(politely) Telling the council to get stuffed.

Lorcan

Lorcan

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So apparently the council want to do an inspection tomorrow, to make sure my supported living accommodation is working for me and what needs doing to get it where it should. I got a letter telling me this, telling me the date, this is entirely coming from them and not me.

This is new, it's not something I've ever had to put up with before and I've been in Rochdale for some time. Apparently it should take "10 minutes per room" and I get the distinct impression they want to see every room. Would it be wrong of me to tell them to go...well, whatever? I'll let them in, they can see the living room, but I've no intention of letting them see the rest of the house. Not when they're sending letters demanding entry for an inspection that's come from out of nowhere.
 
As far as I know all landlords or their agents have a right to inspection their properties once a year. Take it as a positive as you can comment on the problems you have had with the loo and other things that don’t work or are defective and hopefully they can make improvements 😊
 
True, but that's not what this is. This isn't a council property, it's privately owned, rented to the housing association, then rented to me. The council's doing this because of a government press release from August last year:

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I have no problem letting them in, but I'm not prepared to let them up the stairs.
 
I suppose the Council has a duty of care to make sure private landlords are offering and maintaining their properties in a safe and suitable condition. I don’t think it’s a “snooping” operation
 
I know, but the house is small, and there's not much to see upstairs that's not already downstairs. The windows downstairs might be in a better state, but they've still got issues. But then are they going to demand to be allowed upstairs anyway even if there's nothing new to see?
 
I think the Council are just trying to make sure the private landlord is doing what they’re meant to be doing in maintaining their properties and making them safe? You have nothing to hide. When we rented, it was through a letting agent and they inspected the property once a year on behalf of the landlord and to see if any maintenance work needed doing
 
I would be careful about not allowing them upstairs as this might make them wonder why. I really wouldn’t worry if it’s a bit messy, (mine is dreadful sometimes with hay!) they will have seen far far worse. Really it’s nothing to worry about, they are there to check that you have a safe and reasonably well maintained property to live in 😊 They are not interested in how you live
 
I would let them have a look around. It sounds like they are making sure that your property is in a decent state of repair. That's a good thing, as you can make sure that they know of any problems. I would tell them about the drainage issues and if your boiler isn't very good, etc.

Don't worry if your house isn't tidy, you have not long ago had surgery and can't be expected to be doing housework. It will be fine.xx
 
I agree with the other's, the council is doing it's job in making sure the house is suitable for you and well maintained after your area has had some disasters recently. If you cancel tomorrow they won't give up they need to tick the box on their form. You might as well get it over and done with. Don't worry what the house looks like, they will have seen far far worse!
 
It sounds like they're coming to make sure you're not living with black mould all over the walls which could cause you significant health issues, or other hazards not being addressed by the landlord.
When I rented we had the survive winter with no heat or hot water on several years because the landlord refused to fix the boiler, the conservatory windows poured water when it rained, I would've let the council in with open arms to see what we were having to put up with.

This won't be an inspection on you, your belongings or how tidy you're keeping the property, don't worry! It'll be to ensure the landlord is keeping your property safely habitable. That being said, I am sure you must have some legal right to refuse.
 
Yeah, with it being a year since the August press release I've no doubt this has something to do with the Awaab Ishak case. A lot of supported housing in Rochdale is actually Rochdale Boroughwide Housing stock, but leased to housing associations, meaning they don't deal with internal repairs and issues. This was the thing where I lived with Comet and Blitzen - for internal repairs I had to deal with Mosscare St Vincents, for external it was RBH. Which is how I ended up with black mould on three walls in the utility room because the two of them couldn't agree on whose responsibility it was, jerks. It's also why I had two boiler checks a year because they'd both send one out lol.

Obviously this isn't an RBH house but I've no doubt they're attempting to cover every single base. I just don't want them upstairs. Downstairs is fine. Cellar is fine. Just not upstairs, and it's not about the state of the house, it's been seen in worse.

Edit: mostly I don't want them in my bedroom. I'd say the same if it was spotless but I still don't want them in it. Bathroom and study are a maybe. Part of it is the goblins needing a clean out and not having enough energy to do the whole cage in one go just yet, part of it's that it's my bedroom. There's nothing useful to really be seen in there.
 
In tat case tell them they can't go in the bedroom. You don't have to give an explanation but you could always say you have animals in there who get very stressed at strangers going in the room. They can get a good enough idea of the condition of the house without going in that room.
 
I would say to whoever appears that they are welcome to check every nook and cranny downstairs for issues, but you would rather they didn't go upstairs as you've checked and don't think there's anything unfit, and you have a thing about personal space and privacy.

If I were showing my friends around my new house, I probably wouldn't want to show them my bedroom either, tidy or not. And I always felt uneasy going in bedrooms when we were househunting, too.
 
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