Council housing, what right do council housing officer have to inspect your house?

looby75

blckbrd wrote: »

Are you a probationary tenant OP? Sounds like the kinda crepe used to make Housing statff feel important.

nope I've been a council tenant since I got married 20 years ago. Council housing was fairly easy to get round here back then and it still is one of the bigger estates in the area. I had planned on buying a house with my husband and had started saving for a deposit when he left us and the rest is history as they say. I doubt I'll be going anywhere anytime soon.

aliasojo

Councils can (and do) evict for (very) untidy gardens. But there have to have been warnings first.

I wonder if because this chap is new, he's misunderstood the 'tidy' remit and applied it to the inside of the house too?

sammyjammy

I'll bet the last penny in my purse he won't be back. I would imagine his view is just that, his personal view. When you are feeling better I would make a compliant to the Housing Dept.

blckbrd

Sorry to hear your woes OP.

The housing bloke sounds like a creep. I'd be tempted to not tidy jst to see what he says. Prat. Take a date stamped photo of the room so he can't make it out to be worse than it is.

looby75

thanks for the reassurance everyone. I'll drop the council an email tomorrow to see what they say about it and get cracking on tidying up when I no longer feel like I'm in the body of a 90 yr old.

As I've said I've never really had any dealings with the housing officers before, the only times have been when we moved to this house from our old one, when I had to pick the fittings for the refurbishment, when they came to inspect the work when it was finished and today. So I really have no idea what so ever what powers they actually do have.

lighting_up_the_chalice

looby75 wrote: »

So I really have no idea what so ever what powers they actually do have.

The truth is, very few. To gain access to your property without your permission, the landlord would have to obtain a court order.... even for a gas safety check! Sounds like he's too new and too keen.

However, as with most relationships, a spirit of compromise and cooperation is usually the best. So I would let him call back and do his inspection. In fact, I would insist on it. Just let him know that it is done because YOU are allowing it to be done. Remember, your local Housing Officer works for YOU.

So, now that you both understand that relationship, you have 4 weeks to go through the house, from top to bottom, and jot down every single issue you can find, no matter how small. Stiff window locks? Smoke alarms fitted? How about Co2 detectors? Any loose floorboards? Uneven walls needing a skim? Miss-matched/uneven tiles? Kids playing footy outside? Parking disputes? The thickness of your loft insulation? How about cavity wall insulation? Can he get you energy saving bulbs? etc etc etc etc. Let your imagination run free! I'd aim for 2 sides of A4 as a minimum starting point with weekly follow-up phone calls for the next month.

Don't be too surprised if he looses all interest in your housekeeping routines after that visit.

Fire_Fox

Cleanliness and tidiness indoors or out is only an issue if there is an elfin safety concern, otherwise I'd whip out my tenancy agreement and ask to be shown the clause where they can invade my private space and cast aspersions.

ValHaller

lighting_up_the_chalice wrote: »

So, now that you both understand that relationship, you have 4 weeks to go through the house, from top to bottom, and jot down every single issue you can find, no matter how small. Stiff window locks? Smoke alarms fitted? How about Co2 detectors? Any loose floorboards? Uneven walls needing a skim? Miss-matched/uneven tiles? Kids playing footy outside? Parking disputes? The thickness of your loft insulation? How about cavity wall insulation? Can he get you energy saving bulbs? etc etc etc etc. Let your imagination run free! I'd aim for 2 sides of A4 as a minimum starting point with weekly follow-up phone calls for the next month.

Don't be too surprised if he looses all interest in your housekeeping routines after that visit.

I think I prefer this to my idea of telling him to clear off and write for an appointment.

jamie11

Whoever it was has a blooming cheek, how you choose to live is your business, untidiness is not a valid cause for complaint, not even in the garden really unless you are causing problems for other tenants. Deny access if he turns up again, insist on proper notice for appointments.

looby75

lighting up the chalice what a brilliant idea!!!! There are still a few unfinished issued from the refurbishment that I have reported a few times and they have never come to fix, I never thought of using his visit in that way, you are a genius. I WISH they could come and skim all the walls, one of the biggest problems with decoration is every single wall in the house now needs stripping and re-papering because it was the dreaded wood chip and they stripped the parts they need to channel out to rewire but the rest is still there and you know how horrible whole rooms of woodchip are to remove. It's the main reason I put up with having it for so long, with a lick of paint it was fresh enough to live with now thats not an option