Council warning, because of leaks

[pugsley]

my housing officer just popped by without notice and asked to come in I said no, I'm happy to talk at the door. Anway she implied I would be removed from my local authority secure tenancy flat if this happened again, and I said as I do not do this intentionally I'm just a bit scatty how can I be moved and how can I promise this will not happen again? I said she can move me to a house if ( I have a roof garden so there is not way I would move to a flat without one) she likes as I don't like living here because of the anti-social behaviour of the teenagers, but it probably won't stop the leaks as the lady before me was always flooding the shop and was probably worse..

Anyway I have had a few leaks from my flat going into the shop downstairs, I have wooden floorboards and if you drop a cup of water it has nowhere to go but down. Anyway the lady downstairs called the police last week when my bath overflowed slightly, (there was no water on my floor, but the towels beside my bath wre a bit wet, I caught it in time. The plumber came in and said the waste was leaking (he took the panel off and fixed it)and he confirmed this with the policeman. I think she is wasting police time?

I turn my buzzer off alot of the time to stop teenagers hassling me in the evening as they sit on my entrance step drinking alcohol etc, and she rang the police because I wouldn't answer my buzzer. I personally wouldn't want to talk to her anyway as she is a bit mad! shouting and screaming and once her partner pushed his way into my house.

I actually feel rather harrassed and discriminated against as they seem to treat business tenants with more respect ( the lady next door constantly flooded the shop underneath her and the police were not called, she also didn't answer her buzzer).

What can the local authority actually do?
I would like the implied threat from the housing officer in writing so I can look into local authority law. Although I have studied land law etc, housing law was not covered when I was at university.


Sandy

[pugsley]

anyone?

[lisamellor]

have tou thought of making an appointment to go into your council office and speaking to the housing manager and explain the situation in depth, it seems that they have not got your side of the story, they cant just kick you out like that its not that simple!! (i know as my neighbour cut my parners finger off and he still lives there!!) so i think this neighbour has probably got intouch with the council and said that the police have been called... by the way i did not think there was a law against not answering your door or unplugging your buzzer... if you have had a leak... so what ! its an accident, not done with intent to upset the neighbours, also i would get intouch with your local mp. or write to the head of the local council at your local civic centre, and tell them what this lady from the council has said to you.

[Rich44]

OK I will just quickly speak about our problems here with water so you perhaps understand where the council is coming from, please dont take offense I really dont mean to tar you with the same brush just to show what can happen.

We have someone upstairs who is to be honest a bit of a pain in the backside, you know the type loud music, thumping around etc anyway we noticed our bathroom ceiling was damaged which got worse and worse and now the atrex is peeling off and has mould growing on it.

After a little while we saw water flowing through the concrete of the balcony (actually seeping through it) so I went upstairs to investigate, to my horror I found the balcony was green as the overflow pipe (which is at eye level next to her door so you cant miss it) had been dripping for months onto the balcony and then into our flats ceiling.

We called the council and reported it for her and they said they would get it fixed, meanwhile the dripping stopped so we thought good!

So today I went upstairs as I saw water dripping again, and again called the council and they told me it had never been fixed as she had denied them access to the property, no its been passed to a housing officer to come round and possibly do what they did to you recently, failing that they will break in and fix it at her expense.

Sorry for the long winded story but you can perhaps see where theyre coming from with the buzzer not being answered, maybe the council called a few times and got no reply? No reason to be rude about it but if they think theres a leak they have to get it fixed if its affecting other people.

As has already been suggested go down to the housing office and speak to a manager and see what you can come up with between you, maybe they will send a warden round at night to help with the youths so you feel confident you can leave your buzzer on.

Good luck I hope you get it all sorted out soon

[pugsley]

I haven't stopped anyone having access to my flat, and have let the inspector in a few times + the plumber, there is no damage up here, most of the damage is caused behind the bath panel an area I cannot see. There was a leak in the kitchen where the dogs bowl was knocked over by my friends kids and they didn't tell me so it seeped through.


got this letter today

Further to our meeting on the 25th July I am writing to confirm our conversation regarding the leak that went through the property below w/c/ 17th July.

As discussed this has happened on numerous occasions and although there have been some faults with the overflow there has also been negligence on your part. Therefore please ensure there are no reoccurrances, as we will act should there be another incident.

We would view any further incidents as anti-social behaviour ans we would progress with a Notice of Seeking Possession, I trust this will not be necessary

Housing Officer (Management)


Obviously I cannot stop it happening again, being a forgetful isn't something I have some control over. Sometimes I can be on a go slow because of my underactive Thyroid condition, I have dips sometimes and can be a little dazed and start slurring when answering questions in lectures etc. It is not something you notice particularly unless you really need to concentrate.

[pugsley]

as for the youths outside, they used to an anti-social behaviour order outside but it has lapsed, I did keep an incident report for the police and they said about 3 months ago they will be applying for another ANTI order , but haven't heard anything since. There is an off licence downstairs so this will always be a problem. Even when the anti-social order was in place the kids still hung around here, the difference was that the police if they came at all when you called could disburse them or take them home. Most of the kids outside have criminal records which is a bit depressing but a fact. This is considered a posh area, but this kind of thing goes on all the time.

[pugsley]

please note that every time there has been a leak (i've been here 6 years), I have been in my house and the shop downstairs has been open.

I have not been reckless apart from being on the computer a 10 ft away with the bathroom door open, whilst the bath fills which I think it is reaonable to do and I'm sure most people do this, or wilful, I do not play loud music or have a messy unkempt flat, I have one child and go to univeristy full time.

[Rich44]

As I said I wasnt saying that was what had happened in your case I merely brought it up to show you why the council may have reacted that way, its over the top and they shouldnt have done it but....

[steve.harriman1]

As far as I'm aware (private landlord), the Tenancy Agreement 'usually' states that the landlord - Local Council in this case - must give 24hrs notice with the intention to 'inspect' or enter the property occupied by the tenant, yours may be different, my own may be too soft (??)

And you can 'not answer' the buzzer as many times as you like - I'm sure if the Police took your neighbours complaint serious enough to visit you - they would have said the same.

Think an appointment with the Housing Officer to discuss further would if nothing else show willing to resolve/rectify...

Good Luck

[blacksheep1979]

Tennancy agreements give you the covenant to quietly enjoy your property but this goes both ways and extends to you not being a nuisance to your neighbours and in circustances that you are your tennacy can be terminated.

I think the only real soloution is to either put something one the floor ie carpet that will help stop water going throught the floorboards or just be a little more careful.

You have to see it from the other point of view - the shop is a business and if the premises and or stock is damaged due to water then this affects them and if water gets into anything electrical this could be a fire risk not just for the shop but also for you.