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 !!

the Complaint stages are usually complaint stage 1, then second stage, then ombudsman.

I would write to the complaint team with the details as above and ask them as you have complained before what stage your complaint is at as you are contacting the ombudsman. Also write to the ombudsman anyway as they could contact the council and say they’ve been contacted and as the complaint process not completed they need to do by xxx date and the council to confirm to the ombudsman they have done so.

the ombudsman also has a report on their site that says Damp and mould is not lifestyle and councils should not be making you feel that way.

You can always contact your local MP. My neighbour is currently experiencing lots of damp and has COPD. MP is pressuring the association to take more action and he seems hopeful.

I wish people would stop blaming the OP for the mould - it's obviously caused by the poor condition of her home (rising damp etc) not by her living in it, and daring to breathe/ bathe/ cook food.
She's already told us that she uses a dehumidifier every day and opens her windows.

There was a really well-organised community campaign about mouldy, non-insulated bad housing in Easterhouse; one of the women involved sadly died last year but there have been lots of events in Glasgow commemorating her life and achievements (which included genuinely tenant-led improvements incl solar panels and better insulation).
You can watch a short video she made here: https://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/war-without-bullets/
And I'd highly recommend her book: 'The Wee Yellow Butterfly' by Cathy MacCormack. (Ask your library to stock it!)

Have you talked to any of your neighbours about it? Do any of their houses have the same problems? Sometimes organising collectively can get better results than struggling by yourself.

IME local authorities drag their heels with this kind of thing.

In your situation I would do the following:

• type up a Word document detailing ALL of your contact with them over these mould issues. Include nature of contact (call, email, visit etc), who you dealt with and what was said

• go to your council's website and find their form for raising an official complaint - fill it out attaching your word document

• they will have a set number of days to respond, if they do and resolve it - fabulous job done. If not, contact them and advise you wish toe escalate to a stage 2 complaint.

• they will have a set number of days to respond, if they do and resolve it - fabulous job done. If not, get in touch with the Public Services Ombudsman and raise a complaint with them. Attach the word document as well as your complaint number.

In my experience issues are resolved quickly after the ombudsman get involved.

You don't say where in the country you are, but the Facebook group, acorn is fantastic. It's a pressure group and can offer legal advice and put pressure on council! I know people who have had serious issues resolved and compensation. Ps it's not one of those no win no fee ones.

No one in their right mind would give up a HA tenancy to private rent. HA is a home for life, private renting is precarious at the best of times.

Get on to your mp. We had to help out neighbour to do this when they were being treated abysmally by their housing association. Same situation - leaks, damp, promised the moon and then backtracked as no written proof. MP stepped in and work was done. It's not perfect but is now better.

Have you had environmental health look at the damp? They can sometimes force them to get work done.

No they wouldn’t. Had almost the exact same issues in a private rental a few years ago. No one was interested in my ruined clothing, constant cough/cold or anything else. LL blamed me, even though there were no air bricks, windows had no vents (GF flat so couldn’t leave windows while at work) and owners of the building admitted the whole place needed extensive repairs and damp treatment.

Take photos and send them to your MP and ask them to get involved.

What were the outcome of the complaints? If they upheld your complaint what should they have done? If they haven't done it then you can go to the ombudsman with that.

Write to the Ombudsman & also your local MP & your local newspaper if you have one. Sometimes, you have to shame the council to get anything done. In the block of flats I live in, the ceiling came down in part of the communal area & when it rained, we had water torrenting inside, narrowly missing flooding the lower ground floor flat. We had to involve the paper, our local councillors & our MP to get it repaired & made water tight. It took us nearly two years. Insist on any communication being put in writing so you have a paper trail & don't be afraid of giving bad publicity for the council.

I have been complaining to my council landlord for over 3 years about a neighbour dumping all their stuff in the communal area right outside my flat. There is a smoke vent window that cannot be accessed because there property is there.
Whenever the caretaker has to tell them about it they will put a note to say they will move it at the weekend. The weekend never comes and the note disappears and the junk is still there.
What are the next steps. I've emailed the council on numerous occasions. I also informed the local fire officer who contacted the council. The stuff got moved but it was not long before more appeared.