Council property

Oscar_24

Ladies and gents need advise please.

A friend of mine, who has a child, has recently got a 'better' council property. this property has all cracks in the walls as it has been stripped down to the bones.

It now transpires there is woodworm in the property.

the council have said they will get an inspector out to look to see if its is 'active' but she HAS to move in anyway as its not 'life threatening'. She currently paying rent on both properties (just).

They initially said it was her problem and not theirs.

Is there anything I can suggest to her to say to the council in terms of Health and Safety etc especially with a child?

Thank you

G_M

Good grief - no pleasing some people.

She should be grateful she's got a council property. Thousands are waiting.....

What exactly is this Health and Safety issue? Is she worried the woodworm will suddenly get a taste for eating man-child flesh?

There's nothing you've said that is a H&S issue.

eddddy

What makes you think there is woodworm in the property?

There may be holes in the woodwork, but these could be very old - and the woodworm long gone.

I don't think there are any health risks from woodworm. Although, if active woodworm is found, some people worry about the chemicals that are sprayed onto the timber to kill the woodworm.

datlex

I found it helpful to say to the council/housing association when I had an issue with my bathroom floor that since I had reported the problem/ the problem existed before I moved in that I would not be held responsible for any problems that arise as a result of them not fixing it. I put that sort of thing in an email. Few weeks later they fixed the problem with the floor and put in a new bathroom too. Always put things in writing.
Check out on the HSE website if woodworm is dangerous to health, if it is then use that as ammunition too in your email.

Norman_Castle

Oscar_24 wrote: »

Is there anything I can suggest to her to say to the council in terms of Health and Safety etc especially with a child?

I would suggest she says thank you to the council for sending an inspector out.

[Deleted User]

I think perhaps rather than worrying about man eating deviant worms the op could be worried whether the woodworm have affected the strength of the wood in the property.

However, unfortunately, she still has to move in. The council will investigate the problem, and assess the risks posed.

I had cockroaches in this property when I moved in. It DID affect my health as I used insecticide sprays on them (led to a lot of asthma problems). The council sent someone round to place bait traps for them, but they took time to work and the cockroaches presented a day to day risk I had to do what I could to reduce as I was living there (including putting all food in containers and only unpacking bare essentials of my kitchen stuff). Two months later they were gone, but meanwhile I'd had a terrible time. But I still totally appreciated that this was a temporary situation and I have a lovely non private rented large house/maisonette. I still consider myself lucky.

It also was filthy and contained so many cockroach carcasses I had to dispose of. I just got on with it. We had a home. That was the important thing.

I also have bad walls, I buy powdered plaster filler in boxes from pound shops, make it up, fill the holes and decorate accordingly. I use old paint, mixing it with white to get colours I like. If the walls aren't good enough, you can buy cheap lining paper and paint that. If the cracks are huge, put any kind of paper in the holes/cracks and cover with the plaster as mentioned already. You can sand the plaster down to get it smooth.

Again its not a reason to refuse a property.

The days when you moved into a freshly decorated neat and tidy council property are over by decades I'm afraid.

Rather than paying rent on two properties she could be spending the money making the 'better' one look good. Its amazing what you can do with a bit of elbow grease and imagination.

PasturesNew

Thousands of people live in houses with rampant woodworm. They're owners and either don't know or aren't that bothered or can't afford to get it fixed.

Most older (Victorian) houses, for example, have got it or had it.

Oscar_24

Thank you all for your input. Just to put the record straight, she IS very thankful and she appreciates she is one of many to say the least.

Deannatrois is spot on as to the reason behind this post. I was struggling to put it into words what i meant, so thank you for your reply.

And for the record, i always hope that those on any list are successful.

Regards

antrobus

G_M wrote: »

...What exactly is this Health and Safety issue? Is she worried the woodworm will suddenly get a taste for eating man-child flesh?....

As far as I'm aware the main Health and Safety issue relating to woodworm emanates from the chemicals used to treat them.

Oscar_24 wrote: »

....the council have said they will get an inspector out to look to see if its is 'active' but she HAS to move in anyway as its not 'life threatening'. ..

Seems reasonable. A very high percentage of UK houses probably show signs of the surveyor's old favourite 'evidence of woodboring insect infestation'. It is entirely possible that the 'evidence' relates to something that happened decades ago. Until someone comes and has a look, you don't know.

And as far as I'm aware no woodboring beetles are 'life threatening'. At least I've never heard of them attacking anyone.

fed_up_and_stressed

antrobus wrote: »

And as far as I'm aware no woodboring beetles are 'life threatening'. At least I've never heard of them attacking anyone.

Yes I think they are more likely to have a nibble on a baseball bat than hit anyone with it