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!

Some people live in council houses through no fault of their own ! I used to live in one in my younger years because I had NO choice. People like YOU anger me so much because I WAS victimised by people like you jealous, bitter towards people in council housing! She’s complaining because she’s not going to say I wish I had my own house is she! SOME people have the life they have through no fault of their OWN!!!!!!!!

In regards to the decoration, yes a lot of HA properties leave a lot to be desired when first let and it is costly to get right, but how many times on here are private renters bemoaning that they can't decorate and living in fear of getting a mark on the walls or carpets.

Building is happening in many parts of the country, either dedicated schemes or purchasing new builds on private estates, it just varies vastly across the UK, England in particular.

Many people can only afford a cheap kitchen. I bought from Ikea. Why should a council tenant get a more expensive kitchen? This is the governments money.

YABU, if you want to invest in your property, then you can at your convenience.

Rental owners routinely don’t get that choice, and to have both your kitchen and bathroom plus loft bring modernised at the same time is a massively stressful and inconvenience all round, irregardless if the own their home or not.

I don't know what the councils criteria have to be to give a contract to a certain company - or are fitters council workers that should be sacked? Genuinely no idea.

Councils have to advertise for contractors to submit tenders for council contracts. Unless they have very good reasons to do otherwise, they have to go with the company that submits the lowest tender.

If any councils still have their own direct labour organisations, they are allowed to tender too, but the chances of their tender being the lowest are slim, because councils pay their staff better than most private companies. It's another example of race to the bottom.

Since I posted on this thread, four pages ago, I have quickly read most of the recent posts. The thread has confirmed what I always believed: living in council property is no picnic!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/3608961-Social-housing-residents-second-class-citizens-over-home-repairs

Why should a council tenant get a more expensive kitchen? This is the governments money.

Because the council still have to maintain Decent home standards, or should council tenants live in squatters homes because “it’s the government last money” ?

@mimibunz you are making yourself look a fool.

but im sure you are being head hunted by RBKC or a similar organisation as i type

Yeah I guess. But the shit tonne of equity makes it a bit better

Anyway if it’s a housing association is the housing associations money, not the governments.

And whether it’s housing association or council, the money is actually the rental income paid by tenants

YANBU OP and have had some vile responses from goady MNers.

Just calm down everyone. FWIW I totally agree with OP.

This is the governments money.

Well not really, it is money raised from rents. The government however did mandate a rent reduction a few years back, this had a massive effect on planned work programmes (into the millions over the years) and is probably a factor in why they are trying to get the kitchen to last a little longer.

there is a political subtext going on here which I think is quite important to reflect on.

I think we can see social housing as a benevolent gift or we can see it as a feature of the welfare state and citizenship rights in some circumstances for vulnerable people or families.

if you have social housing, it may be likely that you have little choice in the market place and possibly in other areas of your life.

I think how you felt tells you something about the two sided political view of social housing in this country and how this affects all our views on it. And the lady stating she wanted some choice reminds us we are all the same in desiring some freedom and control, even when this is hard to achieve.

@mollpop If the teaching assistant at your childs school/class was a HA tenant and had to take time off at a HAs whim for repairs and refurbs you and some others on here would be the first to moan
Ditto the receptionist at your doctors surgery
Ditto the care worker at your grannys care home
Ditto the paramedic i mentioned upthread.

All people who live in social housing.

Them taking time off work because of dodgy repairs and sub standard work could affect non tenants too. Be careful what you wish for.

I'm not wishing for anything, just expressing an opinion

Excellent point @sarmare

Council tenants apparently just have to suck it up as at the end of the day they have got a “free” home, attitudes on here are vile.

No water, no coping facilities, no bathroom facilities, no heating, unable to access bedrooms as likely the loft contents are in the bedrooms, as well as the kitchen and bathroom and that’s not to mention the garden being used as a dumping site, and the living room the new stock rooms swell as multipe trade traipsing in and out of your home, plumbers, electricians, gas engineers, joiners, florers, plastered and tilers.... and god forbid if the property has a positive asbestos reports as no one can access any of the rooms which are quarantined, when the asbestos company is removing the asbestos!!

Walk in the absolute park for those pesky tenants.

I say that as a senior manager of a housing manager!!!

It’s no walk in the park for our tenants, especially those who are vulnerable it have young children, and those who work full time.

Ditto the childminder who works at your childs nursery so you can go to work

*cooking facilities

*texing on the bus

Housing association, I give up!

My ex downstairs neighbours kitchen took nine months from start to finish. And they broke the door on his washing machine.

I don't know what you think council house kitchens include @minibunz? But mine is just cupboards and work tops, crap ones at that ,all most of the cupboard doors are falling off , the work top is falling to bits and the sink is coming away from the wall ,we don't get any white goods all of those we buy ourselvrs, I think people are imagining full fitted kitchens with white goods .I need my fences replacing because they are about 3ft high and my severely autistic child keeps climbing over them ,it's been assessed as priority by the occupational therapist i last October we are still.waiting for it.

At least if your having your own place done you can choose when and with who.
We've had works done where it says they won't put there mess right and that we have too. So when the bolier was done and the broke flooring, stood on the work surface and scratched and some how burnt it that was done to us to fix.
The new kitchen that lasted less than a year as it was put in so badly.
The new from and back doors we desperately needed as they where falling apart wouldn't close, had massive gaps in and leaked worse than the wood ones. Up to us to sort out too.
When they put in cladding for the whole street and cut our phone line, removed and damaged a sky dish up To us to sort out.
Not to mention the times they let our dog out because they thought it was there right to use out bathroom even though they where suppled with portapotties, the amount of water they used as we where the only ones with an out side tap buckets and buckets being driven down the road which we had to cover the cost for being on a water meter was fun!
The crap they left in the garden whe they did the windows, the tiles the dislodged the plants they trampled the cigarette butts in the garden and it's all down to us to sort.
So council tenants can moan they have a right to in some cases, plus who the hell cares where they live it's still damn inconvenient to have in people you didn't ask for on short notice needed or not