Communal Bins Advice Please

Diamond78

I'm not sure if anyone could offer some advice as I have tried all avenues. I really apologise for this being long, sorry!Thank you in advance.

I moved in to a housing association property in March 2012. It was the best thing ever to happen to us as my son was being badly bullied, so for his own wellbeing I had no choice but to move. The flats were brand new and built by Willmott Dixon, with over 38 flats.

The housing association did a group viewing, basically inviting half the tenants to come and view the property and the same when we had to sign the tenancy agreement.

The day we moved in, we couldn't find the bins, eventually finding it underneath my flat. There are no shoots. There is one entrance from the back, below my son's room and one at the front, under my balcony. Within two months our flat started smelling very bad. We also started getting disgusting sewage smell from the bathroom sink and kitchen sink. I contacted the H.A as the smell from the bins and sinks got so bad that my son was heaving. The state of the communal bins looks like a bombs gone off, with tenants throwing anything & everything on the floor, outside the doors....

I was told to get a plunger and do the sinks myself. We then had mice, which I know are harmless but I have a phobia of them. My housing officer seemed helpful at first stating that a meeting would be held with all residents. When pest control came, he smelt a dead mice behind a wall in the kitchen. He showed several holes in which they would come in. So he treated the place until the next visit. Two holes were blocked by the HA.

The bins continued to smell every day and night, whether the windows were open or not. My son began refusing to eat or sleep in his room. So we would eat at friends or my brother's. I tried so hard with reporting the smell but suddenly I was told it was not their responsibility to clear up tenants rubbish. It didn't matter that there were electrical items, furniture, carpets ect down there. It wasn't a hazard in their view.

One night, suddenly me and my son was itching so badly, we was covered in little red spots, like bites. The following morning pest control came again, did his job and I showed him our bites. He checked our beds and sofa and said we had no bedbugs. We went to the walk-in clinic and the GP said it looked like mites bites! By now I had already had an appointment with the housing officer but the day before she was coming, she emailed me to say she could not attend because we had bedbugs. I was fuming. I requested to see my files including the report as well as a fire safety record for the communal bins. When pest control came for the third visit, I asked him why he reported that, he insisted he never because I never had bedbugs!

I made a complaint after speaking to Environmental Health who said they could not help but gave advice. I asked for the bins to be moved otherwise I would have to move. But they refused to move the bins. They came back with excuse after excuse, lie after lie. Even stating that before I moved they showed me the communal bins. If I knew I was going to live on top of bins, never in a million years would I of accepted. The reason being my son's father was very violent to me for years, which involved us moving a lot. He had made threats that he would burn my house down several years ago as well as threats to kill, on top of everything else and there is a police statement confirming that. Because of the fear I still have, I would never put my son in that kind of danger. With all the lies they told, the continuing on and off sewage smell and the bins pushed me into severe depression as well as other health problems.

Willmott Dixon came to do their yearly stock check in which I told them about the smell being unbearable from the communal bins, as well as the sewage smell. I was told that many tenants had the sewage smell.

So all this time its been the same. In May my son came crying after he tripped in the bins,just missing his eyeball and had a small cut. I phoned the HA immediately, saying they need to clean that place out. We have cleaners come once a week and they do a great job, the binmen come once a week to, they do great too. But its the tenants. Then someone put a single divan bed right under my sons bedroom, as well as a supermarket trolley, along with same old rubbish outside the back entrance to the bins. It was there for weeks. The reason my son is scared is because the flats are suppose to be secure, with a key fob. But within months people were using a very easy code to get in,kids would play knock down ginger (they don't knock at mine anymore :rotfl:) as well as a homeless man who was sleeping under the stairs.

Finally after making my third complaint and not getting acknowledged, made me contact the Housing Omdusman. I was advised to follow their complaint procedure but I already had. Finally after 15 months a senior housing officer came to see me last week. She tried to book the appointment for the Friday, when the bins get emptied. This excuse has been used before by them as to why the flat smells, so I asked if it could be changed. My housing officer emailed apologising that they were sorry I cancelled my appointment but I never cancelled it, I simply said it would be better if it was changed because of the bins being emptied and because that excuse had been used previously!! Said I had two weeks to change it and I should of said something then but to be honest, I was just happy someone was going to visit, my error was not checking what day the date fell on until when I did realise it was a Friday. But then I remembered this excuse. The senior officer then changed it to Tuesday, the day the cleaners come, this has also been used as an excuse as to why the flat smells. And so she arrived Tuesday gone.:T

So I explained some of the stuff and we talked what could be done. CCTV wouldn't work because its dark, the council wouldn't be able to come twice a week and so on. She was actually really lovely :eek: maybe she was acting because of my complaint being chased by the Housing Ombudsman. She thankfully saw how bad and dirty the communal bins were. And some how the cleaners hadn't arrived, so she saw. The Housing Ombudsman stated that the HA would have to respond to my complaint by the 5th July. Since Wednesday, again, there is loads of rubbish at the back entrance under my boys room, which has blocked the door, making it unable to close. With the temperatures rising, the smell is worse, usually its just the living room that smells bad but since last week the whole flat smells, the lift and stairs smell. I emailed the nice officer to say the door was blocked and my son was scared and the smell was worse. She was again nice, sympathetic and said she would get back to me.

Honestly, the smell is disgusting. I'm terrified of getting mice again and even though most holes have been blocked, I can't sleep at night. Please don't laugh at me but because of my :embarassefears of mice and being told by pest control that rats can come up the toilet, it made me develop a fear of going toilet. Since last summer, I stopped eating normally, skipping meals so I wouldn't have to go toilet. Sorry but I already had piles, which got worse and worse causing me to bleed a lot, which now has to be operated on. Please don't get me wrong. I am so grateful that we have a roof over our heads and I know there are millions of people who are worst off than us but I don't know how much more of this I can take? I have told the HA that I want to move, even though moving again will probably cause me another nervous breakdown. I am mentally and physically exhausted and knackered. I am sick of moving, I am sick of living in fear and hiding, I am sick of trying to get help. All these years I managed to live and hide my mental health problems but I can't hide it anymore. My son is the only thing that keeps me going and despite everything he has gone through, he is so brave and strong but his still a child and needs a mummy that can focus, concentrate, eat, sleep, smile and be healthy. He only has me and my brother. I have taken pictures as evidence, kept all emails and despite the HA's errors and mistakes, they still don't give a dam about how my son heaves and feels sick from the smell. They do not care that the flat smells so bad it makes you want to vomit.

Please someone offer me advice that can help us in anyway. I know I have to wait until the 5th for a response but I need to know what to say and do. I know they will not move the bins and we all know how bad the housing crisis is but I really am lost and feel like giving up but I can't for my boys sake. If he was a baby, I could give up and end my life but his nearly a teen, so whatever I do, will affect him and I cannot do that to him. All I want is for my son to feel secure, safe and happy.

notanewuser

Is moving an option?

I'd be making a real pest of myself at the HA's office, ringing local papers etc. the nicely nicely approach hasn't worked!!

MrsE_2

What about writing to your mp?
The local papers?
The national papers?

terryw

Other tenants will share your concerns. Is there a tenants' association?
If not, see if there is enough interest to start one.

[Deleted User]

Have you spoken to your neighbours about the smell? If I'm imagining the layout of the building properly your other neighbours must also be experiencing the same thing as if the smell is strong enough to make its way into your flat it must be doing the same with the neighbours on either side of you.

I lived in a similar building to what you describe (it had 37 flats and the bin "room" was beneath one of the first floor apartments and backed onto one of the ground floor apartments) and although the bins did smell quite a lot (as bins do) it was only possible to smell them when the door to the room they were kept in was open. I just cannot imagine in what situation the bins could be causing what you describe, even if the other tenants are treating the bin room with no respect.

Have you spoken to the development company and asked if it's possible that there's a problem with the way that your flat has been built, could there be problems with the structure? If the bins smell is entering your flat and is so strong that it's causing you to be ill and caused other health issues I cannot imagine how Environmental Health could not at the very least investigate the issue, because there is no plausible way this sort of thing can be acceptable, especially from a housing association.

[Deleted User]

Diamond78 wrote: »

Please don't get me wrong. I am so grateful that we have a roof over our heads and I know there are millions of people who are worst off than us but I don't know how much more of this I can take?

Every person in this country deserves to live in acceptable conditions, every single person that pays taxes deserves to have the taxes they pay spent on housing people in acceptable conditions. If you are being made mentally unwell, physically unwell and your son is struggling then the conditions you are in are not acceptable, not by a long shot.

Forget about the housing crisis, you don't need to be grateful for the poor treatment you are receiving and nobody will justifiably criticise you for being unhappy with your current situation. Don't worry about it for even a second longer, there will always be people worse off (and always people better off) what matters is that you're okay and from what you've said, you're clearly not.

Social housing and the various benefits are an investment in people that are in a difficult spot, how can you (or your son) ever be expected to better your situation if every day you're using all your energy just surviving? Your situation is a disservice to you and a disservice to the tax payers that are paying for your housing, I can't speak for every tax payer but I'm certainly happy for you to do whatever it takes to find new housing.

gazter

MrsE wrote: »

What about writing to your mp?
The local papers?
The national papers?

The papers will love this. Public organisations and organisations like housing associations, which are publicly funded, are hyper sensitive to negative publicity. It will make a front page story in your local rag on a slow news day. I also agree about your MP, an MP can have an enormous influence. While they might palm you off, they rarely do to an MP, and they soon to learn to regret it.

GwylimT

Write to your local paper, they will love it.

I live in a flat now and we don't have a problem with bins, our bins aren't near the actual flats, our flats are in an L shape and the bins are in a locked room in the underground car park. They are emptied once a week, but due to being in a room you can never smell then when in the car park. To enter the bin room we need to use our fob, there is also CCTV in there, this means not only do they know who unlocked the door and at what time, if anyone decides to be a selfish idiot they can also prove it was then that left something e.g. a bed.

Diamond78

Thank you so much for your replies, I really appreciate it.

*Moving isn't an option at present, impossible for this summer. It would be up to the HA to put me down for a transfer or exchange. This normally can be done after two years but I have requested if it can be done sooner because of the current situation.

*I have dealt with our MP previously when my son was being bullied, unfortunately on that occasion she didn't help much, so I have no faith in her. Saying that, the local councillors might be more helpful, so I will contact them.

*I cannot go to the papers because of my ex partner. My son hasn't seen him since he was 6 but is still scared from him, as much as I reassure him not to be.

*When I made my first complaint, I requested the details for the tenants association but was not given their details, they passed my details to them. But I wasn't contacted. A meeting was booked at their head office, however due to their location being in the area my ex drinks in, I asked if the meeting could be held closer to home. But again they informed me that I cancelled my appointment and so on. I simply asked if it could be held closer. I still have all the emails.

*The only neighbour to experience smell is the family on the ground floor, two flats down (if that makes sense). As far as I know. Although the smell they get is no where near as bad as ours, they have also complained, as well as the sewage smell. Half of my sons room and half of the living room cover the bins, the flat to my left isn't above the bins, they are above the bike shed. The girl to my right is never at home. One of the neighbours who lives on the 4th floor said she is part of the tenants association and was going to talk to them about the rubbish only last month. I did put a small poster up asking neighbours not to dump their rubbish under our window. But its made no difference.

*The bins lids are never closed, always the lids are open because of the way they are positioned. In my opinion, this is what is making the smell ten times worse. There are lots of airing holes and weird things,l which I also think is contributing to the smell. Unfortunately, quite a few neighbours are disrespectful and can't be bothered to throw their rubbish in the actual bins, instead leaving it on the ground. Those bags are usually torn or ripped. The recycling bins are always full with everything, so the binmen do not empty them because the contents are rubbish rather than recycling stuff.

*I contacted Willmott Dixon as the smell became a problem as well as my concerns over the hazards in the communal bins and I requested a Fire Risk Assessment but they said, it was down to the HA to provide me with it. It took until November for them to send me a copy of "Approval For Structures". I didn't understand much of it. However, now you have pointed it out, I will ask if there is a problem with the structure.

*When Environmental H officer visited last year, he arrived the day the bins got emptied, so saw no mess, no concern. He said there was no risk. He did advise me to contact all the companies that fund the HA because of the way they were ignoring their duty. The second officer came in April 2013 because of the heater leaking and to discuss the smell. He said that my boroughs EH no longer deal with HA's because the Housing Ombudsman deal with it. He arrived on the Wednesday, so just my luck, the cleaners had already cleaned up. But he did say he would help by writing to them, which he did. But that didn't do much help.

*The Housing Ombudsman have contacted the HA several times now because they failed to respond to my issues by mid June, in which they have now been given until 5th July.

I thought of popping into my local fire station to show them some pictures and see if they thought it was a fire hazard so I might give that a try.

Diamond78

Diamond78