Housing association House self improvement.

Mgman1965

Watching council house swap on CH5 and a couple on it had totally transformed their LA property spending thousands on it.

One they looked at was a standard LA maintained house (basic kitchen/bathroom and only replaced if necessary) to which she said if they swapped they would have to gut it and start again.

Now, MIL lives in a LA house, could we really rip the basic, horrible, cheap kitchen and bathroom out and replace with something  nicer and more luxurious for her?

If we did, what would the implications be if there's a leak or an electrical problem ?

Would the council just come and fix it as they do with their fitted kitchen and bathroom or does MIL become responsible for repair and maintenance and any damage if their was a water leak from plumbing she'd had done ?

elsien

Have you considered asking your local authority for their policy? 

user1977

Surely you'd be arranging to sort out all the leaks in the "luxurious" kitchen and bathroom you had fitted for her?

deannagone

Most council's now demand that you write and ask permission for any changes that you want to make to their stock of social housing.  They will look at the changes, and repair implications will be looked at as part of this as well as health and safety issues.  They will also want to be sure that professionals are going to do the installation.  Its a lot more complicated now to change a kitchen than it was years ago (speaking as someone who replaced a standard council kitchen in the past, several times but couldn't face the palaver this time even though the kitchen in a newly allocated social housing property was falling apart).

I personally did get a grant to put in a partly adapted kitchen, through the council.  Its very smart but the council appointed professionals (contracting company) were abysmal.., even left a waste pipe uncapped, tried to put cupboards in the wrong place, and while it may have passed H&S, there was a corner cupboard door I couldn't open due to the kitchen design and other problems.  Nightmare.  I achieved a better quality job when I did the kitchen installations myself, and the kitchens worked better.  But its how council's work now.  They wouldn't even let me put long metal handles on the door because they weren't standard council issue (although the ones the council wanted to install were metal too) or put push release mechanisms in unless I went back to OT to get permission.

You also have to look at a situation whereby if the MIL's housing needs changed, would it have been worth going through all that hassle, spending thousands of pounds on a kitchen, only to have her move out in a few years time?  It is a risk.  You can't predict the future.

I know I'd have to think very seriously before going through a similar procedure again.  Stress isn't the word!  Remember whether the council puts a new kitchen in, or privately paid for professionals do, its your MIL that will have to speak to the contractors and check what is happening is what should be happening.  

HampshireH

The Righ to Compensation for Home improvements

 exists https://www.housingrights.org.uk/news/tenant-right-compensation-repairs-and-improvements-social-housing

If you want to do that you can do if given permission. Most associations won't then repair a kitchen you have installed for example.

They may sort a leak. You would need written consent but as long as a job is done properly they are unlikely to decline .

Most however come with a caveat on any upgrades. If the work doesn't mean building regs, compliance certs, have planning permission (obviously if required) or you haven't followed the procedure or had it done properly and evidence it they reserve the right to request the original be reinstated or the improvement removed 

Should the property be returned to them without this it may be recharged back for removal and/or replacement.

Chandler85

You'll most likely just need to ask and clarify all the repairs etc going forward.  They might want to send a surveyor round after the work has been completed to check it is done to a decent standard before basically agreeing to maintain it.

As for the comments about demanding they are informed and asking permission, that's come from tenants changing kitchens, bathrooms etc, messing them up, causing issues and then claiming that the housing provider should fix the problem for them.  Though I can't disagree that some of the contracted companies might not be the best, though I've known professional kitchen fitters that have forgot to do bits and bobs which has caused leaks,  mistakes happen, it is all about how they are dealt with to me.

Morglin

We tore out our kitchen and bathroom, and has them refitted to our design and at our expense.

Any future repairs/maintenance on the stuff we had fitted is down to us.  It doesn't mean they have stopped servicing the gas or checking the electrics though.

We got permission first, we told them who'd be doing the work, and sent in the quote. They sent a list of requirements and rules for the fitters,  to abide by.  I had to send them a copy of the fitter's public liability insurance.

The HA didn't bother checking what had been done afterwards though.

Our local council sent round their building control to check safety etc.