This is my first post and I apologise that it is quite long.
We live in a converted ex-sheltered warden's house as Social Assured Tenancy tenants. We are classed as ‘General Needs’ tenants and have lived here for 10 years. We are both under 55. I’m autistic and have extreme sound sensitivity and communication processing problems. We are in England. None of the problems outlined below were explained to us prior to signing the tenancy and none were obvious upon the one viewing we were allowed.
Problem 1:
The house conversion was poor, leaving us the legacy of a fire exit for the rest of the scheme INSIDE our hallway which also houses our downstairs toilet and cupboard for personal use. The hallway is not a designated communal area and Social Landlord installed a maglocked door so that no one can enter our property unless the fire alarm is going off. This is not ideal obviously but we have nowhere else to go.
Problem 2:
There also used to be a door adjoining our kitchen to the site office. This was poorly filled in 2012. We can hear everything that comes through the wall including private conversations. The problem of sound transfer is two-way and there is little privacy.There is an intercom sited on/very close to adjoining wall and it bellows throughout my house. For short bursts of time it is manageable but when it is allowed to stay on hold with repetitive phrases, it absolutely causes meltdowns as I am autistic and cannot get away from the sound.
At various points in our tenancy and again this year, I asked Social Landlord to be aware that the privacy is breached both ways due to the terrible sound transfer problems. Social Landlord has not arranged a surveyor to even come and look at my property.I have already explained to them that I am distressed due to the sound coming through and have serious meltdowns as a consequence.My husband is not autistic and finds the noise coming through completely unreasonable as does any of my visitors who hear it!
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POSSIBLE SOLUTION to problem 1:
I have no idea if what they have left us with is even legal. Do we need to pursue this as a legal matter? Note: we are only just out of the bracket for legal aid so legal costs could be detrimental to us. Any ideas would be gratefully received!
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POSSIBLE SOLUTION to problem 2:
I feel this is a very simple/cheap matter to resolve: either turn down/ re-site the intercom off the adjoining wall or soundproof the adjoining wall so I cannot hear it as much ( I don't have unreasonable expectations of complete silence - I just don't want the whole of house flooded with noise!).Social Landlord aren't taking the problem seriously because they haven't done anything about it so far.Does anyone have any legal expertise who could shed light on what to tackle first - it’s all complex.
Thank you for reading this far! We cannot move at the moment, we are already waiting on social housing banding list for a more suitable property and cannot afford to rent privately. I REALLY wish we could though!