Disabled person - Green Home Grants a Joke?

Anomnomnomaly

Hi all

I'm disabled and live in a house that is owned by my parents... well my mum now as my father passed a few years ago.

The house is in need of a lot of work and I knew that, and I was supposed to take on the work and eventually take over the mortgage myself... the house is currently willed to me and I will eventually inherit it.

However, life took a turn for the worse and my health declined over the years... and I was never able to do all the work and now struggle with physical tasks. I was able to decorate the downstairs, replace the back door that was damaged back in 2009 and replace a couple of leaky old windows in the spare (and unfinished) bedroom... I was also able to have the roof replaced.

But that's been about it...  So when I read about the green home grants... I thought I might be able to make use of it to get some urgently needed work done. I'm currently on ESA (support) and PIP.

Basically the walls at the front and rear have a tiny bit of insulation in them when the house was upgraded after being purchased over 30yrs ago from the council... It's one of the old system built homes fromt he 50's that had concrete panels hung on the outside... Mine has been upgraded with proper footings and brick facades to the front rear of the house, as well as a small porch extension that I assume was built around the same time... well according to the neighbours who were living here then. When the roof was done, we were able to look into the cavity and the porch has no insulation in it at all. That part of the house is always freezing... so much so, that I use it as cold storage for drinks.

The windows were double glazed units, but not upvc ones... the appear to be metal with a plastic coating... and were fitted around the same time (30yrs ago).  These have blown in several rooms and every single opening window no longer seals properly and there are leaks from around the frame... There's a draft under the door and it's not insulated at all.

I was able to replace the 2 windows in one bedroom... but due to health have been unable to finish the room... I wanted to add some extra sockets, but have been told that I will need a new consumer unit before I would be allowed more... it's a really old one from when the house was rewired some time in the 80's... some rooms have that plastic trunking down the walls.

I was planning on rewiring each room as I went... but the previous owners... should have never been allowed to touch DIY... everything has to be undone, before it can be done properly and with my disability... I can no longer do the manual side of it, which makes the cost rise exponentially.

Anyway.. I digress... basically, I have a very cold, leaky house... I cannot afford to put the heating on very much... even though I get the warm home discount because I'm basically bleeding all the heat straight out the doors, walls and windows.

So I thought the grants would be perfect for me... I can get some cavity insulation done and perhaps the windows.

Then I find out... that it's not even worth applying... if you've got any insulation in the cavity, I've been told they won't put in any more and I won't qualify. Then I'm told that I cannot get the windows done because I already have double glazing fitted... that cannot really be called double glazing because it's leaky, water gets in if the rain drives against certain ones and at least 3 of the remaining windows have blown in bedrooms and bathroom.

It feels like a big 'screw you' once more from this govt... I had to fight for years to even get the minimum help, the house is desperately in need of this kind of thing and I'm never going to have the money to pay for it. I'm stuck in a cold, draughty home that's making my health worse, when my folks purchased it so I'd have a safe and secure place to live.

I don;t know why these grants even exist if they won't let people use them... this house is exactly the kind of house they say they want to help people upgrade, and I'm exactly the kind of person they say they want to help... But they place obstacles int he way so you can't get any help at all.

It's a con, and big screw you... don;t know what else I should have expected from this bunch or (I can't say what I want to, I'll probably get banned)... but after what they've done to me in the past, how they deliberately made my life hell... I have no trust or respect for this govt at all... they don;t want to help anyone except themselves and their cronies.

Hasbeen

So apparently your mothers house has cavity wall insulation and double glazed windows?

But older than some ?

Your parents at the time bought it for you to live in. 30 years ago?

I think the grant is to help people with none of the above?

Have you or your mother actually applied? You may be surprised!

You can blame the government  as obviously, by your post you have a grievance with them?

Perhaps your mother should sell her house that you live in and buy or rent somewhere for you, more beneficial to your needs ?

Then you and her would not have to worry about the urgent repairs and any on going maintenance issues and you will be able to still claim any entitled benefits? I would say at this stage it is not about inheriting a house with a Mortgage but about your health!

As you state:

"I'm never going to have the money to pay for it. I'm stuck in a cold, draughty home that's making my health worse,"

matelodave

As Hasbeen suggests you may be better-off, selling the house and moving to somewhere more suited to your needs rather than just whinging about the government not giving you enough to refurb your house.
You may be entitled to even more benefits than the ones you already receive if you move into rented accommodation and can get your rent paid as well.

Anomnomnomaly

Hasbeen said:

So apparently your mothers house has cavity wall insulation and double glazed windows?

But older than some ?

Your parents at the time bought it for you to live in. 30 years ago?

I think the grant is to help people with none of the above?

Have you or your mother actually applied? You may be surprised!

You can blame the government  as obviously, by your post you have a grievance with them?

Perhaps your mother should sell her house that you live in and buy or rent somewhere for you, more beneficial to your needs ?

Then you and her would not have to worry about the urgent repairs and any on going maintenance issues and you will be able to still claim any entitled benefits? I would say at this stage it is not about inheriting a house with a Mortgage but about your health!

As you state:

"I'm never going to have the money to pay for it. I'm stuck in a cold, draughty home that's making my health worse,"

No, the work was done as far as I can find out, some 30yrs ago... according to the neighbours who have lived there for at least 40yrs.

We bought the house in 2009. it was repossessed from some people who never maintained it and should never have been allowed anywhere near DIY.  but it was cheap and I was going to be able to do it all up...

Selling the house isn't really an option, as in it's unfinished state it wouldn't fetch enough to be able to by somewhere else... I'd have to look at moving further away to a really worse area. I've already moved to a worse, smaller, crappier town once because house prices were cheaper. I wouldn't even get a 1 bed flat in the worst areas any where closer to where I'm actually from.

There's no way I'm going back to living in a crappy 1 bed flat, in some unknown, random area or a crappy block of flats with unknown neighbours that have been detrimental to my health in the past when I had no other choice. I've had to endure vandalism to cars, being threatened with a knife... I'd rather live in a freezing cold, damp and draughty house than go back to that again... I'd rather be cold and miserable than afraid for my life.

Inheriting the house isn't going to come with a mortgage, that's only got about 3yrs left on it and will be long gone. I do pay rent though and it's all above board and official with the local authority. But it's a low rent as I don't qualify for anything more than a single room, and this is a 3 bed house.

I realise that I'm very fortunate... but I can't even have my own family come to visit let alone stay over... not even before this pandemic started. I'm saving every spare penny I can... but it could take years to get just a few windows replaced... I'd have to do one at a time every 18-24 months.

It just seems like this whole green homes thing has been so badly planned, so that hardly anyone can actually make use of it... It feels more like a political smokescreen so it 'appears' like they're doing something, when they're doing as little as possible in reality.

rp1974

No offense here,your house is unsuitable for your needs as it is,thats not going to improve much no matter how much moneys thrown at it.Its your home with all the emotions attached to that,with the best will in the world you probably would be best moving elsewhere.Do you have any Social work,occupational therapist contact at all,if not they would be better qualified to advise or assist you.

kindnessfallslikerain

I think you should be able to get the cavity walls sorted out with this grant. It allows for necessary top ups of insulation but not replacing it so if part of the house is cavity wall insulated then you should be able to get the rest done. 

I can see why the double glazing issue is frustrating a lot of people. Ineffective glazing should really be able to be replaced in a scheme like this. 

It’s definitely worth trying to get some quotes. Good luck with it all. 

unforeseen

Just a moot point but the op wouldn't have been able to claim the grant anyway, it would have been the owner/landlord