Reasonable timeframes for council repairs?

dekaspace

Hesistated to start this thread, but when I moved to my property I noticed some things that needed done, gate next to side door off, step into garden dangerously sunken into ground, and indoors a double socket hanging a little loose from wall and crackles if something plugged in (and one of them not working at all), and some gaps in plaster around it, and in kitchen they have covered up old cooker socket with a plastic thing but theres gaps in plaster around it as well, doesn't sound bad those two but the dangerous socket worries me.

I reported them around the 8th December though they sent someone out to inspect as I just moved in on the 12th who wrote down repairs.

I got a letter saying the work will be done by 21st Jan, but noticed over Christmas when I was away the step was fixed, probably as it was dangerous but no other work was done, and when I reported my shower last week it was fixed in a few days.

21st Jan would be almost 6 weeks from date repairs were reported which seems high taking into account one of them is a dangerous socket.

I could in theory attempt a repair myself as have replaced sockets before just until they come round but would rather it be done professionally.

So its mainly asking if 6 weeks is reasonable amount of time for a council house for repairing a dangerous socket?

anselld

If it is dangerous don't use it.

Different trades will have different availability especially over Christmas.

So they have told you 21st latest. Complain after that.

Bogalot

If it's that dangerous then sort it yourself.

What do you think home owners do for repairs?

dekaspace

anselld wrote: »

If it is dangerous don't use it.

Different trades will have different availability especially over Christmas.

So they have told you 21st latest. Complain after that.

I understand that, and can understand why a shower breaking would be more priorty than a socket, that being said they sent a electrician out NYD for shower who didn't want to be here and rushed off and work could of been done then (though I understand they only do what they have been sent out for)

Bogalot wrote: »

If it's that dangerous then sort it yourself.

What do you think home owners do for repairs?

Thanks for your non advice, did you ignore the fact I said I was thinking of doing just that.

The point is they gave a timescale for a repair which seems very long.

Just seems a way to put down social housing tenants there.

One of reasons I haven't done it yet would be that I need to switch off everything at the mains in order to do so and so would need a lot of light.

iammumtoone

I don't think its a long time I had a plug socket broken like you describe in the past for nearly a year.

I couldn't fix it myself (don't know how and wouldn't feel confident attempting it). I just didn't use it.

The reason it didn't get fixed is I own my own home, do you know how hard it is to get a electrician out to do a minor fix of a plug (plus the expensive for a very small job). It waited until I needed an electrician for something else and he did it whilst he was here.

I have nothing against social housing tenants but you need to realise that being in social housing you get a lot of (small) things done quicker than would be possible if you owned your home, unless of course you had plenty of money to waste on expensive call outs for tradesmen but then you wouldn't need social housing in the first place. Contrary to popular belief many of us who own our homes do not have money to burn and when things go wrong they cost money. I have been without hot water for weeks (involved lots of kettle boiling ) because I had to raise the money for a boiler repair then had the hassle of finding a tradesman to do the job. Its not easy and I certainly don't think any home owner would be able to persuade an electrician to come out on NYD for a broken shower!

davidmcn

dekaspace wrote: »

One of reasons I haven't done it yet would be that I need to switch off everything at the mains in order to do so and so would need a lot of light.

You only need to switch off the relevant circuit, surely? (I'm not advocating that you DIY if you don't understand this point!)

Anyway, yes, it seems a reasonable timescale for a non-urgent repair at this time of year.

dekaspace

iammumtoone wrote: »

I don't think its a long time I had a plug socket broken like you describe in the past for nearly a year.

I couldn't fix it myself (don't know how and wouldn't feel confident attempting it). I just didn't use it.

The reason it didn't get fixed is I own my own home, do you know how hard it is to get a electrician out to do a miner fix of a plug (plus the expensive for a very small job). It waited until I needed an electrician for something else and he did it whilst he was here.

I have nothing against social housing tenants but you need to realise that being in social housing you get a lot of (small) things done quicker than would be possible if you owned your home, unless of course you had plenty of money to waste on expensive call outs for tradesmen but then you wouldn't need social housing in the first place. Contrary to popular belief many of us who own our homes do not have money to burn and when things go wrong they cost money. I have been without hot water for weeks (involved lots of kettle boiling ) because I had to raise the money for a boiler repair then had the hassle of finding a tradesman to do the job. Its not easy and I certainly don't think any home owner would be able to persuade an electrician to come out on NYD for a broken shower!

Its a shame people have made assumptions about me though, I know people with their own homes can and often do struggle, but to me it defeats the purpose of social housing when in private lets I had to repair things myself and told by council staff not to worry just contact them if something gets repaired only to then have to do it myself anyway.

My parents with council housing have been waiting 22 years for repairs to roof, despite being down as vulnerable due to their health and now being pensioners on top,

I know what being without hot water was like, I lived somewhere 11 years ago that I couldn't afford gas and there was no shower, I just boiled a kettle to wash every day or to clean dishes.

I never asked for a electrician to come out NYD, I was contacted by council to say they had one in area and as I am down as vulnerable person did I want them to come or wait until the original agreed day of Wednesday, the guy came round in a miserable mood and just turned power on to shower and went "its broken, need a new one" then walked off, sure he was probably in foul mood for working that day but was a little bit abrupt.

It's because of bad experiences with landlords charging over the odds (then sending out unqualified handymen to do things like plug sockets but charging for a proper electrician) that I taught myself how to wire plugs, sockets and I even took apart and repaired washing machine 2 years ago as landlord refused to fix it.

Its why again I was told by council when I moved in basically "its a council house, don't worry yourself with repairs we are here to do that"

Bogalot wrote: »

You've got a good eight hours of daylight if you get up in a morning, how long is this going to take you?

Six weeks is not a long time for a routine repair.

You've been fortunate enough to get a social housing property. It is disappointing (though not surprising) that you're already finding things to complain about. Try to focus on the positives instead.

I am NOT complaining, please tell me where I implied that.

This is why I specifically said at top I was hesitant to write this thread, I knew someone would just make negative assumptions

You know I have mental health problems and a disability from past threads.

Why do you assume I am complaing when I was specifically asking, this being a council property that the timescale seemed normal? NOTHING ELSE was implied, and looking at what I said I mentioned a dangerous step outside was fixed, witht he socket as it is I would likely damage the plaster around it to remove it, then I don't know if its a case of a loose cable or needing a new socket which means I would have to go to town and buy it and come back and do it more.

I have replaced electrical sockets(and light sockets) in past so I know its a semi easy job but I also know how common it is for plaster to get cracked and such.

Also as well as I have stated in past, my disabilities make me double question things.

Yes theres light in morning but MH and physical problems mean I have extreme insomnia meaning even when I go to bed early its unlikely I even fall asleep to as late as 6am every night, at which point I am so shattered I can barely drag myself out of bed, and as I have only just moved in realy with christmas and new year, packing and unpacking I have been more tired than usual.

The other reason was asking was since other repairs seem to be fast, even taking into account Christmas and New Year it seems a long time, actually now I think about it I was told by staff member its up to 3 weeks, not counting things like Christmas so for it to be 6 weeks is more than was quoted originally, and also since they come round at random I don't want to be waiting in the house all day for weeks just in case as I need to let them in.

davidmcn wrote: »

You only need to switch off the relevant circuit, surely? (I'm not advocating that you DIY if you don't understand this point!)

Anyway, yes, it seems a reasonable timescale for a non-urgent repair at this time of year.

Yes and no, but id rather switch off everything just in case its the way I was taught, and the switches are not labelled that good so I may switch off sockets in one room but not another.

But I was thinking with it being a socket that crackles it would be more urgent even if not a instant repair, especially when the plaster around it has bare holes.

KxMx

I live in a Council house and 6 weeks for a potentially dangerous socket would concern me, but there is the option of just not using it.

Have a look on the internet at their website or in your tenants handbook (if you have one) to see if you can find their aims for repairs and also booking procedure.

They should book an electrician for the socket and inform you as they did for the shower, the outside step didn't need an appointment since access wasn't an issue.

iammumtoone

Its a shame people have made assumptions about me though, I know people with their own homes can and often do struggle, but to me it defeats the purpose of social housing when in private lets I had to repair things myself and told by council staff not to worry just contact them if something gets repaired only to then have to do it myself anyway.

You have three choices repair yourself (if you can) wait or you could always try to find your own tradesman quicker and pay.

My parents with council housing have been waiting 22 years for repairs to roof, despite being down as vulnerable due to their health and now being pensioners on top,

I have to agree that is along time, what is wrong with it? Does it leak? Is it a repair that any home owner would need necessary to have done?

I know what being without hot water was like, I lived somewhere 11 years ago that I couldn't afford gas and there was no shower, I just boiled a kettle to wash every day or to clean dishes.

Then I don't understand now you are not in that position you can't see how 'lucky' you are to be able afford hot water and that not having the use of one socket for a few weeks is not going to cause you any hardship.

I never asked for a electrician to come out NYD, I was contacted by council to say they had one in area and as I am down as vulnerable person did I want them to come or wait until the original agreed day of Wednesday,

I didn't say you did ask them. But again you have to realise how 'lucky' you are to have this service via social housing. I appreciate that you got this 'extra' due to being vulnerable but there are plenty of vulnerable people in private homes who could do with this 'extra' help but unfortunately it isn't available to them.

It's because of bad experiences with landlords charging over the odds (then sending out unqualified handymen to do things like plug sockets but charging for a proper electrician) that I taught myself how to wire plugs, sockets and I even took apart and repaired washing machine 2 years ago as landlord refused to fix it.

So you know how difficult it is to get repairs in private rental so why are you questioning a timescale of a few weeks (including the Christmas break) over a minor non urgent repair.

Its why again I was told by council when I moved in basically "its a council house, don't worry yourself with repairs we are here to do that"

And that is exactly what they are doing, they can't be expected to everything the next day.

I am NOT complaining, please tell me where I implied that.

Maybe its the way you worded it, you also have to understand that there are lots of people who would love to be in social housing (my self included) and when someone comes on asking if 6 weeks for minor repairs is acceptable to most people six weeks is amazing may would love to be somewhere things are sorted out that quick!


Your socket will not be dangerous if you leave it alone. In social housing your electrics will be of a good standard (much better than many of those in private rental or mortgaged homes)

dekaspace

iammumtoone wrote: »

You have three choices repair yourself (if you can) wait or you could always try to find your own tradesman quicker and pay.

I have to agree that is along time, what is wrong with it? Does it leak? Is it a repair that any home owner would need necessary to have done?

Then I don't understand now you are not in that position you can't see how 'lucky' you are to be able afford hot water and that not having the use of one socket for a few weeks is not going to cause you any hardship.

I didn't say you did ask them. But again you have to realise how 'lucky' you are to have this service via social housing. I appreciate that you got this 'extra' due to being vulnerable but there are plenty of vulnerable people in private homes who could do with this 'extra' help but unfortunately it isn't available to them.

So you know how difficult it is to get repairs in private rental so why are you questioning a timescale of a few weeks (including the Christmas break) over a minor non urgent repair.

And that is exactly what they are doing, they can't be expected to everything the next day.

Maybe its the way you worded it, you also have to understand that there are lots of people who would love to be in social housing (my self included) and when someone comes on asking if 6 weeks for minor repairs is acceptable to most people six weeks is amazing may would love to be somewhere things are sorted out that quick!

Your socket will not be dangerous if you leave it alone. In social housing your electrics will be of a good standard (much better than many of those in private rental or mortgaged homes)

With my parents council deny responsibility for it or just claim parents are worked up over nothing despite it being so bad that boxes of comics I had as a kid are soaked through as if they were left under a tap, this is a box with dozens of comics and heavy to lift, and multiple boxes.

The few repairs they have had to home over the years only got done after taking matters higher, and even then when things like court were threatened councils basically went "go ahead, you won't get anywhere" even laughing and saying parents were making empty threats.

Though its the way I worded it interpretation is also important, 6 weeks is a long time, though repairs can be expected to be longer wait due to backlogs so its more is 6 weeks normal in the sense of backlogs even if it does take longer rather then the rules state 3 weeks, though up to 4 weeks is common, so 6 weeks is unnaceptable knowing that but understandable, the shorter way is just saying is 6 weeks acceptable without going into detail.

I never expected it to get done the next day, or even the same week and expected even longer due to Christmas but at same time even Council said about 3 weeks to get it done.

G_M

It's not unreasonable.

If worried, isolate the socket circuit at the Consumer Unit you'll then be safe and the urgency will be dealt with. Losing sockets is not the end of the world especially if it's a house with upstairs/downstairs on separate circuits.

I too feel you are complaining/worrying unecessarily. You've reported the issues. The landlord has given you a timeframe. The LL has already fixed some of the issues. It's being dealt with.

Get on with life.