To think the council are disgusting for how the council treat their tenants ?

[inthedarkx]

This may sound weird but can a housing officer make decisions about repairs and tell tenants certain work will be done and then go back on it ?

This is very strange but I’ve had mould issues in my property for 10 years upstairs on ceilings and downstairs above floor level on shirtings and low level walll. Worse in the kitchen . They’ve constantly blamed me and said it’s condensation. I’ve had surveyor upon surveyor come out and finally they’ve agreed to put some air bricks upstairs ( not sure if this will cure the issue as we have curved ceilings which is the real problem but they won’t change them) and also they going to Inject some damp proof course into the kitchen walls from outside because it seems like I’ve got rising damp in there ( he put his monitor on wall it went red and beeped and the outside wall as turned white which Is a sign of that)

And because of this damp proof course issue the original council kitchen got rotted and mouldy but council wouldn’t do anything about it so I had to rip it out and get my uncle to put a second hand one in

So because the underlining issue was never sorted this second hand kitchen got full of mould and rotting

So I asked them to put a new kitchen in because this wasn’t my fault and they refused saying they wouldn’t due to me putting in my own kitchen so I’ve now effectively took ‘ownership’ of the kitchen now even though they left me with damp !!

So then I complained on their Facebook page and threatened them with the ombudsman because they left me living in a absolutely disgusting mouldy house so a woman who claimed to be a surveying manager came to my house to discuss the issues I’m having and agreed and said they wouldn’t normally but they will put me a new kitchen in due to the circumstances and she would arrange for me to have a new front door ( it’s very old, mouldy wooden door and it jams and won’t lock sometimes) and also arranging for some compensation due to loss of wardrobes because of mould. The kitchen she said she was gonna give me was a ‘show kitchen ‘ they need to put it somewhere now and said it would be great in my kitchen and I need a new one so it suits everyone all round. All seemed Too good to be true so this week I chased it up because I want to know when it will all be done because the damp proof course job was supposed to be done yesterday but got cancelled and rearranged for august !!! but this needs to be done before a new kitchen so I rang asking what will happen
BUT
NOTHING is on the system about me getting a new kitchen, compensation or a new door! Nothing! And apparently she’s ’only a housing officer’ not a manager can’t can’t make these decisions !!

So I rang the number she rang me on a few weeks back and you can’t get through to it it says number not recognised but I know she can receive text messages on it as I text her before and she replied but yesterday she didn’t reply

So do you think all this won’t be happening now? there is no record of it and she’s not replying. No one can directly contact her apparently so where do I stand with this now

I’m so anxious coz I’ve complained so hard to get results and seems like it’s fell through and no ones being honest or else it would all be on the system and people would know what shes offered/ planned
The letter I was supposed to sign for the compensation hasn’t arrived even though she said she was sending it last week

Now I’ll be living with a mouldy rotten kitchen and can’t sort it myself and a mouldy door
Just so fed up !!

[Namechangeed]

If it's that bad can you apply to move elsewhere?

[inthedarkx]

@Namechangeed I've been on the list for 7 years never even get close to a house I've bided on and I bid for every single house there is every week

[Timeandtune]

I think you need proper legal advice. You should contact Shelter via their website.

[ContinuousProcrastination]

Have you looked at private rentals locally, would that be an option?

[PrincessofWellies]

Use the ombudsman service but first go through your landlords complaints procedure in writing, not over the phone. By email or letter. Take photos and keep contemporaneous notes re each communication.

[Haywirecity]

It sounds awful. I know a bit about damp and it's soul destroying. In my experience the council can do whatever it wants. It has no problem retracting anything and saying they had no right to say that and they're doing some updating training so they won't do it again. But they will. 🙄

Despite all that, I don't think you're going to cure that damp. Are all the neighbouring houses the same or is it just yours? Are you airing it every day with all the windows open? Can you afford a dehumidifier? I definitely saw an improvement from running that regularly.

[Namechangeed]

@inthedarkx

@Namechangeed I've been on the list for 7 years never even get close to a house I've bided on and I bid for every single house there is every week

Oh that's very annoying for you.

Do you have to stay local or is there any areas close by which could work?

[PrincessofWellies]

By the way if you dry washing indoors without ventilation and adequate heating, a lot of it may be down to you.

[ContinuousProcrastination]

Also start refusing to communicate verbally. Insist on email or written communication, or state that you'll start to record phone calls & any verbal conversations, that way they cannot make loose, vague or uncertain promises that aren't followed up.

You may find however that reality kicks in at that point and they stop promising to fix it, because in reality they won't. Housing lists are long, there are desperate people who'd happily move into even a mouldy house at social rent.

Have you beem keeping the property warm and well ventilated and cleaning the mould away regularly? Leaving it so it appears very visibly bad won't help and won't force them to fix it.

[Alargeoneplease89]

You can't have a new kitchen if you put one in regardless of mould. I was told the same thing when I put mine in- if they make damage to my kitchen basically it's my job to repair.

Only thing you are entitled to is compensation for wardrobes if you can prove it with pictures.

Don't get me wrong, I've had damp issues and managed to get a damp course after lots of damage to property/ decorating and it's very upsetting and frustrating but all you can do is log all complaints/ take pictures and get management in.

[Theimpossiblegirl]

It's really shit. Have you complained as high up as possible? I agree with contacting shelter, they're really good with advice.

If only it was as easy as "why don't you move?" or "go private". A secure, habitable home should be a right, not a privilege. Council tenants still pay rent.

[ThreeFeetTall]

Write a letter of complaint.
Ombudsman won't deal with you until you have complained formally to the council. This will take time.

Lots of damp and mould due to UK's woeful housing stock. Not necessarily your fault but hard for the council to just fix either. Obviously I am generalising and haven't seen your home.

I'm confused why they didn't do the kitchen the first time? They should have repaired bits that were broken/mould damaged and replaced kitchen if needed.

[ContinuousProcrastination]

Also op, what was the property condition like when you moved in? Was the kitchen rotting already?

[ContinuousProcrastination]

Lots of damp and mould due to UK's woeful housing stock. Not necessarily your fault but hard for the council to just fix either.

There's also lots because fundamentally, we live in a wet, cool climate. This means a) washing doesn't dry easily outdoors in winter b) its expensive to heat homes to the temperature people find comfortable & which also dries out the air.

Lots of people on low incomes struggle to afford heating, so do not do what is needed and open windows, wide, every single day especially in winter, to allow condensation from cooking, breathing, showering, drying wet clothes & shoes, because they cannot afford to constantly reheat the house.

My sister lives in a very old house, pre-dating 1875 when dpcs were made a legal prequirement, she does not get mould & damp despite this because she ventilates daily, runs humidifiers upstairs and down, and heats the house to 19 degrees. She also cleans immediately any spot of damp that appears.

I had a friend who was on a low income & lived in a housing association flat. He whinged all the time about damp but would not run heating, refused to ever open windows, had washing drying indoors, was constantly boiling water for pasta & rice, and then when mould appeared refuses to clean anything, allowing it to spread and cause damage. He also had too many people living in too small a space. Honestly it was 100% their lifestyle that caused the mould and this is very, very common.

[inthedarkx]

I've gone through the formal complainers system for years, even they said they've got a history of complaints about it on their systems. The think about the kitchen is behind all the kitchen work tops and cupboards the walls are BLACK with mould even in a storage cupboard in kitchen all next to back door, and how can they just leave the walls like this? They need to remove this kitchen to treat the walls for mould the mould is due to their failed damp proof course. I've got pictures of old kitchen and the slaps when I ripped the council kitchen out, they are thick black, I cleaned back then but it's hurt infecting this kitchen now and even if they inject a new damp proof course it won't treat the existing mould. It was all verbal that she promised and nothing written, the call centre said there is no record of these decisions ! How cans he get my hopes up also agree and then ghost me?? It's so cruel

[ContinuousProcrastination]

Is there mould in your lounge too?

[inthedarkx]

@ContinuousProcrastination yes on the skirting boards and walls in corners and the all behind the stairs it's also up my stairs so I can't have carports or flooring on the stairs because it gets mouldy. I'm sick of people telling me it's my fault due to condensation, it isn't I have a expensive dehumidifier, open windows I use my heating, also have an electric fire I put on in the winter too. So the house is heated and aired

[CherryBlossomAutumn]

You are partly responsible for the mould - damp is the building itself but mould is due to condensation which is human behaviour mostly.

So for your own health please read up about preventing mould. You will need to get mould remover first from the supermarket and get rid of any that is there. Then:

• open the windows, all windows, every single day for at least an hour. Winter or summer.
• Use any vents in the windows or extractor fans.
• Heat your house every day in the winter, it doesn’t have to be on a long time, but it should keep your house a fairly even moderate temperature.
• Bedrooms are often a place for mould. Why? Because of humans breathing all night in bed.
• So don’t put your beds jammed up against outside walls. Don’t put furniture on outside walls, or if you have to, leave a fairly big gap.
• Don’t dry clothes inside. Or if you do, use a dehumidifier.

Rising damp or penetrating damp are the responsibility of the council so they must sort this.

[Blottingpaperscript]

Council houses are often riddled with damp (I used to live in one) and no amount of airing and care from the tenant can stop it. It's often down to bad windows as they don't replace or fix old blown ones, or deal with the issues. The house I lived in had awful cladding which a surveyor said caused damp but the council refused to do anything at all. The bathroom leaked and the flooring bubbled yet they did nothing. Blaming tenants is easy if you have never had to deal with the council's incompetence. The fact they think this is an acceptable way to treat people is appalling. OP quote the housing act at them and be polite but relentless (or do a house swap as bad as it sounds) nothing much else you can do. You have my sympathy as it's shit.

[caringcarer]

This is terrible behaviour from a council. If it was a private LL who did this they would be fined.

[ToBeOrNotToBee]

No amount of open windows is going to stop mould from growing when the issue is water ingress caused by piss poor building quality and upkeep.

Blaming mould on lifestyle, please. People should be able to live like humans without being blamed for a situation that could be resolved if the council even bothered doing basic maintenance.

Seriously some of you need to get your head out of your arse.

And OP complain the council, document every promise they made, then go to the housing ombudsman, contact Kwajo, the social housing campaigner, and that will get the ball rolling.

[CherryBlossomAutumn]

@ToBeOrNotToBee the OP says that the corners and behind cupboards are where the mould is - which is down to poor air circulation and high humidity.

[inthedarkx]

@CherryBlossomAutumn it's a failed damp proof course in the kitchen, we have a infestation of wood louse which is down to damp, on the walls on the concrete outside it's turned white which is a symptom of rising damp, my kitchen window is open DAILY ALL day and the window is next to to my Cooker so any steam is going straight out there

[MochiDonutt]

Get everything in writing and get Shelter to support you to escalate your complaints. All councils and HAs are focusing on damp right now. If you want to get it sorted now is the time to push for repairs.

[inthedarkx]

This is all white on the outside kitchen wall which is a sign to damp. But they have only booked injection of the damp proof course on the system but the mould and damp on Kitchen still remains on walls inside but yet they won't replace kitchen or treat inside walls??