Some advice needed VERY WORRIED!! (starter tennancy, housing association)

claire_80_2

I have recently been given a lovely little flat from my housing association. They don't work on points, they work on priority bands and registration dates, all very 2010! lol

I signed the shorthold (starter tennancy agreement) with the housing assosciation last Wednesday, the agreement is for the tennancy to start on Monday, 19th April. I received the keys when I signed, and have been in the flat the past few days cleaning and decorating (not moved in yet).

Well, to say that I am worried is an understatement!!!

It seems that my downstairs neigbour is a lover of very loud rock music, that my neighbour to my right is a lover of very loud R n' B music and tht my neighbour to my left is a lover of extremely loud house and techno music. The noise has been deafening whilst I have been in there and has been driving me insane, but i kept on saying to myself that as I am a new tennant and am on a 'starter tennancy' that as soon as my year is up I will put in for a transfer....

Anyway I was there today showing my family the place and it turns out that my downtairs neighbour is also a lover of Special Brew. He sits out in the communal garden areas, drinks it and then tosses the cans on the floor - nice.

I was showing my dad the flowers that I have planted on my balcony when suddenly there was a lot of shouting and banging, all of a sudden some young lad ran off down the road and the drunk neighbour from downstairs was running after him saying 'come back you !!!!!!, you c*nt, come back here you mother f*cker'.... etc...etc... another neighbour then followed and laughed up to me on my balcony 'it'll be fun and games here tonight, lots of police!' and sniggered and walked away.

Now I am not a snob, but I do come from a family who live in a quiet country village who do actually have manners - to say I was shocked is putting it lightly.

The music still continued on - it was deafening and has been for the past three days.

A bit later after a little more decorating I was putting the kettle on, looked out of my kitchen window and saw the said drunk downstairs peeing up the side of the flats!!!

On top of that one of the doors downstairs seems to have been kicked in overnight too, and has been boarded up.

I have never lived on my own and am totally worried sick for my safety and my sanity.

Is there any way that I can get out of this 'starter tennancy' that apparently starts on the 19th April and go back onto the housing list on my previous priority band? I am worried that the housing association will say that I have accepted it, take it or leave it, and that if I leave it I will have made myself homeless and they will have no obligation to help me now....

I am on anti-depressants already due to depression and honestly do feel that if I were to move there I would become a jibbering wreck, not to mention the fact that my family are now really concerned about me being safe there.

If anyone could offer any advice I would be so very grateful.

Thank you.

Catblue

Sorry, I don't know much about this or how HA tenancies work.

Having said that, I would on no account move into this flat. Sounds like at least 3 neighbours from hell. Moving in will accomplish nothing and will just end up making your health even worse.

Can you call the HA first thing on Monday morning to get advice from them about where you stand? Tell them that unfortunately you will not be able to take up the tenancy due to the noise and anti-social behaviour issues. If you get no joy, then Shelter would be a good resource to contact.

If necessary, could your GP write a letter to the HA about your health?

Keep coming back to this thread. Someone on here will be along to offer some proper advice I'm sure.

Fire_Fox

You need to speak with the housing association and see what they can do for you, are you willing to give up the tenancy and your place on the list? Are you able to pay the rent for a year but not actually live there, then transfer?

Your other option is to move in and address the music via Environmental Health and the soundproofing via the HA. Obviously your neighbours would be able to work out had made the complaint, so it would be better to address it with them first. It may be they are used to having an empty flat or a tenant who was as noisy as they are! WAX ear plugs are great for low to medium level noise (I have insomnia).

Are there decent locks on the door? I can understand with you being treated for mental health issues (me too) the situation could stress you, but being noisy and uncouth does not mean you are at risk, no offence but sounds like you have had quite a sheltered life as that behaviour would not phase me at all unless it was directed at me. The most fantastic treatment for stress and depression is physical activity - maybe get some fitness DVDs and join in with the noise, or get fitted for some running shoes and get outside. :j

Ditch_Crawler

Are 'the noisy ones' tenants of the same Housing Association - I think that any responsible Housing Association would have 'procedures' for tackling issues like this (the council's environmental health department should certainly have such procedures). If the Housing Association have knowingly dumped a 'hard-to-let' property on you, then I would think you ought to have some form of redress.

DC

GDB2222

I totally agree with Firefox that noisy and uncouth is not at all the same as dangerous. The door being kicked in doesn't sound so good though.

I suggest making a list of your concerns and speaking to the HA first thing Monday.

claire_80_2

Thank you for your replies - it seems that I have been given a place where there are a lot of 'down and out' people, and they use this as a stop gap before moving them on.

The sheltered life part made me giggle! I lived in London for 24 years before moving 4 years ago - I lived beside a noisy main road, have been mugged 3 times in my life and sexually assaulted once - I now live in the country and love the peace and quiet... so yes, although I might lead a quieter life now with much less disruption, I wouldn't say I was sheltered

Are you saying that you think it's okay for me to look out of my kitchen window and see someone peeing up the side of the flats? lol... As even in London that would have shocked me!

Yes the door being kicked in is of some concern, and according to one of my neighbours that is the second time it's happened in the space of about 3 months (different door too!).

I found out this morning that the bloke being chased away has apparently been having sex with 14 year old girls in the building.

Plus the music

I am going to write an email to my housing officer and list all of this. He is very good at getting back to me about any concerns, and a genuinely decent man so I am hoping that he will understand where I am coming from.

Like I say it's not only my safety but my health I am concerned about. I cannot imagine laying in bed at 2am and being woken up by someone's door being kicked in :eek:

poppysarah

Keep a diary.
Ask for a transfer.
Speak to local councillor.

claire_80_2

Thank you for your replies, I sent a detailed email to my housing officer last night and this morning received a reply saying that I could return the keys and go back onto the housing list and that they would look into the antisocial behaviour :j

poppysarah

You then making yourself homeless?
Take advice.

Seriously they already knew about the problem. Just don't want to deal with it. Or have tried and failed.

Jowo_2

How does this rejection of an offered tenancy work?

Were you originally a priority for re-housing under the allocation system - do you end up going to the back of the queue for leaving a property that you did not have (i.e. intentional homelessness), for example?

Is it choice based letting and so you just continue to bid on new properties and have the same banding as before? Is the date of application changed to the date you left the property rather than your original application (if duration of application is a factor in the allocation process)? Do they consider the tenancy not to have commenced because you did not actually move into the property?

Have they given you any indication if they are happy to consent to the full surrender of the tenancy agreement without any conditions or costs to yourself? For example, they will only charge you until the actual day you move out and won't hold you to paying rent until they can find a replacement tenant or until the end of the fixed term of that AST?

Make sure you get their proposal of the surrender in writing and you get a full understanding (again in writing) of how your walking away from the tenancy could impact a future application.

EDIT - in a previous post you mentioned that you were moving into a place that you had bought - are you a tenant or FTB through a shared ownership scheme, for example?