To ask to be temporarily rehoused whilst new kitchen installed?

[SENwoes]

I will preface this by saying I KNOW I’m very lucky to have a HA house, and I KNOW I’m very lucky to be getting a brand new kitchen for free.

So as above, I have work commencing on 22nd January to rip out the old kitchen and replace it. I don’t have a choice in this, according to the documents, I am unable to say no it’s fine, I’ll keep the old one. I’ve been told the works will take 2 weeks, as it also involves taking up the tiled floor and replacing it with lino.

It’s just dawning on me what a nightmare this will be. I have to completely empty the kitchen obviously, but there’s not really anywhere to put the stuff, it’s a very small house (just living room leading to kitchen/diner downstairs). The big appliances will go outside in the back yard apparently, but everything else will have to be boxed up and kept somewhere. I’ll have no cooking or washing up facilities, and no way of washing or drying clothes.

That’s all pretty standard I know, but my main concern is that I have a disability (CFS) and also both DC are diagnosed with ASD and currently in the house all the time as neither in education. We will essentially be trapped in our bedrooms for 2 weeks as we won’t be able to move in the front room as realistically that’s the only place everything from the kitchen can go. I need to rest…a lot, and the works will be noisy, which will also affect both DC as they struggle badly with loud noises and not being in a calm environment. They’ll also struggle with a team of workmen being in their space for 2 weeks, They both have completely different food aversions and neither of their limited range of foods is conducive to being able to batch cook and set the microwave up somewhere. Realistically it will mean a lot of eating out, but that’s not really affordable for 2 weeks.

Has anyone been in a similar situation and WIBU to ask the HA if there’s anything that could be done to move us while the works are going on? The only family member I could stay with is my DM but she’s a long way away and having works done on her own house which means she doesn’t have a functioning bathroom, so that’s not ideal really.

The fact you have a dog makes it even more difficult to get temp accommodation

you need to be hyper organised about boxing stuff up

plan your meals
microwave
a few takeaways

paper plates

I think the trade off of disruption during the day to be in your own bed at night is far better then moving to temp accommodation

Agree that this with a dog too sounds way more stressful than just staying at home. The dog complicates things. I would at the very least be asking someone else to look after them for the fortnight (mum/bf/friend?)

We did it in the summer so we could have bbqs and dc stayed with my parents for 2 weeks so I completely get what op is saying. Ours took 6 weeks (middle 2 weeks the workmen had covid). Good luck op. I’d save money and not book a caravan and instead use it for takeaways/ beefeater/hungry horse pub meals.

Yes surely your boyfriend is the answer here? If he stays with you every weekend could you not go and stay with him for a couple of weeks?

I agree & was going to suggest the same thing.

What are the children doing all day if you are going back to bed? Is there no school place for them?

Travelodge would not take your dog & has no cooking facilities. I think you would be better off at home.

Make up a box of basics you can use & plug in fridge & air fryer in lounge. Could you get some big plastic storage boxes & store some of it outdoors? It doesn't really matter if stuff like plates, saucepan get damp.

I think the children bring home 24/7, dog, unable to drive all sound quite hard work.

It's normal to be inconvenienced when work is going on. Builders usually make things useable as soon as possible, even if job isn't complete.

I've only got part way down the replies but my god, posters are so desperate to reply 'how do you think homeowners manage, we just cleared a sideboard, just get on with it', that they've completely missed the point.

The OP quite clearly said her main concern was how the disruption would affect her disability and her ASD sons!

Having work done (especially when you don't get a say in WHEN it's done) is really tough when you're either ND or have a condition where you need a lot of rest. The disruption touches you on every level, and two weeks is a long time.

Instead of letting your resentment, jealousy or privilege shine through your replies, maybe read the OP properly first

Look up local “warm places” these are churches or other public buildings that are open for people to sit in during the day. Many will serve hot drinks or food.

Ours just doesn't allow it. It's often their own workmen and someone has to be in the property for visits/repairs.

I imagine it won’t take 2 weeks. They will probably have overlapping jobs going on, which is why they say 2 weeks.
I would speak to whoever comes on the first day and you might find they are mostly done in a few days unless they wait for an electrician to turn up etc.
Id speak to them and probably can speak to them the day before they start and they might have a clearer idea of what will be happening. I assume they’ve already been and measured up.

All you can do is ask, most HA has some decant properties, if they are available/suitable to your needs then you should be able to temp move in

However normally the upheaval of you moving your furniture etc doesn’t make it worth the time or effort for a 2 week renewal.

💐 you have my sympathy. We did the whole downstairs over 4 weeks. Including the kitchen.

As others have suggested, have microwave meals. Plan days out visit family & friends or have just a few hours in the park.

It will be chaos, but you'll manage, there is no need for beeing re housed.

It also can take 2 weeks as the kitchen will need a rewire/asbestos removing etc… (in my HA they rewire the property when installing a new kitchen and that comes with additional work)

Are the HA actually aware of your disabilities and issues?
They might be able to change the schedule of when your kitchen is done so you can have more time to make arrangements to stay with your mum, boyfriend or even another friend.
They must have to do this all the time for families with a medical need or disabilities and alternative arrangements have to be made.

Very few HAs have a decant policy (I can’t think of one and I’ve worked with a lot over the last 20+ years). It’s not that they don’t want to, everyone knows it would be a far easier option for a lot of people, there just aren’t the empty properties available. And, if they make an exception and decant you, then everyone else complains and it just turns into a nightmare.

Literally hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people have lived through it and some a lot worse (full rewire, replumb, new kitchen and bathroom. That takes 4 weeks and is beyond disruptive)

It will take two weeks but they won’t be in your house all day everyday. Ask if the contractor has a Tenant Liaison Officer. Most do, and they can help you with packing up and moving things. They should also be able to provide you with a detailed works program so you will know exactly what is happening and when. That might make it more manageable for you if you know what to expect. The first week will be the worst, the most noisy and the dirtiest but it is only 5 days. The second week will usually be be fitting of the kitchen, decs and snagging, which shouldn’t be too bad.
It will be worth it in the end, HAs usually only replace kitchens on a 20-30 year cycle so you’ll end up with something a lot better than you’ve got now.

Even if they did pay for 2 weeks in a Travelodge for you then you are still going to be stuck in 1 room with no kitchen so probably worse.
We had emergency housing once & it was horrific & definitely not a holiday. It's unlikely to be a Travelodge & more likely to be a very grotty b,&b with extremely vulnerable residents. (1 suicide & one heroin overdose while we were there)
It would also be where there is space not in the town of your choice. So you could be given emergency accommodation many miles from where you currently live.

You are better off organizing your own accomodation eg holiday or family & explaining to the HA why you can't be there. Or just contain yourselves to 1 room & make the best of it.

Like you, we couldn’t afford to stay anywhere else, so we stayed at home and dealt with it. Work and school meant we couldn’t stay with family. Most people can’t afford to live in a Travel lodge for 2 weeks. It is amazing what you can do with a kettle and a toaster.

Meh, I have ptsd and adhd, I suspect DS has ADHD. Sometimes you have to get on with things no matter how distressing. You sort coping mechanisms, people need up take responsibility for themselves snd their kids. Life is unpredictable. We recently had a massive leak on our kitchen which uncovered all manner of stuff. No planning. I had to cope through my ptsd and adhd to sort all the workman, insurance etc in between wfh, family life etc.

this just smacks of, I don’t like something snd my life is going to be harder for a couple of weeks, I expect the tax payer to sort this as well as paying for my new kitchen

CFS/ME and children with ASD here too and have got through three renovations with them over the years. It is only two weeks and frankly the energy that might need to be expended by finding/renting/packing/decamping to a caravan/travelodge/Air B&B with even less room than your functioning bedrooms and bathroom would be too much. I think you are worrying that it will be more impactful than it will be.

Quicker, cheaper and easier to set up a basic kitchen around the boxes in the living room, paper plates, wash up in the bathroom and have some treats/days out in cafe's etc. on the worse days? Can the dog remain at home with the builders while you go out? Could you ask friend/family/neighbours to either host you for some meals or drop off the odd cooked meal that your DC like? It really won't be that bad. Remember you have your evenings clear of workmen.

YABU. Homeowners don't move out when they have new kitchens. They have to manage. We've had two new kitchens in our 27 years of marriage. Both times we lived on microwaved food and washed up in the bathroom sink. It never even crossed our minds to find somewhere else to live.

It is inconvenient I agree, when we had our kitchen replaced my DS’ were little, we just set up a kitchen in our dining room, fridge freezer, microwave etc, has some takeaways etc. best to let them get on with it, time will soon go.

Make toast & hot drinks I imagine with the occasional pot noodle?

You have absolutely no idea wether they will or they won't
My housing association did indeed place us in another house whilst they carried out work in my house they said normally they would pay for us to go into B&B but it was November 2020.

How on earth is the length of your marriage relevant to this thread?!

Cook in microwave and wash up in bathroom. Don't be so precious OP. This is what home owners do.

You pay because you own the house tenants dont pay because they don't own their property HTH.

@Twiglets1 cup a soup, toasted snacks and boiled eggs. I didn’t trial them all because it was difficultly to wash up and I didn’t want to block the bathroom sink. I just ate toast, fruit and drank tea.