Help FOr Boyfriend

ultimatedingbat · 5 January 2011 at 4:41PM

Hiya,

Reposting this from the benefits board. Boyfriend is on housing benefit.

I'm writing this for my boyfriend as he doesnt have a PC. I really want to be able to help him out with some problems he is having. Before people judge me for doing this, he struggles with literacy so would struggle a lot to do this on phones with people.

On 23rd December a pipe burst in the flat upstairs and it;s caused some damage to his bathroom. Plaster on the ceiling is !!!!!!ed and there's water dripping. The paint is ruined and some stuffs been water damaged.

It's now January 5th and the council still have not been out!

He has been staying with me over xmas and his friend has been looking after his place. It's lucky really because he has had the flu and a chest infection!

I am trying to find out whether this is all really how it's supposed to be? He has no way to bath and has to go to a friends to shower, and currently cant use the bathroom sink, and then to top it off he gets a mini shower when he goes to the loo.

It's damp and it isn't his fault but the council aren't coming out to fix it! They've said it might e ven be another week.

They really do take the mick. In his hallway ceiling there's been something dead between the floorboards of upstairs and his ceiling (the pool of blood soaked into the ceiling) and they council confirmed somethings dead but havent done anything so it smells.

His kitchen is barely passable (they've been promising a refit since february last year and still not done it!)

IS there anything to be done? Can anyone give me advice to give him?
Thanks

somethingcorporate · 5 January 2011 at 4:44PM

He's not pestering them hard enough - the squeaky wheel gets the oil and all that.

Sorry I can not advise with specifics, the only constructive thing I can suggest is to be persistant. Get the name of a person and bug them until they do something.

Keep a diary of everything just in case you need to refer to events at a later point in time.

Good luck.

ultimatedingbat · 5 January 2011 at 6:18PM

WE are calling every day and just getting no where. I am in the process of helping him write a letter to them

somethingcorporate · 5 January 2011 at 6:21PM

Do you have a single person dealing with it or is it being passed around? Writing a letter is probably the best "official" way of dealing with it but it is also easily ignored.

Given the urgency I would start rining more frequently to the first reasonably helpful person you speak to. Ask for a name, direct number etc and be firm (but polite) until they take it seriously.

ultimatedingbat · 6 January 2011 at 2:21AM

Thanks for the advice. we are getting passed from pillar to post at the moment. They keep saying they have 'too much else to deal with'. I'm sorry but really that isn't good enough when he is living in a damp flat and currently has a severe chest infection! He's been really lucky ith good friends who are letting him stay round there on the coldest nights but its justn ot on really that he should have to do that.

BitterAndTwisted · 6 January 2011 at 2:30AM

Stop phoning and go round to the Housing Dept and don't leave until someone understands the urgency of your b/f's situation. Take photos with you if you think anyone will look at them. If you can't get anything reasonable out of them, send a Recorded Delivery letter to the Chief Housing Officer with explicit details of the damage and what you've tried to do to get this resolved.

tbs624 · 6 January 2011 at 2:51AM

OP - are you saying that the leak is ongoing - that there is till water dripping through? Has you bf talked to the upstairs flat's occupant?

*Write* to the Council - keep only to the facts and keep a copy of the letter.

Councils split repairs into three categories

Emergency - carried out within 24 hours . (Out of hours repairs reports tend to be a "make safe" prior to a permanent repair.)
Urgent - between one and five working days
Non urgent - within 28 days

In the letter describe the issues, the dates on which they were first noticed , when they were reported and to whom, and what the response was. Take dated photos, keep copies and send the Council some duplicates

Ask them to confirm which of the 3 categories they consider these repairs to fall under and to give a firm date by which assessment will be made and repairs will be effected.

Tell them that you will be contacting the Council's own Environmental Health Officer, and then do so.

Copy the letter to your local Councillor ( check at http://www.writetothem.com/ if you don't know who that is)

Check the Tenant Handbook for the Council's complaints procedure.

ultimatedingbat · 6 January 2011 at 4:11AM

Heya,
yes he has spoken to the lady upstairs but she just shrugs and goes well ours is ok. She causes a lot of problems (lots of back story here).

Thanks for the advice I will pass it on to him.

Morglin · 6 January 2011 at 6:49AM

Send a recorded delivery letter to the Director of Housing (at his local council), stating that you wish to make an official complaint (they have to respond then, within a specified time period), and send a copy to his local councillor.

That usually gets it all moving.

SHELTER has some advice on repairs in social housing:

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions

Lin

ultimatedingbat · 7 January 2011 at 8:55PM

Thanks! I am going to help him write the official complaints letter even if they've been out as they are currently being arsey about the bathroom saying he should pay for the redecoration! Why should he when its not his pipe that burst

RAS · 7 January 2011 at 9:00PM

Get hold of his local councillor and visit his/her surgery this weekend.

Help FOr Boyfriend

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