Do you know of any grants for fitted kitchens?

[RainbowSlidders]

Before I get called a cheeky fucker I am not, our entire ground floor has been destroyed by flooding. We do have insurance but only contents as we rent from HA, my insurance have been good and everything they cover is in the process of being sorted, they’re even drying out the property through a flood restoration company as the HA have refused to do so. The loss adjuster as said the kitchen needs removing and replacing but we aren’t covered as it comes under building insurance which my HA should hold. The HA are refusing to do anything but the bare minimum and have said it is severely water damaged but it’s only 7 years old and not due for another 18 years!!!!
I am going through the formal complaints process and will be contacting the Housing Ombudsman after I have received their formal response. They have acknowledged it flooded with rain water from a fault drain put in by the developer (3 man holes in our garden) but are insisting my insurance company are liable for all damage including the kitchen.

Which HA?

It doesn’t help with costs of who pays, but ikea is probably your best bet for price. Maybe use their online set up and design one you like at a reasonable price and present it and the cost to HA

I have no advice really sorry, but I would contact your regional equivalent of Look North / Calendar and the local newspaper.

If you don’t get any luck with the ombudsman or the board then I’d go to the media with this and see where that gets you.

It is disgusting what this HA is doing. They should just refer it to their insurance. 10 months is outrageous. Just imagine the furore if this was a private LL. Tell them you want to go to court. Go on to SM show images and tweet HA won't fix this problem. Shame them into action.

No, it is not the responsibility of charity to pick up the slack of businesses. Why should a company do this for 'exposure', when the Housing Association have a legal responsibility as per their contract (lease) with the OP?

@RainbowSlidders - MP, social media, local newspaper (and beyond if they are interested) Have you looked up and followed any relevant complaints procedure documented by your Housing Association? Do you have their admission of fault in writing?

@Grotbagg its a small West Midlands housing association, they only operate in 2 areas. Google should bring them straight up, don’t want to name them on here as in fear of getting even less out of them.

To clarify they have done zero repairs since August the faulty drain is still faulty, the house floods repeatedly. Since my insurance appointment a flood restoration company three weeks ego that dug a trench around the exterior of the property it hasn’t flooded inside. The drying out with take another 8-12 weeks.

Right, so all the base units are unsalvageable. Those are the HA responsibility as they are part of the fixtures and fittings.
Could Shelter be helpful? MP?

Are the White goods covered by your contents insurance?

So, not functional and need replacement (the bottom cupboards at least). What reason are the HA giving for not replacing them?

@BMW6 the appliances are covered by insurance, I have appliance insurance separately.

@mrsm43s the only reason they have given is they only replace every 20-25 years.

The HA are disgusting!!

Can you go to your local MP?

Contact your MP. Why wasn’t that your first email when you got nowhere with the HA?

Approach the housing ombudsman now. They might be able to put a rocket up the associations backside.
I also agree you should get your MP involved. And you could go to your local newspaper.

Why is all that upstairs? Hasn't it dried out in 10 months?

Hi I work for a HA. It is definitely their responsibility to replace the kitchen, even if it was the tenant's fault they would still need to do the work. Not suggesting btw that it was your fault. They will have building insurance to claim off

She says the house has kept flooding as the HA won’t fix the drains, so the kitchen kept flooding. Would you put new appliances in a kitchen which kept flooding? Or would you put the new appliances upstairs where the water can’t get to them?

She says that a trench has now been dug and the flooding has finally stopped indoors, but will be another 12 weeks to fully dry out. Then maybe the downstairs can be used.

When this sort of thing happens it is generally due to a dispute between the ha and the tenant as to whether the damage makes the item unusable. If they are saying it isn’t due for replacement I suspect their assessment is that it wasn’t damaged to such an extent as to make it unusable but it is odd since the op says they agree it was severely damaged. Unless the flooding was deep it is quite possible that only kick boards needed Replacement?

Did you not bother reading the OPs posts? She quite clearly explains the extent of the damage.

Get your Councillor involved. Or your MP. It's shocking that you've been fobbed off like this.

Might be worth talking to Shelter.

They're going to need access to enter the premises hack off all the plaster allow to dry out then replaster. You should be given alternative accommodation whilst this happens. Otherwise you're going to have awful issues of mould etc. which health-wise is a huge issue.

The Ombudsman will tell them to do it so you need to go to them as soon as you've gone through complaints.
But they should just be claiming it off their insurance. It's clearly their responsibility so makes no sense why they are refusing to do it.

I did and I referred to them. I said this generally happens when there is a dispute about the extent of the damage. The op should get a copy of the assessment report since if she’s been told the damage was significant but the report says otherwise then something might have gone wrong/been mixed up. HAs are used to switching out kitchens etc so clearly something odd is going on here

OP: the bottom units were submerged in 2 1/2 foot of water for days

You: Unless the flooding was deep it is quite possible that only kick boards needed Replacement?