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.

@Neriah smoking in communal hallways is NOT legal. OP your HA are just too bone idle to do anything about it, There are signs up in our communal hallway prohibiting smoking. Your HA/ sound like cheap tight lazy bastards. Is it council and does the council begin with an L

Ask your housing association for a quality dehumidifier, this will dry your property out if you leave it on 24/7.

If it’s two bedroom, it will be difficult to get a single person/couple, because of the bedroom tax.

Maybe one of those air fresheners in the hallway that blasts a shot every few minutes.

in London, especially in converted houses, the kitchens can be a sink/drainer, under the drainer, an undercounter fridge, a friend was estatic when she got her 85cm tall fridge/freezer (Amazon £220) a washing machine, the oven is a mini oven, and a single job or two. She used too keep all her tins and “cupboard food” in a box on wheels under her bed. A few chopping boards are essential when you are short of worktops.

i wish you all the best, and I pray that you are able to get the flat dry which will make you feel alot better.

Maybe a solicitor can help https://winsolicitors.co.uk/housing-law/housing-disrepair/?dyn_keyword=Housing+Disrepair+Claim+Solicitors&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6vCi2ILCgwMVyIlQBh00cwBVEAAYASAAEgLz3_D_BwE

It’s Jigsaw North. Not even council. Just a bunch of lazy daft pricks.

Dehumidifier is fine when shower isn’t used. But I can’t not shower. When they came out for the damp they told me to not use cheap paint. I used Valspar and it wasn’t even me, I paid £850 for a pro to do it.

Im abit skeptical of posting my actual kitchen as I don’t want any journos picking this thread up as I have fled DV so I’ll do a floor plan.

Additionally whether something is legal or not, if it’s adversely impacting tenants health the HA would still be able to make and enforce their own rules if they really cared.

That really sucks OP, what a horrible environment for you and your daughter. I hope someone can get the HA to take action on this. Perhaps naming and shaming them in the media (but you remaining anonymous) is the way to go if your MP or ombudsman fails to put sufficient pressure on them.

Housing is such a massive issue in this country, I roll my eyes sometimes at the government rhetoric about mental and physical health when they full well that this awful housing situation we have is a significant factor in some people’s declining health.

OP, I get that you can't change the bathroom, but would they let you retile? You might find once you can see it that the plasterboard needs redoing if it has let water seep into it. If that's the case I don't know if the HA will accept that their leaky floor etc has caused further problems?

You could put in plastic skirting too, or tile down to the floor. Utterly batshit that there's skirting in there at all, tbh.

You can buy doors, completely finished, no need to paint, from b&q or a builder's merchant. They're not that expensive. Once the floors done you could do that to sort the rotten door out?

It doesn't sound like the wet room has been done correctly, there shouldn't be skirting board, the flooring should come up the wall enough to seal it. I have a relative who has an adapted wet room and it shouldn't be causing damp like that. Try and get some support from environmental health about the damp issues.

In terms of the kitchen is there room for a breakfast bar / bar table type thing to give you some worktop and storage space? Like the photo's here.

My son and grandson would love to have their own place, damp or no damp.

That does not mean OP should have to put up with these terrible conditions.

It's not a race to the bottom. Everyone should have decent housing.

There was a kid in London whose death was attributed to damp/mould in the home. Absolutely tragic and preventable.

Also, if the water is getting everywhere in the bathroom, would something like this be allowed, to at least keep in in the shower 'area' and not coming out the bloody door? DGM and MIL have both had a local authority adaption from a bath to a wet room and they fitted one of these. Not pretty, but does keep it all a bit more contained.

I have repeatedly asked why the ombudsman ruled as they did. They give reasons. The OP has failed to respond. But "smaller than I want" isn't grounds to complain.

OK, practical things.

Can you put up a push to fit shower curtain pole and put in a shower curtain? Reduces water splashing, no physical work to do to the walls etc, could be a quick win.

Rotting door. Check your contract, but this could be something they require you to change. A new door may be a lot less than you think and a short job for someone to fit it for you. Your HA / local Council may have an approved handyman service which you can pay by the hour for jobs like this.

If door replacement is too expensive, scrub, sand and paint with anti mould paint / bathroom paint.

Look at anti mould paint for other walls where it's an issue - you can also buy it as an additive to put in normal paint. Could be a few hours of work, but well worth it.

Kitchen. Apply for a new kitchen. If not, you might find kitchen cupboards available second hand for free or very cheap on places like a local Free cycle page and the handyman service may be able to do this. Failing that, shelving could be put up where cupboards should be.

Have a look for a kitchen trolley with a worktop on it if the kitchen is big enough for you to move it about - I had one in my old flat where the floorspace was 1m square, and I pushed it in front of the door when I was working in there. Added a good couple of feet of workspace for me to chop veg etc. Argos have one for £43, you might get one on Facebook selling etc for less.

Dehumidifier. Don't give up on this, it's what will keep the mould down every day. I also have reusable (microwaveable) Pingi bags in my house and car - they work a treat. I keep the bags in damp spots in the house (hallway, back door) and check them daily to see if they need to be dried out. No more mould in neither location.

Mould and mildew spray. The cheaper the better. I spray our bathroom every week, you might need to use it more regularly but keep on top of it and it's less of an issue in the longer term.

Windows. The moment it's dry outside, get them open!

Could you get a foldable bath? Fill it up using the shower, and drain the water using a bucket into the basin. So that you don't add to the damp situation in the wet room. Might feel nicer for you? Love the posters suggestion of buying a movable kitchen counter.

It's a health hazard. People have died from mould and spores in housing. No one should be living like that, just as they shouldn't live with unsafe gas or electrical installations.

Not sure where you are but Manchester has a tenants union - this is the kind of organisation you need, to fight on your behalf as your HA are mistreating you.
https://tenantsunion.org.uk/

I use a mould spray in my house regularly (weekly). I own my home in a very nice area, but a few of us here have mould/damp. So you could move elsewhere and have the same problem. Keep on top of it by wiping everything down with bleach and water, then using the spray. Don't let things lie against the walls if you can help it.

The HA informed them that the damp was due to poor ventilation in wet room. They’ve put an extractor fan in an opening sash window. They told the ombudsman that it’s the floor. It’s not, it’s the layout. Hence why ombudsman told them to replace the flooring. That’s it. The ombudsman’s have been fucking awful throughout this debacle and I’ve had virtually no contact or updates from them.

I can’t fit any tiles, any shower trays in the bathroom I’m literally not allowed to touch anything. I did enquire about those doors but because the bathroom is too small for a wet room the plug hole is in the middle of the room, they can’t fit the doors. Shower curtain is useless as well as water just runs underneath and pools everywhere, behind toilet etc. hence rotting door and skirting. Theres also pointless artificial wall in the bathroom which has took about 2ft off spacewise

One in Rochdale too. Until his inquest, the HA/council said the mould was the families fault as they were doing ‘ritual bathing’.

I also had a flat that was damp and nothing, apart from the whole place being repaired and resealed was going to fix it. My LL wasn’t interested, in fact it was her wanting to use her own contractors, rather than the ones the management company wanted that was causing the delay.

I got a sheet when I moved in regarding damp and mould and I have followed everything to a T. I use HG spray, the moulds moved round and it’s took all my paint off, on some walls it’s stripped back to the concrete.

This is my kitchen floor plan, just to show what I’m dealing with when I say there’s no room. There isn’t even room for a bin I have to use a carrier bag hung on the door handle.

Hold them to their policy - https://www.jigsawhomes.org.uk/information-article/damp-and-mould-our-approach/

@Neriah These "bodies" are not always right you know. The Post Office scandal hasnt taught you that????!!!!!

How can an electric dehumidifier not work? Have you had an electric one or just the crystal stuff in a container? You just plug it in and it sucks up all moisture from the atmosphere. Also get an extractor fan in the wet room if it doesn't already have one. I'd pay an electrician to put it in myself.

You keep saying that you are “literally not allowed to do anything”. What will they do? Evict you? Make you homeless?

It’s a breach of my tenancy agreement for me to touch anything adapted in the flat so I dunno what my rights are there

Electric dehumidifier gets rid of excess water, but the damp is still occurring. Its like it can’t cope with the moisture.

Theres an extractor fan in bathroom, in the window that opens. I can’t have it anywhere else as the only walls leading to outside are artificial walls, the rest is tiled