do i stay in my damp cold expensive house or lie through my teeth so my kids can have a nice home??

[bellarose2011]

just looking for some advice really, i am a single mother to 2 DD, 10 months and 2yrs.
we currently live in a 3 bed semi detatched house, it has an old back boiler which makes the gas bills huge yet we are still always freezing. the garden is a vertical hill (literally!) there is mold growing on the kids bedroom wall. the double glazing doesn't work and there is puddles of water on all the windowsills every morning. i hate it!!
in the area i live there is a shortage of social housing and my name is on all council/housing association lists. my only hope is a house from an estate agents. but of course they won't accept DSS.
now i get my housing benefit paid to me so there is no reason i need to disclose this other than it being dishonest. but i know i would be a great tenant, i have never not paid my rent, i'm a clean freak and have no pets.
i have found a perfect house that i can afford and have the application form in front of me, i know i won't get it if i tell the truth. i have a friend who runs her own business and would say i worked for her. i just don't know what to do??
the eatate agents use MARAS, will my bank tell them where my funds come from?

[tittytittyhanghang]

but they have to maintain the property.

if the boiler is broken or infective they have to deal with it.

If theres damp etc they have to deal with it.

Pahahahaha, wait till i wipe the tears away from eyes.

Legally probably they do. The reality is however a different story.

im getting pretty fucked off with you getting called entitled. I guess im an entitled bitch for claiming child benefit?

[ChippingInLovesAutumn]

Bella - I think you should wait until you can do it properly and not put your children at risk of being made homeless if you get found out. People get found out in a lot of different ways, you can't be complacent about it.

Your LL has a duty to make sure your house is habitable. Yours sounds like they need to do something. I honestly can't remember now why you said your LL couldn't spend money on the place, but that's not your problem - they need to put in a boiler that is working, efficient & cost effective.

Get this place sorted and move when you can do it properly & without the stress - and quite frankly, with UC coming in, I'd be wary of making any move until you know what you will actually get or you could be right up shit creek without a paddle.

[TantrumsAndBalloons]

titty i thought that was the law?

I dont know, if im wrong then ok, I wasnt taking the piss, i thought that was the case.

[bellarose2011]

i think it is the law but reality is different like titty says.
i mean if they can't afford to replace the roof (i know its the roof my ex is a builder and has looked)
what am i going to do? if i start spouting off about how they have to they will just give me a months notice, get rid of a problem tenant.
and i don;t think you can demand a new boiler just because its old.

[tittytittyhanghang]

oh its the law, but there are so many ways around it, that if the landlord doesnt want the hassle/financial bother of repair work then the reality is it wont happen. I know of people who have asked about repairs just to be ignored or worse not had their tenancy renewed at the end of the 6 months, some people I know won't complain about repairs for that reason.

[Xenia]

We put up with a boiler for 6 years which di d not work properly. That is real life. I had to replace this year and it cost £6000 including VAT. I am sure some people have bad land lords or landlords who cannot afford to repair things. One solution is get a job and buy your own house and don't expect others to look after you. That is obviously something the poster might manage if the business she and her mother are going to start gets going although does the mother really need to do a course jut to get started on it. Can't it just be started now without the course?

[Graceparkhill]

www.gov.uk/private-renting/repairs

You do have rights as a private tenant and there is help available ( from Shelter and others) I know I am like a broken record but I figure even if OP does not engage then the info might help someone else.

You could contact environmental health for advice as well.

It is wrong to be paying rent for a substandard property and your current landlord will not find it easy to get the property relet if it is in poor condition.

[ChippingInLovesAutumn]

Bella - if that's the case wouldn't you be better off getting an electric shower (not expensive) and some oil heaters? When I used them, they didn't seem expensive to run at all (contrary to what some on here say) and they did a really good job.

[tittytittyhanghang]

Xenia, thats not the answer, or nowhere near it. The fault lies with the landlord and quite frankly if they are bad landlords or cant afford it then they shouldn't bloodly well be landlords. At the end of your mortgage period you will own your house, when people are in rented they get fuck all at the end, the trade off is supposed to be that they are in a well maintained house. And even getting a job doesn't equal buying a house neither, getting a mortgage nowadays is like plucking hens teeth.

[bellarose2011]

im not expecting my landlord to look after me, i pay them rent. they should fix stuff. that is how it works.
some people on here have very strange ideas.
are you expecting your mortgage company to look after you because they lent you the money to buy your house? does that make any sense?

there are other reasons we can't start the business yet, my mum has other commitments that she is sorting out. in the mean time she is doing a course.
we could do it without the course but would rather be prepared, we will hjave to employ poeple so need to learn about accounting taxes ect.

[IWipeArses]

I've been reading a funny blog about saving money on heating, Chipping reminded me - coldhousejournal.com

Bear in mind that if the dampness is due to condensation it's not the landlords problem. It's possible to handle by keeping temperature consistent (moderately low) and ventilate the property.
If it's a leaking roof then they need to fix it.

[Graceparkhill]

Me again with another bright idea. I am not sure how things are with your ex ( i know you say he has looked at the roof)but would he ( if it is safe for you to be in contact with him) or a colleague be willing to repair the roof in return for a reduction in your rent?
Landlord could supply materials and ex/ colleague could supply labour.

[bellarose2011]

grace, i am listening! just so many posts loose track.
i have asked landlord to come over tomorrow to look at damp.
will discuss maybe my ex doing the work, he would if he had time. he's ok when he's not drunk!
but i think most landlords would give notice to anyone that was demanding they spend thousands of pounds on the property.
there are so few rentals here they would always be able to rent it out.

[bellarose2011]

wipearse! i get really abd condensation in this house, there is puddles of water on the windowsills every morning. it even happens when were not here so not just due to cooking/baths. will look at link now.

[Graceparkhill]

Sorry - didn't mean to criticise. I do think it is worth having a dialogue with your landlord. The rental market is changing with more competition for tenants and more regulation for landlords.
You probably have more bargaining power than you realise.
Good luck!

[ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts]

Bellarose - we have victorian single glazed wooden sash windws that are so badly condensated every day that they are mouly and rotten. For the winter we cover them with glazing film. you just stick it on and blow it with the hairdryer until its tight and it creates a vacuum, reduces noise a little, reduces draft hugely and stops condensation. its brilliant stuff.

[IWipeArses]

Ventilation is important to get rid of the actual moisture though. If you've any vents that have been covered over, they need unblocking, open windows every day etc.

[bellarose2011]

coconut, that sounds great. where do you get it from?
i do try to open the windows in the morning but its just so bloody cold that sometimes i don't!
just pulled the sofa out to hoover and there is mold all over the wall,its never been there before. i think its the constant rain.

[NotQuintAtAllOhNo]

Have you "bled" the radiators? (Let air out)

If the radiators are 1/2 water and 1/2 air, then they wont warm up properly.

You need to air the house by opening the windows. But no matter how much you open the windows, it wont really matter if the house is filled with water due to a leaking roof.

[bellarose2011]

no havn't bled radiators, how do you do it?
would it be better to ask a bloke to do it? sorry feminists im just not that good with DIY!!

[ShotgunNotDoingThePans]

Bleeding a radiator must be the easiest home maintenance/SIY job there is. Just google it and you'll find hundreds of sets of instructions. First one I found on youtube here.
It's very satisfying, too!

[ShotgunNotDoingThePans]

DIY not SIY, obv.

[bellarose2011]

ok, thanks. i do think the radiators havn't been getting as hot as usual. i was thinking this morning that i can't remember the house ever being this cold so could be the problem.

[ShotgunNotDoingThePans]

You can easily get a radiator key from any DIY/ hardware shop/plumbers' suppliers.

[Xenia]

Certain try bleeding the radiators. Most of us will have seen others do it or looked up how to do it on line. Also if the water is coming from a hole in the roof then that needs to be fixed and may just need a few new tiles putting up there. The landlord might also be able to buy a dehumidifier for you - they are not too pricy compared with roof repairs anyway - which you plus in and takes moisture from the rooms and you can empty it fairly regularly.
If you can afford it (probably not) keep central heating on night and day but low setting as that might help remove dampness too.