House with Asbestos and 2 disabled residents

laurel7172

Your local CAB will be more up to date with your local council's policies and practices than we will, so that's not a bad idea.

Seriously, though, those who have said not to overreact to the asbestos are right- I have a (retired) family member who was heavily involved in licensing and inspecting asbestos removal contractors when licensing came in about 25 or so years ago. Asbestos fibres, I am informed, do not have legs. They do not burrow through walls. Removal is often a higher risk, in his opinion, than leaving it where it is.

How do you know there's asbestos in there anyway, if it's sealed? Did the sealing have anything to do with the asbestos? And are you sure your parents didn't agree to it, as a cheaper option than paying for removal all those years ago?

Good luck, though. Hope the CAB are helpful.

elfen

If the asbestos is sealed in place and won't be ripped open when you open the cupboard, it is perfectly fine to do this, and to re-seal over it (wallpapering, cladding, etc) as nothing will escape. However, when your parents come to sell the house they will need to say there is asbestos in the walls of one cupboard, but that it has been sealed over and is undisturbed.

Doozergirl

You don't have to tell anyone anything when they time comes to sell. If they ask, you can't lie, but you don't have to outright tell people. Lots of houses have some form of asbestos, it's not really a special thing.

Fire_Fox

On what basis did the council take responsibility for sealing up a cupboard in a private residence? Normally when you buy a property it's your responsibility for getting surveys etc. done so you know if the roof is caving in or there might be asbestos. Was this done? Do you actually know how much it will cost to get this work done by a specialist? Are you sure your parents get all the correct benefits?

silvercar

If the home was still a council home and your parents were tenants, the council might have more of a responsibility to remove the cupboard. As it is now a private home, the fact it was once a council home is irrelevent. Any help the council give will be based on any responsibilities they have to assisting disabled and / or elderly live in their own homes and nothing to do with the fact is was a council home.

Having made the decision to buy it, they took on responsibility for its maintenance.

ILW

If it was my parents and they really wanted to use the cupboard, I would scrape up the money to get it done.

squinty

If someone had bought a property 20 years ago on the open market there would be no question of asking the vendor to carry out this type of work.

Why do you think this should be any different with an ex-council house? Especially when you bear in mind that it was purchased at a discount, and your family had lived there previously and should have made themselves aware of the structure of that house and the risks associated with owner occupation before completing the purchase.

As other have said, your parents may be able to get some assistance with any adapatations that are needed - try contacting your local care and repair service. Their website with local contacts is at:

http://www.careandrepairscotland.co.uk/location.html

In England and Wales there may be access to funding through the 'Disabled Facilities Grant' scheme (usually part of Environmental Health or Housing Depts) - however I think the system in Scotland is different and the equivalent is offered through Social Services.

poppysarah

There may well be adaptation grants availabe through the council but not the housing dept.

Joyful

Regarding the meter make sure your parents are on the Care register at their suppliers. Most suppliers can then arrange to move the meter free of charge.

tyllwyd

For the artex - I can't really see why you would want to touch it. If your parents are elderly and disabled, why would they want the hassle and disturbance of having contractors in the house and redecorating etc? You'd probably (at least temporarily) reduce their quality of live more by trying to remove it rather than leaving it there. If they are happy in their house and want to stay there for the rest of their lives, at that point the house would probably be sold to someone who would want to totally renovate it so they could sort out the artex at that point.