Grants with repairs on mtg property

sweet12

Im looking for any help as all information previously been given is not relevant to me

Im 23, I have a child who is in receipt of DLA Care low (which has been a battle since Nov and only just come through).

I work full time my income is less than £17k. I am due to go on maternity leave in one month. My partner doesnt work and receives no income or benefit. I am currently paying a mortgage, can not extend already have it over 38 years

I currently receive child tax credits and working tax credit. Im not eligible for sure start money or health in pregnancy grant

The problem I have is that my shower is leaking through the wall into the next bedroom and accross the floor which would be my childs room, and through the floor boards and leaking out of the ceiling in the kitchen which means the lighting in kitchen doesnt work and everytime you have a shower it causes more damage.

My daughter has severe excema and has to shower 2-3 times a day so you can see where the problem lies.

I have no family I can rely on and I cant seem to find help. I physically do not have the money to get this problem fixed. I know if left the ceiling will fall through.

Does any one know of any grants I could be entitled to ? Any help or guidence would be appreciated

I come under Bolton Council

Jowo_2

Are you saying you are a social housing tenant and that these repairs aren't the responsibility of the social housing landlord? Or that you are a homeowner that can't afford to replace the shower cubicle or tiles, for example.

What is the cause of the leak - grouting around the tiles or cubicle, crack in the cubicle or tiles? Leaky pipe? If it's grouting/sealant issue, this can be sorted out yourself in an hour or two for a tenner or so.

Stop using the shower - to continue to further damage the property is madness, such as causing a ceiling collapse and major electrical issues - catch the water in another container like a baby's bath or similar and tip it out in the sink.

Do you have debts as your income with the benefits you cite are liable to be around £1500 per month at a rough guess and simple plumbing repairs that require a plumber might have change out of £100.

You can check for grants on the Turn2us site.

sweet12

Thanks for such a prompt reply

I own the property and pay a mortgage. My council tax comes under Bolton Council I didnt know if my area would make a difference

I come out with net £1147 earned income, my bills £1040 as yes I do have debt one being a loan £148 a month a pay back when my partner lost his job

I have had a builder come and look at the problem and theres alot wrong with it. The previous guy who owned the property made a mess of fitting the shower. The tiles are cracked so water leaks through the tiles, the shower tray is cracked in 3 places. In between the tiles is like grouting which he said shouldnt be there and fitted incorrectly. The water leaks straight therough the wall through tiles and under the shower on to the floor boards in the bathroom, and accross the floor to leak into the kitchen.

Currently there is a bucket in the kitchen to catch the water. Theres no where else I could "catch" the water" My partner has done his best putting sealant where he can but this isnt and hasnt solved the problem.

The repair means wall coming down, new shower fitted, maybe floor boards replacing. The builder said Im looking at £3k approx

When looking at the turn to us website I dont fall under any sort of job or area which are criterias. The closest was I use to work at a bank I was there 3 years but it said you had to have 5 years service. I currently work for a local council

Jowo_2

By catching the water, I mean placing a big wide container over the shower cubicle so you can catch the shower water when your daughter is showered (if for example, you have a flexible hose on the shower and can control the jet over her), such as a cheap large plastic container that you can get in DIY stores. Adults can make do with using the facilities at the local sports centre or friend's place, or at the sink.

It is total madness to continue to use the shower and allow the leaking water to cause further damage and destruction and cause much more expense to you. You will introduce greater damp problems throughout the house with this negligent behaviour. Get other quotes - stick to companies approved by the local council trading standards scheme or who belong to professional bodies, like master builders/corgi (gas safe) registered plumbers. Ask on the DIY board for info relating to the repair.

I'm not aware of any grants for home owners on low income. This kind of thing is normally a personal and private matter to resolve unless you can find a disabled charity that offers some kind of home repair grant. Ask the Disability and Dosh board for ideas in case they are aware of any charities that could help out.

The debt free wanabee board will help you with ideas on how to manage your debt and perhaps advice on the type of loan or remortgage you could go for to have your home repair done. They will tell you how to reduce or manage this debt to free up income for more important expenses. Consider something like the Credit Union for a loan.

Is your partner a house husband with caring responsibilities or can he find a job to bring in money for essential household repairs? Granted the bathroom sounds like a bodge job, but most properties come with repair costs at some time or other. I've had to pay out to repair the roof and replace the boiler on my house last year and that cost me ten grand and I wasn't in employment then.

sweet12

My partner has caring responsibilities so hes unable to get a job currently

I will do as suggested and see if I get any luck there

Thank you for taking the time to reply

sunnyone

sweet12 wrote: »

Im looking for any help as all information previously been given is not relevant to me

Im 23, I have a child who is in receipt of DLA Care low (which has been a battle since Nov and only just come through).

I work full time my income is less than £17k. I am due to go on maternity leave in one month. My partner doesnt work and receives no income or benefit. I am currently paying a mortgage, can not extend already have it over 38 years

I currently receive child tax credits and working tax credit. Im not eligible for sure start money or health in pregnancy grant

The problem I have is that my shower is leaking through the wall into the next bedroom and accross the floor which would be my childs room, and through the floor boards and leaking out of the ceiling in the kitchen which means the lighting in kitchen doesnt work and everytime you have a shower it causes more damage.

My daughter has severe excema and has to shower 2-3 times a day so you can see where the problem lies.

I have no family I can rely on and I cant seem to find help. I physically do not have the money to get this problem fixed. I know if left the ceiling will fall through.

Does any one know of any grants I could be entitled to ? Any help or guidence would be appreciated

I come under Bolton Council

So because your daughter has minimal care needs of a typical child her age of under one hour a day (and you had to fight for that) you want someone to repair your home for you instead of climing on your insurance?

Word fail me.

[Deleted User]

have you tried using "sealant" to repair where its leaking?the stuff u usually use round the edge of a bath or shower,that might do the trick short-term

welshmoneylover

Can't your husband use some time to make some DIY repairs or claim under your house insurance?

sardine

I can't see that the building or contents policy will cover that problem. If it does, I need quite a bit of work doing to my house and will have to see if LV will pay for it! As if!!!!

If her partner is out of work, and even if he is useless at these things (or anything DIY), why doesn't he get himself down to the local college and do some cheap, if not free, courses on property maintenance (basic plumbing, building, woodwork etc).

I am lucky as I had a very good teacher, my grandfather. With the effort and time he put into me over the years, there is very little I can't do to a very good standard (although I draw the line at gas fitting!!!!). Over the years I have built extensions, and even built my own home - obtaining building control approval at every stage with no problems.

So now may be the time to learn some new skills to save money in the home as well as possibly help towards some sort of employment.

sweet12

I thought I would write separate replies as some people seem to want to help and others just to insult

Sunnyone-

Regarding DLA, Yes I had to fight for her claim which I have taken to appeal and they just changed her mind this week so not to go to Tribunal.
No Im not happy with the decision and will be appealing that. She has severe exceme and needs constant care 24 hours a day. she only sleeps 6 hours in a day and will scratch at her skin till it bleeds, where it becomes infected. They deem that cos she needs help with going to the toilet never mind anything else thats why they say an hour a day.
They havent even considered her mobility needs.
I do not think I can claim on the House Insurance as its shoddy workmanship from the previous owner. I came on here to ask for advice. As you will see on my profile I am new on here, and have never asked for help before so please consider these factors before you insult someone you don't even know. Its not constructive

Woodbine

Yes my partner put sealant around every crack he could see but it hasnt solved the problem even in the short term

Welshmoneylover

My partner doesnt know what he's doing with regards to DIY. Yes hes willing to give things a go but even on the advice of the builder the whole thing needs to go so even if he attempted it, He would need to gain the knowledge from somewhere and I still need to find money from somewhere for materials etc. My partner doesnt want me to pay out a lot of money for him to mess it up more. Because if he does mess it up worse What then?

Sardine

My partner looks after our 3year old daughter full time, as described she has severe excema and is not in a nursery as I can not afford it and she is not eligible yet for a free nursery place before anyone pipes up about that. There are no free courses for him to attend as he doesnt receive JSA as he is not entitled. Even if there was we still have no one to look after our daughter. I work full time

You are very fortunate to have had someone able to give you guidence and to have gained the knowledge of some DIY. I suppose the only option I have is to get libary books out but there is still the issue of funding which was why I originally posted

beecher2

Contact Care and Repair
http://www.homesforbolton.org.uk/48.html
I wouldn't think you would be eligible but no harm in asking them for advice.

Stop using the shower though as it will only make matters worse. Get your partner to look for work while you're on maternity leave. You could post on Debt Free Wannabee forum for help with budgeting