Anyone renting through a housing association?

[getal]

I've just moved into a property. I've been homeless for a year and saved a good chunk of money as I was well prepared that some housing association properties are in desperate need of improvement and as expected - my new home is.

The internal doors are absolutely awful - extremely dirty and rotten in places. Door handles are old and could easily just snap. I'd like to replace them with new doors however I've been told I need to wait 12 months before I can do anything like this. It's also the same with the skirting boards. I wouldn't of deemed this major work. Just simple improvements.

Anyone got any experience with this? I'm tempted to just do it anyway. This is a long term new home for me and my kids and I just want to make it as nice and homely as possible for us.

I'm also house proud - can't help it!

Another good tip! Thank you - they probably open the post quicker than they do emails!

I may be very wrong, but I think you have to wait 'til you have an assured tenancy before you can remove adaptions for disabilities?

This needs removing because of a disability. I've been told it's fine but god knows how long it will take before they tell me I can do it. I won't be able to wash my son at my home until it's done

If it's orbit you will probably succumb to old age before they do things. They have only just put the scaffolding up to sort out my roof from the storm last year.
Any change in bathroom normally requires an OT report.
I could list numerous complaints but I won't.

HAs and councils wind me up with this - it’s fixtures and fittings so no you can’t replace them immediately, but even when they’re rotting/dangerous, they say it’s “cosmetic” and won’t replace them.

When I got mine around 11 years ago, there was no fence at all on the back garden, which backed onto an alleyway. In a rough as fuck area of my hometown. The garden was fly tipped all over. They cleared it after my midwife got involved.

DCs were 3 and 6 months old, it was Spring.

Within a week it had happened again, and they told me that as the rubbish was now on my property, it was my problem to solved, I had to get rid of it.

Only, it was 6 fucking tyres. And around 15 bin bags. Tyres are impossible to get rid of and I sure as shit wasn’t touching bin bags that weren’t mine, and I had no way to get rid of them anyway!

Again, midwife got involved and they cleared the bags, but not the tyres.

This continued, and I couldn’t use my garden even if it hadn’t, due to the lack of fence. They told me when I moved in that it would be flagged as urgent and done soon.

It took them 15 months, and they told me they’d evict me if I put my own fence up - step Dad was a joiner, would have cost me nothing as he wanted somewhere safe for his Grandkids to play.

Possibly already been said but keep absolutely everything in writing. They have a wonderful habit of saying things on the phone or to your face and then claiming they never did. Good luck and congratulations on getting a home.

Gosh that's awful! I can see why that still makes you angry! I don't understand as a fence is an improvement on the house. I've been told I can put one up to make it safer and to stop teenagers coming in. There's a park at the back of the house where they set fire things regularly. I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience. It makes me think I've made a huge mistake but I don't know what else to do!

My doors are the same ones that were put in when the place was built 45+ years ago. I've been told that it's up to me to replace them which I would do if they weren't 3ft wide. Normal sized ones I'd have no issue with (get some cheap ones from B&Q), but replacing 3 3ft doors is bloody pricey.

These doors are the same. Very old and not been replaced in a long long time. No idea the sizes of them though, I will check next time I go.

Thank you for your response

I need to replace my doors too, but they’re not standard size either so I’d have to get them planed down to fit.

I’d considered trying to do it myself, but living in a 1 bed flat there isn’t much room to plane doors! Especially without getting bloody sawdust everywhere! 🙄

I bet mine aren't easy ones to replace, I will definitely have a measure and see

No don’t see it as a mistake. You’ve got a roof over your head you waited a long time for.

It can just take a bit longer with HA’s or Councils to get things done. Sometimes you have to pester them for some things.

Also they’re regulated by the Housing Ombudsman. So if ever you’ve exhausted all options with them and aren’t getting anywhere, speak to the HO to see if they can help. A nudge from them usually puts a rocket up their backsides!

I once had scaffolding stuck outside my flat for weeks after some work was completed. I complained several times about it being left there and pointed out it was a security issue (and safety issue if the kids climbed up it - which they did), but got no response. In the end I sent my HA an email saying if they didn’t get the damn scaffolding removed in the next 7 days, I’d report them to the Housing Ombudsman. Was down 24 hours later 🤣

I would jump at it. Move in and do one task at a time. I'm saving for my bathroom presently.

Nope, not a mistake. A hoarder had lived in mine for 30+ years so no not only had no upgrades had been done the entire time, the entire place was falling to pieces, filthy, stank. Ceilings, walls, the lot.

I spent a week ripping layers and layers of dirty, nicotine stained wallpaper off each wall before slapping white paint everywhere. Around 2 years for the council to replace the fence, kitchen and bathroom (they took no end of bleach to get clean and I very rarely use the stuff!) and for me to afford/get round to decorating properly.

Fortunately my Grandparents (live abroad) covered all the flooring costs or I’d have been screwed as aside from the kitchen and bathroom (which were some sort of weird base tile but not a tile), the floorboards were, frankly, dangerous.