Adaptation request in privately rented house

Nicki

Yorkie006 wrote: »

). He's also under the care of a dietitian, physiotherapist, psychologist, neurologist and some other doctors I can't remember right now. He's got fibromyalgia (combined with mental health issues) so his conditions is only going to get worse.

Who has told you this? I was almost crippled with fibromyalgia a couple of years ago and could only walk short distances with a stick. I also had a mini stroke and a heart condition at the same time. By very gradually building up exercise and changing my diet, I'm now a lot better than I was - I'm still not fully well but I can walk for about 15 mins without assistance and get in and out of bath etc without assistance. It's not inevitable that your husband will get worse but he will need to address his weight and lifestyle if he wants to avoid that.

As for adaptation to the house, I agree with others that you would be better moving to somewhere more suitable and if you try to force your landlord to make changes which devalue his property you may findbhat he forces that issue for you anyway. Have you considered though offering to pay for the works yourself and increasing your deposit so he can make good again after you move out?

Mossfarr

Whilst I really sympathise with you and your husband I agree with previous posters - it is not up to your landlord to make adaptations, the house is no longer suitable for you both.
I am a landlord and my first tenants had grab rails installed in my property without my knowledge. I had no choice other than to say it was ok but that they must make good any damage when their tenancy ended. The reality was that the walls were damaged when the rails were pulled off due to the excess weight of the tenant. The staircase itself needed repairs as some of the treads dropped, also due to the excess weight of the tenant. This turned into a really big job as the understairs cupboard and ceiling all had to be pulled out to allow access. I was not able to recover all the costs as the tenant went into care and had no money to pay. It was a very costly lesson for me.

parkrunner

Yorkie006 wrote: »

We did ask the landlord for a banister and a grab handle before, he said 'maybe'. When we asked again a bit later, the answer was the same

Were you asking him to pay for it? If I was a LL I'd probably say yes as long as you paid for the materials and fitting but I chose the fitters.

Cakeguts

The problem isn't actually the bath/shower. It is the stairs to get to the bathroom. I don't think any hand rail is going to stop a 22 stone person from falling down the stairs if they start to fall.

Because of the safety issue with the stairs your only option is to find a property that doesn't have stairs. Your landlord cannot remove the stairs from this house.

A ground floor flat or bungalow would be ideal. A flat with a lift would also be a possibility.

iammumtoone

In your situation I would not sign up to a two year contract. Even if LL allows the alterations you are requesting now, what if in a year your husbands condition deteriorates so he needs further adaptations or can't get up the stairs at all, how would you cope, you would not be able to move for sometime.

I don't wish to sound all doom and gloom but you need to plan ahead. Start to look now for housing more suited for his needs as they are now and more importantly what those needs might be in the future.

Margot123

A friend of mine was no longer able to go up and down stairs due to arthritis. The only toilet was upstairs. The 'adaptation' his OT suggested was a 'bottle to go in'........mmmm, 'what about #2s' I said. He would have to have been a contortionist!
Thankfully the council did put him in touch with a provider of suitable housing.

kerri_gt

iammumtoone wrote: »

In your situation I would not sign up to a two year contract. Even if LL allows the alterations you are requesting now, what if in a year your husbands condition deteriorates so he needs further adaptations or can't get up the stairs at all, how would you cope, you would not be able to move for sometime.

I don't wish to sound all doom and gloom but you need to plan ahead. Start to look now for housing more suited for his needs as they are now and more importantly what those needs might be in the future.

Just what I was tonight to say, and it will be far less stressful moving now when you don't 'need' to (although you really do based on what you have said even if you are just about managing there ATM) than being in a position where you have to move because other aspects of the house have become unsuitable.

G_M

Margot123 wrote: »

A friend of mine was no longer able to go up and down stairs due to arthritis. The only toilet was upstairs. The 'adaptation' his OT suggested was a 'bottle to go in'........mmmm, 'what about #2s' I said. He would have to have been a contortionist!
Thankfully the council did put him in touch with a provider of suitable housing.

Margot123

G_M wrote: »

OUCH!
:eek:

RiversTam

Margot123 wrote: »

A friend of mine was no longer able to go up and down stairs due to arthritis. The only toilet was upstairs. The 'adaptation' his OT suggested was a 'bottle to go in'........mmmm, 'what about #2s' I said. He would have to have been a contortionist!
Thankfully the council did put him in touch with a provider of suitable housing.

A commode maybe??

OP your GP can refer to community OT for assessment but I agree with other posters that maybe now would be the best time to look for alternative housing, as your landlord might say no and it can take a while for referrals and requests via OT (that's if your landlord agrees).