So yeah, I'll fucking moan about a shit service I'm damned well paying for!

Those in Council Houses who are saying they aren’t allowed to do basic repairs/ improvements themselves, who is going to know??

The council never seem to inspect their properties; hence people get away with having disgusting conditions, drug use and having several large dogs on most estates ( where I live anyway)

And jealous, yes, fuck I'm jealous of a new kitchen and bathroom and don't mind admitting it!

Oh please. You own your home. You can choose what to do to your house. If you want a crappy council kitchen then stay in a council house.

Sorry Helena I’m not sure what those links are for, but I assumed clarion because

www.clarionhg.com/development/regeneration/barne-barton/

Well ive had SEVEN requests for different surveys for different things since New Year

Sorry the block in Plymouth that caught fire after residents requests for repair were ignored was Sanctuary

I posted the links to Clarion trust pilot in response to you saying same or similar behaviour was not representative of Clarion Many of their tenants would beg to differ.

No they don’t inspect @WitchesGlove because the whole point of social housing was that it was a home for people. That the landlord didn’t interfere with their lives with regular inspections etc like some small time estate agent. That people could have a house for life and treat it as their own.

The idea was the move away from the slum landlords and offer people houses they were proud to live in. They have never been regularly inspected. This is also the reason social housing is completely empty when you move in- so you can decorate to suit and treat it as your home.

As long as you pay your rent on time, be a good neighbour and respect the home you should be left alone.

I have lived in my HA house for 20 years now. Last year, I had a new kitchen to replace the one that needed replacing when I moved in really.

It should have taken a week, but took 2. We are not well off, pay full rent and council tax and could not really afford to eat out every night, which we had to do.

I do love my new kitchen, but I do think I am entitled to have been upset by the disruption.

@Crustytoenail addressing the bullying culture towards tenants is supposed to be part of the Green Paper

I’m surprised that so many say that you can’t put up blinds make small changes yourself
My sister has a council house
She has put in her own lovely kitchen and bathroom
She ask the Council for permission and they were fine as long as she used a list of approved builders from the councils list and that she had the correct certificates for electrics
She plans to buy it next year so she was quite happy to spend a bit of money on it

Tbf it’s not representative of sanctuary either. Both are very good landlords which of course doesn’t mean there aren’t complaints

Still shocked at the lack of response towards the tenant who posted that the contractors were smoking weed. No doubt while working with electrics.

Instead we get the HA version of NAMALT NAHAALT

Better tell that to Private Eye @Passthecherrycoke They missed the memo

What difference does it make that the weed smokers were working with electrics? They were in the garden on their break?

The guys in installed my virgin media did the same- I phone virgin and told them. Surely that’s what everyone would do?

YABU

www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/first-priority-the-inside-story-of-a-housing-association-that-almost-went-bust-58864

Smoking weed is not common practise, and likely an isolated incident, most trades don’t abuse drugs while in full time employment, intact most people who work don’t abuse drugs while working.

So I’m sure sure what your trying to achieve there Helena.

The poster who commented on this should have made a complaint to the housing dept (if she didn’t) at the time.

I don’t get the private eye reference but can be very sure they know fuck all about housing associations 🤣

@Lizziespring

"houses are done up fancier than mine"

RTFT

i really really hope some of the SH haters on here get fucked over when the tenant who is their child minder /teacher/teachers assistant /GP receptionist has to take time off work to rectify situations like this People are so inherently selfish its the only thing that will get through.

When we got a new kitchen/bathroom/rewiring I was 7 months pregnant
I had 3 weeks notice and a choice of 4 awful kitchens/bathrooms

They took the loo out for a day which was hell
The dust was just crazy
I had no kitchen for 2 and a half weeks-and 4 kids to feed-limited budget so couldn’t get takeout for most of it
Finally got it done-the bathroom leaked
Doors where hung upside down
The heavy kitchen cupboard fell off the wall and hit my daughter on the head-was told ‘tough’ by the council
The floor came up after a month
The breakfast bar started to come away from the wall
The boiler kept breaking down
Kitchen handles kept falling off
And so did the fireplace
No electric for 3 days
Had a shower and a workman just walked in

We now own our own home and our kitchen bathroom will need replacing in the next few years but at least by paying for it ourselves we do get better ‘rights’/choices than if we got it ‘free’
Oh and my rent went up just after so not free at all