a third of brits lived in council housing

ninky_2

vivatifosi wrote: »

Taking the standards above, why does a kitchen need to be no more than 20 years old in order to be habitable? If it is older and made of say solid oak and built to last does it mean that it fails to function? .

but we know we are not talking about houses with solid oak kitchens. i agree old doesn't mean bad but the reality is most kitchens 20 years ago were not built to last. i'd argue that the age of the kitchen / bathroom is a good average indicator of the condition of the property and when it was last renovated.

the criteria of mould / mice is to my mind more flawed - and could in some cases be blamed on the tenant as much as the landlord. the age of the bathroom / kitchen is solely the landlord's responsibility.

lostinrates

ninky wrote: »

but we know we are not talking about houses with solid oak kitchens. i agree old doesn't mean bad but the reality is most kitchens 20 years ago were not built to last. i'd argue that the age of the kitchen / bathroom is a good average indicator of the condition of the property and when it was last renovated.

the criteria of mould / mice is to my mind more flawed - and could in some cases be blamed on the tenant as much as the landlord. the age of the bathroom / kitchen is solely the landlord's responsibility.

My house has a kitchen put in by an LA (standard LA kitchen) in the mid/late seventies (funnily enough a friend has the exact same kitchen in her house). I have painted mine. It has a couple of broken drawers that I'll fix when we move it, but its perfectly serviceable BAR the number of electric points. I do not like the melamine work surfaces with joins mid bench: its not hygenic, but could be replaced with out updating the whole kitchen.

My guess is the bathroom is the same date roundabout, maybe a little younger.

eta: kitchen was MINGING when we moved in and I did chuck a wall cupboard that I just couldn't get clean (had been over over and had years and years of grease and dust and grease and dust cementing themselves to it).

ninky_2

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

What social improvements are you referring to?
.

some examples; minimum wage. working time initiatives. regeneration schemes. investment in services that keep the worst excesses of social deprivation in check (for example social services). investment in public works. equality legislation and implementation.

birkee

blueboy43 wrote: »

You watched too much Shameless ?

Never watched it.....you base you judgements on TV fiction then?

ninky_2

lostinrates wrote: »

My house has a kitchen put in by an LA (standard LA kitchen) in the mid/late seventies (funnily enough a friend has the exact same kitchen in her house). ).

our place was the same. bathroom toilet were also old. we could have continued to use them. tenants had been living in property in that condition prior to us buying it. however our plan was to renovate the entire place. what we discovered were old and dodgy electrics (including a live wire touching a nail used to hold down carpet, no earths etc). also no central heating and gas fire was of a dubious nature. now maybe these things wouldn't have killed us. but maybe they would have.

i do think a lack of updating can be dangerous. it's not always just cosmetic.

lostinrates

ninky wrote: »

our place was the same. bathroom toilet were also old. we could have continued to use them. tenants had been living in property in that condition prior to us buying it. however our plan was to renovate the entire place. what we discovered were old and dodgy electrics (including a live wire touching a nail used to hold down carpet, no earths etc). also no central heating and gas fire was of a dubious nature. now maybe these things wouldn't have killed us. but maybe they would have.

i do think a lack of updating can be dangerous. it's not always just cosmetic.

There is lots worng with this house, but funnily enough our electrics aren't too bad. Basic and need something three way rather than the excisting one way/phase which I'm told is less fun than it sounds. Central heating dead here too, had been installed, but v badly, a v long time ago and is now not resurrectable. TBH, that bothers me less than the fact the house is falling down, rain comes down the walls in some places and there are cracks to the outsid I can get my hand in to.....but...you know, I think it IS different that we had a choice and some social tenants do not. The ones who do not, are of course, the ones who we really need to be providing for.

ninky_2

lostinrates wrote: »

I think it IS different that we had a choice and some social tenants do not.

just social tenants? sometimes when you are at the bottom of the private rentals market your choices are limited too. i lived in a couple of pretty dire private rentals in my time. drains semi blocked with cement. rodent infestations. REALLY needing redecorating. broken tiles and mould in bathroom. cabinets in kitchen encrusted with grease - to the level it was not possible to clean. etc etc.

lostinrates

ninky wrote: »

just social tenants? sometimes when you are at the bottom of the private rentals market your choices are limited too. i lived in a couple of pretty dire private rentals in my time. drains semi blocked with cement. rodent infestations. REALLY needing redecorating. broken tiles and mould in bathroom. cabinets in kitchen encrusted with grease - to the level it was not possible to clean. etc etc.

Fair point. Leads us to many of the discussions here saying the industry is a bit shoddy...which I most certainly agree with.

ukcarper

birkee wrote: »

So what happened?

I don’t know where you get your ideas about what council estates were like back then but mine are from personal experience. I suspect that even now a lot of estates are not as bad as made out and a minority is spoiling it for the majority.

[Deleted User]

my parents bought their own home in 1952, an old house at the end of a back to back terrace with a corner shop. Most of my friends lived in rented terraced houses, which were cockroach infested no matter how much they were cleaned and some lived in the (new) flats in ... ...... ..... gardens in Liverpool. They were kept like palaces and the community and occupants had a real pride in them. It was no shame in those days to be a council tennant as most families were pretty equal then, ie two married parents and a father who worked and a mum who was stah. Those were the days of real community, which sadly started to disappear when the high rises went up