ok, so i know im gonna get hounded for this one!!!

[benbon]

but AIBU to think that if you live in a council flat you shouldnt be able to afford a brand new land rover with personalised number plate and full leather interiour

its just so frustrating when we struggle to pay our rent and have a crappy car and a man living in the council flats opposite us can afford brand spanking new car

so aibu????????????????

'The whole council housing system should be scrapped. About time people started working and earning their keep rather than just expect the government to fund them, I so loathe this entitlement culture.'

So people who are working don't deserve a decent place to rent that has a secured tenancy?

Last I checked, we 'earn our keep' and pay taxes just like anyone else who works.

But our wages don't keep pace with the house prices the government allowed to get so over-inflated in the first place.

Why should anyone get doubleglazing free?

Plenty of OAPs get it free through WarmFront.

Do people really think that council tenants get double glazing for free?

I wish. Your'e lucky if you get a working bog tbh.

and I know my grammar is crap before its mentioned.

I just think that a system where some get everything paid for them, and have a host of maintenance people doing stuff for them, while other as people who may be as needy, or even needier, get nada is simply flawed. Clearly it isnt working.

i dont really get the system at all

I pay rent quint, do landlords not have a responsibilty to keep my house in a decent state of repair?

(Which they dont actually)

ShyBaby, how long you got? It could probably take till 2010 to explain the 2010 agenda! Simple answer is yes, your landlord has got a responsibility to keep your house to a certain standard but there are some things that are your responsibility because it's your home.

Ok where do you want to start?

Ive spent thousands on this house.

QuintessentialShadow some people pay a lot of money to get that in their rent and TBH as great as it is there are 3,000 (IIRC) front doors my HA is responsible for. I was discussing this with one of our directors last week. He was complaining that he hadn't been on holiday because he had a leak he had to fix and his wife had made him do it in his week off. I spent quite a long time discussing my leak with his team, it took 11 months to agree there was a roof leak (not that I needed to clean - read scrub all the walls - more often) and do something about it. I told him at least because he owns his own home he can have it done as soon as it needs doing.

It will vary depending on what sort of housing you're in, private landlords will do less than a HA or council. All landlords need to be up to 2010 standard by 2010ish (what is 2010? Is it December 2010 or April 2011? Govt hasn't given a deadline yet and isn't currently meeting it itself anyway). Things such as decor, furnishing and that sort of maintenance is your responsibility with HA/council or the landlords if it is private (depending if you had furnished or unfurnished as far as that goes obviously) private landlords should be redecorating after a set period (5 years? I'm not that up on private rentals). Maintaining the building is the landlords responsibility. Whatever property you are in and whatever state it's in, unless you refuse entry the landlord must be up to date soon or they could be in serious trouble.

I take it from your earlier post you are council? Like I said, council aren't managing to keep up at the moment. If I was you I would be ringing up the council and asking to speak with their 2010 department and asking when you are scheduled to have your 2010 work done.

IIRC (may be more) the list is:
Kitchen
Bathroom
Electricity
Glazing
Central Heating

You won't necessarily get all of it, those are just the areas that need to be up to date, it will depend on what you already have (for example I had hot air blowers before but that was taken out and central heating put in every room, if you already have central heating it won't be redone unless it's decrepit!)

When I moved into this house it was riddled with damp, plaster falling off the walls, bare brick exposed. Mouldy windows which I couldn't open. No kitchen (and I mean No kitchen), unsafe fire, no central heating to back us up so no heating at all for years. Oil filled rad was my saviour .

It was blardy freezing and my ds had asthma. I paid full rent for this! Not cosmetic, essential I would think?

That should have been sorted by the landlord, they had no right moving anyone in in that condition.

Im not greedy tink, I never asked for upvc windows and doors etc. So long as its not rotten and it shuts that's ok for me!

I dont expect great things for nothing. I expect a home I can live in comfortably. Without damp, mould and plaster dropping off. I do pay rent....what the feck do I pay rent for if my (sorry, their) house isnt looked after? and yet...if we have a few rainy weeks where I cant mow the lawn I get a letter telling me to keep it neat or else...when its 3 inches fecking long!

Its so annoying.

It should have been sorted but it wasnt and it happens more than most people realise.

These houses are often let in a terrible state.

It's not about being greedy, it's just the standard the law says that people should expect to have to live in. If you owned your own home you would want it to be a certain standard and when you're renting it's no different. When you could be in that property for only a short period of time you don't want to have to spend thousands that you have no way of recuperating - houses go up in value, but you don't see that when you rent.

Like I said before, it could take till 2010 to explain the agenda, it's something you should read up on for yourself. Google "2010 decent homes standard" and you'll see what you should get.

Yes. but should means nothing tbh! I will have a look, but im not holding my breath!

Keeps you fit though thinking about it.

Ds and I used to have a race at night from the living room to the bedroom because anywhere in between was so cold.

See how we make things fun? brrrrr...I always won of course!

Shybaby - yep it was cheaper than some houses in the area - but I paid the market value...I didn't buy it from the council and neither did the previous owner. At the time it was the best I could afford...

You obviously have had big issues with getting your repairs done...and your landlord(council?) should do it..no argument there ...

But private rental accomodation isn't necessarily better..(and I've lived in a lot...)

One house where our landlady was useless...our bathroom leaked - she did nothing (apart from tell us to put towels around the downlighters!) until the kitchen ceiling collapsed and we withheld our rent...then our heating packed in and she sent her brother (Corgi registered?!) to fix it etc etc - in the end we paid for minor repairs with our rent money...and lived with a bucket on the landing catching the drips from a leaking roof - the rent was very cheap though...

I lived in another flat that burned down ...(luckily we were all out at the time -or I don't think we could have got out -no proper fire escape - 5th floor)...I was in a rented ball dress cos I was at a very posh 21st birthday so all I had left was a pair of knickers, tights, highheeled shoes and a lovely black clutch bag!. Fire brigade said it was dodgy electrics . no compensation - we were advised that we would be dragged through the courts looking for absolute proof until we ran out of the money - and the same agency moved us (eventually) into a not so nice or suitable flat for the rest of our agreement(!), for more money. Half the lights blew after 1 month and it took 6 months for them to fix them...

If you owned your own house you would too...not just the expense but actually finding someone who will do the work is a nightmare...

Did I say my house was nice? I wouldn't say it was ...it looked quite nice but had lots of hidden problems - the heating was pathetic and packed in within a year, the bathroom was installed by a DIYer -resulting in the toilet overflow being directed onto the ceiling - causing part of it to collapse, countless other leaks and water pipes flying off when we had the new heating installed...

My double glazing was terrible (like you could see daylight between the windows and frames - something that I should really be angry with my surveyor about...or the company that installed it for a previous owner and then disappeared...)

My drains outside needed replacing - every time I put the washing machine on it flooded the floor - oh and if I wasn't very careful putting pans back in the cupboard (because that waste system had been fitted by the same DIYer) they knocked the drain pipe and the washing machine emptied into the cupboard...

I could have bought an older house for about the same amount of money ...but it obviously needed a lot of work - and in the circumstances (studying full-time, new baby and a partner with a new business) I thought this one (with just a bit of decorating to do!) looked like a good option...

We are still working on it - currently have the remains of a (small child friendly!)trench in the back garden - more drain problems - luckily mainly the water board's problem this time...but can't even get someone give me a quote to sort it out (patio area also needs relaying -built above the damp proof -yes I have a mouldy room too)

So...forgive me if I was a little 'jealous' when I saw the council workmen working on my neighbour's house...doing some of the jobs that I had needed to get done...

Perhaps what got to me most was he had new double glazing fitted less than a year before he bought it (he did really (!)...and then he had patio windows put in...I don't know what happened to the old (new) window -it was sat outside for a good while...did think about asking if I could buy it off him - but it was a different colour to mine and I would have to find someone to fit it...

Ohhh that is a whinge...

My point was that social housing firstly should be for people who can't afford the private sector and if their circumstances change they should then pay more rent to help subsidise all social housing ..not buying luxuries...

shybaby i am in private rented and how you have described your house was is how my house is now. psml @ private landlords having a responsibility.

i have two children under five in my house, rotten floor boards, a dodgy hot water supply, rottenmwindows and my heating comprises of a fire in the living room and erm a fire in the living room. the landlord is more than happy to have work done to the house if i pay for it

my dad is a window fitter and has offered to fit new winbdows for free as these ones are unsafe and he is worried for the childrens safety.

luckily dh's house is decidely less delpidated so we should be in there before we all freeze to death

id love to be in council accomadation but have never had enough points to get far enough up the list. even before i met dh who has his own house now.

its landlords like mine that have poeple wanting to live in council housing when they could afford private. my council is really up on getting repairs done in their own houses.

lusi if they can afford to pay rent then they do. council housing is not free. even if you are not working you still pay a top up where its affordable to you.

Haven't read the entire thread because it will be full of the usual MN hand wringing, right on bleating so can't be bothered.

No YANBU, if he can afford to buy a brand new car with a personalised number plate(company cars don't have personal plates) then he doesn't need social housing. I don't see why my taxes should subsidise social housing for people who don't need it.

Having read the whole thread at this time of the morning I am now in a pretty pissed off mood. I was in a lovely mood after having great morning sex but thats another thread

We are technically in social housing, we rent privately through the Housing Association. Yes the rent is cheaper though not really cheap £120 a week for a 3 bed. Dh works hard, I have 5 children

AND...... If we came into any money the first thing I would but is a Brand New 7 Seater. My neighbours would probably whinge and maon like you and I couldn't give a Toss