To just walk out my council house.

[CoconutSky]

I hate despise this flat.
I’ve ended up in an adapted property with a wet room.
It’s riddled with damp because of the wet room, I’ve spent thousands on painting and decorating, carpeting when I moved in to make it nice. I fled DV, after less than 2 years it’s all had to come up and be replaced.
Wet room is being “repaired” but I don’t hold much hope.
I’ve no worktops, 4 kitchen cupboards and no space whatsoever and I’ve just had enough. I only realised the further adaptations when comparing my flat to my neighbours and I just feel like walking out. Communal hallway also stinks of cigarettes which comes into my home, HA are aware and have done nothing but send letters out. Despite it being a communal hallway an inspectors also said that the other tenants are okay to smoke cigarettes as it’s not illegal. It might not be illegal but I can’t open my windows cos it comes in all the bedrooms. DD’s stinks so bad of fags she’s in with me and that’s with the window closed.

Im so miserable, the wet room stinks, my shoes and bags have always got mould in. Im on the mutual exchange but no one wants flats and I can’t get a managed move, property is 2 beds and I’m “adequately housed”
I even asked if the housing association had a special register for adapted properties but they don’t.
I can’t afford private rented and wouldn’t pass a credit check due to my ex getting me in debt.

I don’t know what to do, I’m sick of phoning the housing association, sick of being upset and seeing plaster and paint just fall off the wall. I’m at my wits end and I feel like I’m trapped in this place.

Complain about the damp. Keep copies of everything you send and receive, notes about all conversations. The housing association will have a complaints process - use that and go through the stages. If you're still not happy at the end, you can complain to the Housing Ombudsman. Damp is a massive issue at the moment and the Ombudsman is all over it.

I know this won't solve all your issues with this flat but have got tried a dehumidifier?

I’ve done it all, housing ombudsman didn’t go in my favour and I got an extractor fan in the kitchen. It’s a waste of time, it doesn’t work and when I phoned up to inform them it doesn’t work they told me that it “takes 3 months to work” 🙃 they’ve got an answer for everything because it’s “surface moisture”

I’ve had dehumidifiers, I’ve bought a tumble dryer, I heat and air the house. Nothing works x

I recommend a dehumidifier too, I've been dealing with damp in the home and its been a gamechanger.

Contact your MP maybe?

I second you contacting your MP or you could try one of your councillors.

Go to your MP.

Contacted MP, the housing informed the MP I’d accepted the extractor fan therefore no further action.
I did try contact citizens advice about a discretionary housing payment to help me so i can private rent but was told because I’ll be basically making myself homeless they likely wouldn’t grant one. Understandable but I’ve honestly tried everything.

Why is the wet room causing mould?

It’s tiny, it leaks, it’s not watertight. It’s rotted my bathroom door. They’re meant to be putting new flooring down but that won’t make a difference as it’ll be the same cheap shit as they used in the first place

Do you have a proper dehumidifier as it should be removing a decent amount of water if you run it enough? I’m just wondering if you have the little boxes with the beads.

Go back to your MP, they are working for you. Tell them the extractor fan hasn’t worked and the flat is just as bad. It isn’t up to them to shut the case because the HA said so, they should be working with you. It sounds a horrible situation. Keep taking pictures and bothering people about it.

My MP was useless and didn't even reply to me!

I went to the news about the state of the communal yard in my block of flats and it was cleaned up withing 48 hours of the story going live. Wasn't a sad face story - I kept my identity totally private!

It sounds like you need a big powerful dehumidifier in and running for a good while to really dry everything out. Do you know the humidity levels in your flat? I bought a cheap room thermometer from amazon and it tells me the humidity levels. Anything over about 75% makes the place feel really damp!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0BHSK63QD?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I really do understand how hard it is when you hate where you live. But if the Ombudsman has already investigated, then that "suggests" that they found no substance to your complaint? What did they say? Because if you ventilate, have extractors and dehumidifiers, then I'd expect climate change, not just a better flat!

And I do get the smoking thing, as I also don't like smoke - but if people are smoking legally, what do you expect the council to do about it? Again, genuine question...

If you want to walk away then yes, you have that choice. You'll possibly be years if ever before they offer you another property. So where will you be going? Again, genuine question. Because you will need money for deposits and advance rent in the private sector, and it will also need to be affordable...

This sounds awful OP, I'm sorry you're in this position. But think very carefully before walking away, you could end up in an even worse situation.

Smoking in communal hallways isn’t legal
Dehumidifier is electric and collects a decent amount of water. Black mould growth just grows on the outside walls and they’re always freezing

There is insulation but don’t think it’s working properly.

Even if they sort the damp I’m still living in a shithole with no room, no space and no worktops. I’ve wrecked the top of my cooker having to use it as a kitchen counter and it just seems to be pointless buying anything in this house as it just goes to ruin.

At this point I don’t care where I live, I’d be happy living in a travel lodge

If you make yourself homeless the council might not even house you in a travel lodge. Take a deep breath.

@CoconutSky have you tried Shelter? They are amazing for issues like this and their legal advice regarding housing is second to none. IMHÒ citizens advice are useless.

Can you afford to put a proper shower cubicle in to stop the water problem? And get work surfaces installed or set up ikea style desks with metal legs over the cabinets ?

OP. Go to a no win no fee solicitor. A few years ago (5+) when I was in a HA property our house was riddled with damp and black mould. Leaks everywhere, water ingress so the kitchen cabinets were rotting. Our HA didn't want to take any responsibility until we went to a no win no fee solicitor. Within 1 year the worst parts of the home had been sorted. We wound up with a new bath, brand new kitchen, new flooring and a four figure compensation sum.

Contacting your MP doesn't essentially help to get you moved only in really exceptional circumstances. But then again it depends where in the country you are. The council see it as your in social housing so therefore you should put up and shut up and fix anything they can't help you with.

Hey I’m not actually allowed to do anything like that to it as it’s for accessibility, I did ask as I was going to get one of those big screens but was told no

Im not allowed to touch the kitchen either, also adapted, for the same reason

Try the legal route, in some areas of the country 1 in 4 repairs are ending up in claims and it seems to work. Not recommending this company, just using it as an example and if it is not going to cost, then why not try this route https://nationaldisrepairhelp.co.uk/qualify-now/index.php?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiLyprvTBgwMVJJVQBh1azALKEAAYAiAAEgIeJPD_BwE

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/councils-spend-45m-on-legal-disrepair-claims-in-four-years-74295

I'd still like to know why an independent ombudsman found no substance to the complaints.

And sorry, but a small kitchen isn't a reasonable cause to complain.

If you want to live in a travel lodge, you can. Can you afford the cost?

I'm really not being unsympathetic here, but sympathy doesn't pay the bills. Why hasn't the ombudsman agreed with you if its this bad? What evidence can you provide to say that this is structural? You need more than what you guess is the problem.

If you're housed in a safe area near all the things you need, school, work, shops, friends and family, think very very carefully before surrendering a council tenancy, because, damp and fag smells aside, they are the housing holy grail. A nice private rental may look tempting, but its poor comfort to have a nice kitchen if you don't know if you'll be allowed to stay from one 6 month to the next, or if your rents going to sky rocket. The problems you have must be getting you down, but they're fixable, with persistence and maybe some help from Shelter. And when they're done you've a secure affordable home for life.