To think this door needs to change or am I wrongs

[inthedarkx]

I live in q council house.
So I have a very old front door
The House was built in 1935 and I think it's either in since it was built or just after. Council woman agreed to change it amongst other things but now the work hasn't been booked in and they send someone to 'repair' the door but won't give me a new one after they initially agreed. The hinges and locks are all rusty it's all mouldy and there is slugs crawling up on the inside at night I clean this door but it's still black because of Years of leaks coming through the spy hole from the rain.
The door also has to be pulled with such force to open it.
I just need to know whether I'm Being a pain or it genuinely is a reason for me to be going mad
Pic below

Hard to say. Quality looks a similar standard to the rest of the house from what can be seen. The door is complete and solid and what you describe is a damp issue that needs solving separately and an opening issue that is likely to be caused by hinges.

Image looks like a 70s door in my very non expert opinion.

It doesn't look "pleasant". Are they helping you make it so?

I'd just replace it myself if I were you. At least then you could have the door want.

I see a massive area of mould on it. To be honest it looks like it desperately needs replacing.

@FlamingYam "quality can be seen from the rest of the house" I think that's quiet mean to be fair and comes across so rude
The house is a council house and it has a massive damp issue that the council are delaying dealing with even though I made a formal complaint 4 weeks ago theyve ignored me

Doesn't look like 1930s, more like 70s. It looks shitty but functional. Have you oiled the hinges to see if that helps? Slugs are fuckers and come in through nice doors too, they don't discriminate. Are you allowed to replace it yourself?

Replacing it myself will cost hundreds i don't have and if I do replace it myself i will have to keep paying people if anything goes wrong with it as the council wont fix anything you change yourself I made that mistake already, the council kitchen i has was falling to bits and rotting due to the damp issue they refused to change the kitchen even though there is a massive damp issue and I had to get a second hand kitchen ( my ex put it in) and now This kitchen is mouldy due to the underlying damp issue but the council have said they have no obligation to deal with it because I put my own kitchen in even though it's their house with a damp issue that's destroying everything

You can remove the spyhole and fill it in with wood filler which will stop the water leaking through.

If it was me I would remove all the door hardware, fill any holes with wood filler, sand it down, paint it outside and inside with a good weatherproof paint.

You could try attaching a draft excluder brush thing to the bottom to keep the slugs at bay. If there’s wet undergrowth or dirt outside the door that could be contributing to the slug issue so I would make sure the outside is clear.

The age of the door is irrelevant. Lack of maintenance is probably the problem.

Address the damp, get environmental health in. There's a big anti damp/mould campaign at the moment and SH LL have to address it.

It looks a mess to me. Is it wood-based? If so, it's probably swollen with the damp which is why it needs pulling hard to get it open.

I guess they're refusing to replace it because it's essentially undamaged. Can you clean the mould off with a bleach-based cleaner and then paint the door to make it look better?

You may need to paint/varnish the outside to provide some damp protection.

Please don't take it personally. I'm not saying it to be mean. I'm just saying the council need to improve the standard. The door looks no worse than the walls, floor, frame or stairs. They need work or updating and the council need to do it.

Agree with others that it’s ugly but looks functional and if you used wood filler to fill the spy hole, took it off the hinges, sanded it down, sealed it with an exterior damp paint, painted it a nice bright colour, and did the same with the badly painted doorframe, replaced all the old hardware with new, it would look a lot better and be easier to open and close.

The council will more than likely have a cycle within the asset management programme for door upgrades, and it’s difficult to obtain authority to replace things outwith that programme when they aren’t considered at full life end.

That door is shocking and a disgrace. This is typical Mumsnet, though- giving you the "you should be grateful - have you thought of replacing it yourself" attitude.

This is also why I shake my head when people demonise private landlords, because the majority would not keep their houses like this, yet the council and Housing Associations are allowed to leave people living like this.

To answer your question yes the door is not fit for human habitation. You should write to your MP.

Landlords, including council, have an obligation for fire safety towards their tenants. It is set out in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO). A front door should be fire rated at FS30 minimum. It should be in good condition to repel fire and smoke. Your door looks like a 1970's falling apart door (which means most probably not meeting fire safety standards as slugs and smoke take same route). If I was you, I would ask the local fire safety officer around to inspect the door via your local fire rescue service. An environmental health officer from the local authority might be able to help you. They should help you enforce the installation of a new door. Send a letter to your housing officer stating that you are concerned the door is not fire compliant. If your complaint is not addressed, get the housing ombudsman involved.

That only applies if the OP lives in a block of flats and the door exits into a protected area. Otherwise they have no obligation to replace it or upgrade it, if it's a house.

Put a line of salt under the door to deter slugs.

That is a depressing sight to have in your hallway. Helenahandkart's advice is sound & won't cost much. It might take a fair bit of physical effort but it will lift your spirits when it's done. If that's all too much effort buy a tin of B&Q Furniture paint and brighten it up. It's easy to use, self levelling , so no drips, no smell & dries fast. It's not ideal long term for a front door but at least it will look better until the council get round to doing what they should.

Don't waste your own money any further. Take @scoobydoo1971's advice and go for the fire safety and environmental health route. Make sure there is an official complaint about the whole property. The current Make It Right campaign has lots of advice, as does Shelter. Have a read, it explains the processes.
https://socialhousingcomplaints.campaign.gov.uk/

Like a pp said, if you’ve got mould all over your apartment, there’s a huge damp and mould campaign on now. It sounds like a disrepair issue which the council can get fined thousands for.

Complain again and make sure you get your complaints up the various stages using the timeframe as per your council’s complaint policy . It doesn’t look like they’re coming anywhere quick so if you have to go to the ombudsman, do.

The door is really ugly but it looks sound. I can't see any damage to it. It's doesn't look warped or rotting. I wouldn't assume the door doesn't meet fire regs.

OP, does the black wipe off the door if you clean it. Or is the door discoloured with the black?

Have you any paint? Sometimes people give away paint on local Facebook groups. Would you be able to paint it?

Give it a really good scrub and then preferably give it a sand to help the paint adhere then paint it.

What @PerfectYear321 and @scoobydoo1971 said.
Definitely dont spend any money on it yourself. Nag and badger the council until they sort it. It looks grim and totally unacceptable.

The 2022 regulations related to blocks of flats, and came off the Grenfell Inquiry. Fire doors on the front doors of social housing properties, of whatever structure, require a fire resistant door that repels for a min. 30 minutes. This comes from older legislation related in fire safety in homes, and is considered good practice in the social housing sector. I am sure if the tenant pushes this, the council will be forced to act on a door that is unfit for purpose in many ways. The mould maybe caused by poor air flow in the building, and the door probably isn't helping with that. Get the GP to record health risk on family record. Get environment officer from council to inspect and enforce improvements with housing department. Keep everything in writing so you have a record of who said what would be my advice.

Based on the info Scooby-Doo has posted, ignore my previous post about trying to make it look better. If it's meant to be a fire door absolutely leave it alone and pursue the council by all means available until it is replaced. It's a complete dereliction of duty in their part and will need to be shamed into action.

I think it would surely be more cost effective for them to replace it with a new basic door than to keep sending people to faff about with it. It looks dreadful and I can completely see why you don't want to just live with it. I think your only option is to keep pestering and as pp suggested maybe contact environmental health.

A friend of mine's MP got her moved to the top of the list for door and windows replacement after she got burgled. She was three years away on the waiting list and he got it done for her within months. I would write to my MP with a link to this thread!

Are you or the council responsible for internal decorations? Doesn't it just need painting?