Housing Association Threatening Injunction

[Deleted User]

I don't know if this will help.

I am a bit obsessive about books. I had thousands of them. When I moved about 5 years ago, even the removal man complained about the box after box of books. Because of the books I had to leave an oven and fridge behind and donate them to a neighbour for free. I wasn't going to use them but that cost me a few hundred (good oven and fridge freezer) as I was intending to sell them.

So after that I realised I needed to cut down my books drastically. I realised I had books that just weren't worth keeping. (Its inevitable when you have a large number of things in boxes that there will be duplicates, things you can't find and lots of thing you 'may' use but actually never will in reality).I wasn't going to read them again even though possessing them made me feel good (I've always been a bookworm and it was 'part of me'). But it wasn't a constructive 'feel good'. I did cut my books down by half.., and appreciated being able to find books I actually wanted to read, having organised book shelves etc.

As time went on I realised I didn't like the clutter they still created, and particularly the dust they collected so where possible I downloaded book series and got rid of the books on the shelves. By the time I moved this time, I didn't have enough books to fill two big bookshelves. And I have to admit I feel better for it. Plus the books have been given to people who want them, or to charity shops where they will be sold and give people pleasure, rather than lying unused in my house.

I don't miss the enormous amount of books I used to have at all. I do appreciate the extra space and lack of dust.

When sorting you have to control yourself. Recognise that 'what if I want to use this in a years time' thoughts are self defeating. If its in a box and hasn't been used recently, you don't need it. Its not on your priority list of things to do and probably never will be again. You are keeping it to make you feel good, that you possess it, not because you intend to use it. And that is now starting to get in the way of you having a place to live. If you have boxes piled 6 foot high.., an extra bedroom isn't really going to help.

Talk about needing the right furniture furniture is again, self defeating. You don't need craft furniture you need living furniture. The crafts are getting in the way of living.

Give the stuff away, you can give a lot of pleasure to others, especially to children. And start living again. Make a list of craft projects you really want to complete in the next three months and throw away anything that isn't to do with those.

If you are on a house swap list.., what do you think any prospective swappers coming from a three bed place are going to think when they see 6ft high towers of plastic boxes? As has already been suggested, which is more important to you, keeping your craft items in these 6 ft towers or having a roof over your head? Its priorities. I have problems with being overwhelmed too.., but you just have to get through it and be very strong minded about it. Its worth it once its done. If you are doing this because of an anxiety related condition.., think about how your stress will reduce once you are not looking at those towers (seriously). Every time you do.., your mind goes into a more anxious state because you know it all needs sorting.., still. Once its all gone.., your anxiety levels will be so much lower and you will have a home again, not a craft warehouse.

SnooksNJ

PinkMohawk wrote: »

I haven't been paying an awful lot of attention to sources, admittedly, but I was sure it was common knowledge that the correct cladding was not used in the structure of the building, that there was no sprinkler system, and the source of the fire was a faulty washing machine?

My comment was casually made by putting those things together and using them in general conversation, not as any kind of legal statement or proclamation that I am the be all and end all of everything...

I was unaware Kensington Council are in the refrigeration manufacturing business. I also haven't seen anywhere reported council employees are experts on cladding and knew the cladding would light up like a matchstick.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

Rambosmum wrote: »

I can't provide you with links however, from my own, professional experience -

tenant A - elderly lady, physically well but mentally ill, hoarded continence pads (new, in packet) HA (can't name as I still work for the LA) got an injunction to complete a clean up, went in to the property and removed ALL 'excess' continence products and cleaned the property.

Tenant B - hoarded anything and everything (traditional hoarder) HA got an injunction to clear the property, did so, 12 months later tenant had filled the home again, second injunction sought and gained, home cleared again, 12 months later same again, 4th year now and HA are going for a possession order. Unlikely to get as tenant has MH difficulties and is receiving treatment.

Tenant C physically and mentally well, hoards clothes, supposedly to sell but never get sold, HA got possession order as tenant is in no way vulnerable. I completed the assessment to ascertain if they had needs under either the Care Act or Mental Health Act before possession was granted.

Tenant D - ongoing case, tenant has substance misuse issues and dementia, 3 clear ups have taken place, eviction currently being sought. Likely to get as 10th floor of block of flats and a smoker, home full of papers. Hearing in 2ish weeks.

Tenant E, home full of bags of clothes, soft furnishings, 'excess' furniture. Had LD and 3 children. Support from social services (adults and children's) and MH services. Injunction for clean up gained.

Tenant F, 2 adults, one child, Home full of hoarded items, clothes, papers, toys, books, kitchen items. traditional hoarding. Eviction sought after many warnings and a skip provided by the HA, family moved before hearing.

I've also worked with several tenants who gave permission for a clean up (offered as physically unable to sort it themselves) before an injunction was needed.

HAs are hot on this at the moment. A number of the homes I've worked in were as clean as they can be with so many items so it wasn't vermin or dirt.

Some are granted on ASB terms, others on fire risk. Most get an assessment by FS prior to injunction and several opportunities to clear it themselves. The clean up crews don't sort through things so people lost lots of important possessions.

EDIT: I only get to work with those who are 'vulnerable' or require assessing under the Care Act.

How many of those actually turned up for the hearing and then didn't bother to adhere to the defaulted court order?


Its easy to pick on the "vulnerable" due to the fact most will not challenge the decision of a LA or HA to go to court. Many don't know that they can and many fear revenge eviction if they do.

Rosemary7391

How much "stuff" is actually reasonable to have? I have a lot of stuff by my mother's standards - she'd love to throw 3/4 of it away. But I own my own flat and (usually) have it all tidied away in cupboards, drawers, on shelves and boxes under the bed. Sounds like part of the OP's problem is not knowing what they're aiming for. If it's "the amount of stuff that fits on furniture you can fit into flat whilst still being able to access it normally", well, that's quite a lot still...

Rosemary7391

Penitent wrote: »

It's probably easier to look at it in terms of how you use the stuff, as opposed to whether or not you have enough nooks and crannies to shove it all into.

If you've got 20 duvet covers, but only use 5, it would be reasonable to get rid of some. If you have 5 hairdryers but only one head, it's safe to get rid of some. If you have a load of ornaments, but they're all in boxes, they're not really doing their job, so get rid. Clothes you'll never wear, books you'll never read, that cart you can't use 'cause the wheel's wonky that you've been "going to get fixed" for 15 years...

The housing association can't police it like that though. They especially can't with craft stuff that isn't likely to be straightforward duplicates. If it's a fire risk it's a fire risk regardless of whether it'll be used next week/month/year/decade...

bouicca21

I have a relative who is a hoarder. He has no idea that he is - and therein lies the problem. As far as he is concerned, he just collects stuff that could come in useful. If OP can't recognise the way others see his boxes of stuff, then he will never accept that he has a problem.

dancing_star

bouicca21 wrote: »

I have a relative who is a hoarder. He has no idea that he is - and therein lies the problem. As far as he is concerned, he just collects stuff that could come in useful. If OP can't recognise the way others see his boxes of stuff, then he will never accept that he has a problem.

I had an ex who was a hoarder. I agree with you.

There's always some excuse which explains why they aren't a hoarder like those ghastly people you see on tv, isn't there.

dekaspace

dancing_star wrote: »

I had an ex who was a hoarder. I agree with you.

There's always some excuse which explains why they aren't a hoarder like those ghastly people you see on tv, isn't there.

Hoarding is a difficult thing to put down totally, I for example had a lot of half finished eletronics projects some years old that would still be worth money if finished and cost nothing to finish I just never got round to doing them in part due to mental health issues.


In the end I binned it all during house move last year but still kept certain things like a laptop that crashes when trying to reinstall, and one that just needs taken apart and cleaned (which is awkward to do)


I also chucked out about 30 dvds that I liked as they were worthless to sell and could be streamed but I prefer dvds as higher quality than streams


I also have a few games consoles here years old that work perfectly just these days you can play the games from it through pc


I had a bin bag of brand new clothes for years that were too small for me and I planned on losing weight, only got rid of them well I was illegally evicted and landlord kept them.


So many more similar things so at what point does it become hoarding? I wouldn't mind selling things if I got enough it was worth my while whilst also being able to buy things back at a reasonable price but it seems you have to near give things away these days and be almost impossible to get them back or at very least pay something.


That dvd I would of got 1-10p for if I sold it, might cost £4 on Ebay and so lets say I wanted to see 5 films thats £20.

phoebe1989seb

Imho the OP is either a hoarder or was perhaps planning to run a crafting business from home. Whichever it is, the sheer volume of stuff sounds like a potential fire hazard and I can understand - particularly in respect of recent events - why the HA would be concerned.

I sympathise though and speak from experience of having loads of 'stuff' as we downsized from a house so large it could accomodate eleven sofas (and all the additional carp you tend to accumulate if you have that much space, lol!) to somewhere about half the size. We were/are also collectors and used to have large quantities of those collections - think Lilliput Lane cottages, Hotwheels cars, Christmas, architecture and history books, miniatures, anything topiary-related, upholstery fabrics, vinyl records etc etc, not to mention art nouveau/arts and crafts antique items.

When we downsized we turned our former hobby into a business and shifted loads. Then my parents passed away and loads more stuff arrived. We had to rent a storage unit to accomodate it all. We've moved again and now the garage is stuffed to the rafters with their old photo albums, mementoes and other things I've not plucked up the enthusiasm to go through. It's very easy to fall into bad habits if the inclination is there.

While we now have considerably less stuff indoors - although we still collect on a much smaller scale - I'm conscious of not slipping into becoming a true hoarder. I had a great uncle that was one - house literally full of old newspapers and dozens of cats when he died - and an uncle that was on the verge. I hate throwing things away and still have about thirty box files of correspondence from my bank reclaiming days even though I've not done any of that for about five years

PinkMohawk

I'm still here, folks.

The word etiquette is there at the top of the forum. Just sayin'.