Serious leaks in Council property - please help

[silverfox1961]

Hiya,

I would find out who your local councillor is and contact him/her.

If you have no heating/hot water or it is a serious leak, your council should be treating this as an emergency as you have a person in the house with a chronic illness (I have crohns too)

I wouldn't worry too much about the appliances unless the water level gets high. most machines have thier electrics about 4 inches above the floor.

The council have a duty of care and it's not that hard to find leaks. Has anybody looked in the loft to see if the cold water tank has sprung a leak.

Once the problems have been sorted, complain long and hard.

 

fox

[silverfox1961]

try not to worry too much about the asbestos but keep out of that room. keep the door closed and contact your environmental health department. They should be able to give you some advice.

As far as I can remember there are 3 types of asbestos. Brown,Blue and white. The asbestos in the house is probably white, the least likely to do lasting damage.

You should have been informed when the guy put a hole in the wall but maybe he didn't know what it was.

NOT A BIG JOB??? who are they kidding. I know it will eventually get sorted but the house is a health hazard and as such it needs sorting.

Make sure you keep a log of this fiasco (dates of visits,repairs done or not done) responses from the council. If you happen to visit the council offices over this, make sure you get a receipt showing why you visited.

This could all have been sorted ages ago. just stopping the leak for starters would have helped as the other jobs like the drying out of the walls could be done at a slower rate

Try your MP and don't forget to complain to everybody you can.

 

fox

[silverfox1961]

It's hard for me to say for definite which type of asbestos it is but as far as I'm aware, it's usually white. There is another thought. The guy who came out doesn't know what he's talking about as I've never come across asbestos in a bedroom. I'd be putting bets on fibreboard instead. Looks the same but is non-toxic. There is usually some asbestos in the side panels of baths in houses that were built pre 1980.

I would be making a claim on the councils insurance too as there is now more damage than there should have been due to them not sorting the leak earlier.

I think it's very important to get Environmental Health involved so that they can put your mind at rest.

 

fox

[silverfox1961]

Hi again,

I think the council should be supplying portable heaters and dehumidifiers which will help dry things out a bit quicker.

 

if you haven't done so yet, complain. You have to have made an effort to complain before you can take it to the Local Government Ombudsman.

 

Claim off the councils insurance for any damage to your own property due to them not fixing the leak first time.

 

Keep any bills for expenses incurred because of their failure.

 

that's all I can think of at the moment.

 

fox