Been offered a council flat, what do I do now?

dekaspace

Well from the way they worded it each time then yes, its mine if I say I want it but the letter said provisional offer even gave the full address.

I use man with van for moving so was assuming they would be swamped over that period.

Luckily apart from things like food, electricals etc most of my stuff is in boxes anyway though I would need to reinforce them, will even chuck out a few bin bags of stuff I won't need.

I still think borrowing a trolley from somewhere would be a good idea that way I can move things like kitchen cupboard contents myself

The only think there that worries me is I have a chest freezer full of stuff, I know you are not meant to plug in a machine until 24 hours later but by then the food will of defrosted.

So oops, worrying again,

The other thing was lets say I get the keys 2nd December, with 30 days notice that means it ends on 1st Jan, well I doubt LL would want keys back that date and being an agency they are closed over Christmas and New Year period.

dekaspace

Quizzical_Squirrel wrote: »

Can you not start eating down the food in the freezer or are you cryogenically preserving a legacy for future generations?

I could do but its really a lot lol, I buy yellow sticker stuff at supermarket and though its much smaller than it was i;d have to eat large portions of meat for a few weeks.

Its one of those double sized chest freezers like you get in a supermarket though the 2nd half is only half sized due to the vent/fan below it.

As mad as it sounds will contact the social worker about that.

Alderbank

The ideal way to move your chest freezer is to put the food into carrier bags and spread them round friends and family until you have moved. That is kindest to your freezer because of the weight of the food and kindest to the backs of the people moving your freezer.

If you can't do that, don't worry. Tape the freezer door shut and leave plugged in as late as you can. Lift it into the van with two people, keeping it more or less level. After moving let it settle for an hour or two then switch on. The contents will be fine. I have done this lots of times.

An upright freezer would probably need to be tilted over to carry it out of the house or into the van but even then it would not need anything like 24 hours to recover.

dekaspace

Alderbank wrote: »

The ideal way to move your chest freezer is to put the food into carrier bags and spread them round friends and family until you have moved. That is kindest to your freezer because of the weight of the food and kindest to the backs of the people moving your freezer.

If you can't do that, don't worry. Tape the freezer door shut and leave plugged in as late as you can. Lift it into the van with two people, keeping it more or less level. After moving let it settle for an hour or two then switch on. The contents will be fine. I have done this lots of times.

An upright freezer would probably need to be tilted over to carry it out of the house or into the van but even then it would not need anything like 24 hours to recover.

its 0.4 miles to the new house, except I currently live 1st floor and new one is ground floor.

And no friends or neighbours to store stuff for me,

I was thinking its possible to risk leaving the stuff in overnight as it shouldn't defrost that quickly but then the risk is I have ruined food lol.

[Deleted User]

When I've had to move frozen food, I remove it, put it all in double black bags (several so they don't split and not over filled), leave the freezer plugged in until the last minute, tape it shut, its moved, then I plug it in the other end (couple of hours later), give it an hour and put all the food back in. If the food has been double bagged, and with this weather, it won't defrost much at all. Its not 30 degrees outside lol.

Use pre moving period as a time to discard 'forgotten' food that's been in there for a while. You have a month to empty it, should be able to half empty it if you work at it and save money by not buying much fresh food.

You do seem to make things a bit more complicated than they have to be?

Is there going to be room for such a big freezer in your new place? I manage with a much smaller one and have three people here lol.

ripplyuk

I don't think you'll have any problem getting a man&van, though you could always have a chat with them now and find out how busy they usually are. The one your social worker mentioned sounds great value.

If you're planning to move out 'gradually' over your notice period, it's worth noting that to get dual housing benefit for both properties, they insist that you have actually moved in to the new property. My council did anyway. I got a phone call about the property, viewed it within 30 mins, then went to sign for it the next morning. Whilst signing they told me that they wouldn't pay dual housing benefit unless I moved in immediately, literally that day. Of course things might be different with your council but it's worth keeping in mind.

prosaver

I wouldnt bother with a cooker .it cost about 50.00 to install it ..
. most of the time i use my mini oven ..and hobs.. u could get them mini hobs.id get this one ,looks
Stylish. Double Ceramic HOB Infrared Electric Hot Plate Cooker Stainless Steel NEW.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Double-Ceramic-Infrared-Electric-Stainless/dp/B0106NQOKK

dekaspace

Apologies for bumping again, but I was thinking

The landlord is an agency, as in the landlord and the agency are the same people as they own the properties they rent out.

They are however closed over Christmas and New Year for about 2 weeks.

If my 30 days notice ends in that 2 week period what happens legally.

ripplyuk

Perhaps you could hand in the keys early? If you're getting the new place at the end of this month, you'll probably have moved a week or so later. That's what I did anyway and all went fine. You don't have to stay in the place until the end of your notice period, as long as the landlord still gets paid for it.

Perhaps someone else knows more about the legal side of it.

Alternatively, just ask the agency what arrangements they want to make regarding the Christmas holidays.

dekaspace

I got an email back from agency confirming its 30 days notice, so I guess that means if I hand 30 days notice in they can't then turn round and say its 2 months?

I did say to them after I received that email that I was just asking because the contract said 2 months and they replied again "its definately 30 days"

About the key hand back, they just said post them the keys or put them through letter box.

Is that a good or bad thing as I worry they might then say I never handed keys back?