To clarify exactly what a council house looks like

[Lifegoeson5]

So many posts about council housing and 'benefit scroungers' getting 'free' housing.
I pay £150 a week for this...

Scrub the mould off and air it will look so much better and look at ways of brightening it up

@MistyCloud do those things really work. we get condensation in our bedroom. we can't have the windows open much(thanks to dickhead man who starts his van at silly aclock and leaves it running for ages!)

we live in a HA house and decoration and cleaning are down to us.
I feel lucky as its disabled accessable and we get things like our boiler serviced and we don't have to pay extra.

So the council should come out, open some windows, pop the heating on and bleach the mould @OnlyTheTitOfTheIceberg? . This is standard advice the vast majority of people have to follow to avoid mould in their homes, whether they own, rent or live in council homes, it's not due to the standard of housing. The reason people get worked up is because the OP is trying to illustrate that council houses are all below standard, when a) you cant speak on behalf of everyone, b) plenty of people pay a lot more for the priveldge of living in worse conditions, and c) its trying to buy into the notion that everyone who rents or buys is rich and can pay for new showers, fancy boilers and for magical non moulding houses; when that isn't the case at all. If the OP posted saying look at the state of my council house, and it did need repairs to be safe, then fair enough. It's not a race to the bottom, but it's also not a competition for who has it worse.

To be honest these pics are what my private rental in London looks like. We pay over £1.2k a month, it’s a tiny 1 bed.

Blimey .Wake up call for me .Double glazing and a shower are regarded as standard .

£150 per week for 7 of you sounds ok.

And all your pics show is that previous tenants didn't clean or look after the property well! That's hardly the council's fault. To get rid of damp, clean thoroughly and ensure the poroperty is well ventilated and warm.

Plus, councils are strapped for cash. Why should they pay for redecorating? That's something you can do cheaply and easily - buy some paint and you can all help (if some of your dc are old enough).

How many bedrooms are there? Maybe the boiler wasn't designed for a house with 7 people living in it. Baths use much more water than a shower. Do you have a shower?

My son paid a private landlord £1000 a month for an even worse place. Landlord couldn't care less. Told my son he could move if he didn't like it. The next place was even worse and the third place was sold from under him within 6 months. He can't afford to buy.

Looks like it just needs cleaning and having the windows open for a bit every day. Like we do

I have them Samcro and they really are fab.

My sympathy is limited OP. I was in private rent with a boiler that wasn't working properly for three years. Couldn't afford to move for a lifetime as I was paying hundreds a month. I'm in a better position now financially so can think about expanding our family beyond 2. As someone that works bloody hard and receives no state help (and rightly so) housing 5 kids isn't realistic in the slightest.

@BlueBirdGreenFence thanks I will get some.

There should be a responsibility on the owner of the property to make sure damp courses etc are fit for purpose and it’s at least dry and clean when a new tenant.

No, the mould is caused by condensation, it is nothing to do with damp courses. Rising damp caused by lack of damp course in older houses is clean - not mouldy. Councils do not normally clean houses between tenants. There may be the occasional exception where previous tenants have left it in particularly disgusting state.

I paid over £1k in a private rental with black mould. I just bleached it a lot.

Not sure what you thought this post would prove @Lifegoeson5.

Astonish mould & mildew on those windows for sure 🤢 .. then keep on top of it. Open windows, put your heating on. doing both of those will help to combat the mould. surely you cannot complain about having heating on, i mean surely your 5 kids need heat? start to do things with it and make it a home, something your proud of and happy to be in. you're actually quite lucky and that's an amazing price.

My mortgaged house has similar issues but most were fixed by cleaning, painting and small repairs

Same windows as my council house, except mine dont have dirt on them. I wipe them over every morning when there is condensation and open them a bit. Houses need cleaning ya know

I live in a mortgaged house. We get mould round the windows - the house is fully renovated but it still happens from time to time..... we have to clean regularly with mould spray. It's not a big job, it's just cleaning!

The first house I bought had terrible mould problems, you really do have to ventilate and heat. I know thats incredibly hard when money for heating may not be available. My Nana's council house is immaculate though, she cleans a lot even at 90.

Has the Op actually said where they live because these threads always go he same way posters piling on to say they pay so such more for private rent, I have just had a quick look there are plenty of three bedroom ( that's two double and one single bedroom houses for rent in my town for less than £700/month .

And there are also some four bedroom , for rent for between £725 and £850/month

We own and had similar problems. What has solved it for us is: Good dehumidifiers (Challenge one from Argos is great), the little spot damp traps and hanging damp traps, a Karcher window vac and in trouble spots (mainly exterior walls where there was no party wall so exposed to elements) we used a damp proofing paint which was a bit pricy but has done the trick then over that Dulux Mould repellent paint. Using a mould cleaner spray helps as well and Wilko's do a good one that is affordable. Even in winter have a time where you open the windows (not while the dehumidifiers are on though) to air the house. Always air after a bath. The hot water does need looking at as it may be that your tank is not filling properly or something. The gaps could be filled. Also with ventilation check that none of your airbricks are obscured by furniture etc as that will stop the house breathing and add to the issues.

Our hot water tank only produces enough for one bath. Any more we need to put the immersion heater on. Unless you have a combi boiler which makes as much hot water as you need, when you need it, that's normal.

The window looks like it needs a good clean/wipe over with a damp cloth.

It's been standard in my area that new tenants have to decorate their houses when they move in for many years now. I know that they did used to paint everything magnolia before new tenants moved in but that was about 30 years ago.

My house has no ventilation bricks so the windows are opened everyday, even when it's snowing.

I'm not saying about your situation but you hear a lot of stories about houses with damp and it's usually because the tumble dryer is in a room with no ventilation. Sometimes the tenant has to take some responsibility.

The dirt on that velux window handle can be removed in about 2 seconds with a cloth and some washing up liquid.
More generally if you have the heating on as most people do (having rubbed off the mould etc) it should all be fine. Make sure ventilation comes in. I sleep with the window open each night etc.

I think it's the same as PP, you need to keep it clean and decorate yourself. I appreciate not wanting to spend money on a house that's not yours but the council won't decorate it. The council should be on top of the boiler maintenance though.