Forum Topic

Excuse me but............................

As regular contributors will know I have been banging on about the empty house on Twickenham Road and was last told by Cllr. Dennison he'd talk to Steve Curran about it. Well, folks THE HOUSE IS STILL EMPTY, for well over a  year this situation has been allowed to fester, and by any standars it's an absolute scandal. Is there anyone out there who gives a toss anymore? How can this be justified on so many levels, loss of revenue to the council, and a housing crisis that's as bad as any we've seen in recent years. Is it so difficult to match a family in need with a refurbished three bed house with garden, or am I just being thick?

Vanessa Smith ● 4957d44 Comments

That one was let before Chirstmas, but it looks like there's another one just along from it. They are cladding most of them at the moment so I suspect this other one's been left empty to do all the work required. We can only hope that these workers don't go at action replay speed like the others. Still it's really awful that new houses can be built from scratch while these numpties faff around so much.

Vanessa Smith ● 4807d

Sorry Sarah, difficult to follow.  Who will be downsized?

Phil Andrews ● 4807d

...then you will be downsized as you have a spare bedroom...

Sarah Felstead ● 4807d

There seems to be a lot of progress being made on this property now so hopefully it will be occupied shortly.

Phil Andrews ● 4807d

I saw Cllr. Steve Curran on Saturday so took the opportunity to bend his ear. He has assured me he is on the case and seems as doubtful of the excuses from HH as the rest of us are. We live in hope it seems.

Vanessa Smith ● 4939d

Obviously no one has a damp meter in Hounslow Homes.  That long, sad, reply shows that far from improving services and speeding up turn around, nothing has improved by allowing Hounslow Homes to continue managing the housing stock.  That reply and the delay is a total disgrace.  Obviously the property is unlikely to go to a one child family but I imagine the housing list contains lots of families of 3+ children who have been waiting years for a home suitable for them.  Just wonder who will eventually be housed there and which decade

Patricia Nicholas ● 4939d

Yup Vanessa - that is a definite 'excuse me but' or even an 'excuse but ..... don't you know Simon?Lets face it, we won't understand the reply, anyway!

Sarah Felstead ● 4940d

Please explain.

Vanessa Smith ● 4942d

no it can not be as i now of a mum with one chiled that is in a 3rd floor flat and would love a garden she has be on the wating list for over 3/4 yers and as not had one forn lcart as yet

Christine Howarth ● 4942d

Exactly John, they used the same b/s when they buggered up the works on a house opposite me. Two of us watched the proceedings with great amusement, it was pathetic, yet in spite of that Cllr. Curran believed all the old fanny HH told him, it was quite pathetic. There is only one way to find out - get off your rear and go and look for yourself -same with planning - it's what we used to do here. Once these people realise they can no longer get away with it they'll get themselves into gear and do a proper job.

Vanessa Smith ● 4944d

I chuckled when I read the reply you received, Theo. They've had a year to make up their excuse, so I suggest you take it with a pinch of salt.

John Connelly ● 4944d

Damp masked by wall coverings.I'm no surveyor but I struggle with that one.Isn't it the case that the house should have been surveyed properly and all over at the outset?

George Knox ● 4944d

Good try Theo, but the fact remains that this has taken an unacceptable amount of time whichever excuse you choose. Just up the road in Mogden Lane a house has been built from scratch and is now occupied, that's happened in a third of the time this work has taken. I don't know who supervises the contractors because if they went any slower they'd go backwards. I cannot believe that a surveyor wouldn't have found damp, you can generally smell it, and as Phil has pointed out the favourite for tenants from the powers that be is "Oh! it's condensation". All I know is if I had anything to do with the clowns who were let loose on this property they'd have had their a***s kicked and then some! Joke, joke, joke.

Vanessa Smith ● 4944d

We can all speculate about why stuff wasn't done earlier but there was no history of damp or condensation at the Twickenham Road house or reports of it by previous tenants and while we all want 'a proper job done' there are limits to what we can reasonably expect in those circumstances.Damp in the floor and walls of the main building was discovered only after the extension was built - the floor had been covered by linoleum which had masked the problem until it was removed and the floor slab included ash in its composition which absorbed moisture and further disguised the presence of damp.  Damp in the walls was masked by the wall coverings - it was yet to show through.  I haven't inspected this house, but I do know how easy it is to miss the signs of damp and this house was apparently not in the state that made the damp as obvious as would have been convenient. As it was, the house became void in September 2011 and was suggested as one that might be suitable for the extensions programme.  It was then assessed, structural/design drawings done and an application made for planning approval.  Work on this extension was completed in May 2012.  The damp was discovered when some minor electrical work was being done in the main building.  It was then investigated during which it was found that (a) there was no damp-proof membrane in the building and (b) the cavity wall had material in it which was bridging the damp-proof course.Arrangements were then made to break up the floor slab, excavate and lay a dpm and recast the floor slab.  After this a suspended timber floor with under-floor ventilation was installed and the plasterwork removed from the ground floor walls and replaced.  I know from my own current experience how long that process can take and I can't fault the time it has taken here.  It is anticipated that the remaining work will still take a further 2-3 weeks - I'm still waiting for my own plasterer to get back with a date to finish his job.

Theo Dennison ● 4945d

You must have been listening in to our conversation! We had almost identical thoughts, having many years ago been there, done that, got the book! The stupid thing is that in the long run it costs more money not to do the job properly in the first place.

Vanessa Smith ● 4952d

It would be interesting to know whether the previous tenant had reported damp and been told it was merely condensation.All social landlords that I have ever had dealings with have made it their policy to fob off complaints of damp with this particular excuse.  It gets the tenant off their backs for a while, but of course it means the real problem goes untreated and by the time it is eventually acknowledged it has of course become much worse.With luck in the meantime the tenant will not have died of an asthma attack.

Phil Andrews ● 4952d

Knowing these houses well, and this is double fronted. I'd have thought the obvious thing was to use one of the existing front rooms as a bedroom and make the extension a new kitchen off the other side which would be a dining/sitting room, but hey! What am I against the geniuses of Hounslow Homes who can't even detect damp ..........................

Vanessa Smith ● 4952d

I don't have a particular interest in extra bedrooms Iain.I was just stating my opinion that an available 3 bedroom house would probably be not big enough to meet the needs of many families on the housing waiting list.An opinion borne out I believe by the fact that houses are now having an extra bedroom added as highlighted by Theo.I mean no perjorative intent when I say this if that's what you are getting at.

Keith Iddon ● 4953d

Keith, would you please explain in more detail your interest in 'Extra bedrooms'  London policy has since Ken, and followed by Boris encouraged more family sized homes. Sadly the current government have effectively scrapped new social housing. If HH can extend their existing homes, albeit inefficiently surely this is a good thing?.....

Iain Muir ● 4953d

Why have several houses in that street had an extra bedroom added George?

Keith Iddon ● 4953d

I don't think so Keith. It's much more to do with incompetence. Why on earth was the house not surveyed in full?Was it sheer laziness?

George Knox ● 4953d

Seems I was correct George.3 bedrooms no longer big enough.

Keith Iddon ● 4953d

Yes, I should have also said a big Thank-you - this is the first time I've managed to get any sense and answers out of anyone.

Vanessa Smith ● 4953d

Thanks for the update Theo especially as the house is not even in your ward

Paul Fisher ● 4953d

Quite - I am bound to say though that over a year to sort this out is absolutely unacceptable, it really beggars belief. On top of that the previous tenant moved out and sub let the property for well over a year while no-one did anything - I also reported that to a ward councillor. I just don't know what you have to do to get people moving. Similarly a house opposite me stood empty from April until September last year, you would not have believed the pantomime that ensued and the total b/s given to members when I started asking awkward questions. The joke is that just on Whitton Dene a house has been built from scratch in under half the time this saga has been allowed to drag on! I don't know about others but I think a real boot up the backside needs to be administered to the people responsible.

Vanessa Smith ● 4953d

TheoI had thought there must be an explanation, however would it not be a good idea in cases such as this for this kind of information to be imparted proactively by Hounslow Homes and/or the local authority?With the chronic housing shortage that we have leaving a property unoccupied for so long for no obvious reason was always going to get people's backs up.  Surely it would be in everybody's interests for the facts to be made known without somebody having to make multiple enquiries through several officers and councillors?  It occurs to me that for everybody who complains through a forum such as this there will be many who seethe in silence.

Phil Andrews ● 4953d

I received the following information today about the state of the property on Twickenham Road and the delays in getting it tenanted:The property has been vacant since September 2011 during which time a rear extension has been built to make it a 4 bedroom property (as has been done with a number of other Council owned properties in the road).When the extension was completed damp was discovered in the original structure of the house. Following investigation, the damp proof course in the main property was found to be defective, mortar was found in the cavity wall above the damp proof course and the concrete floor was found to need removal/replacement.This damp related work is still underway and is expected to take another 6 to 8 weeks to complete.The property has already been allocated and a new tenant will move in once the works are completed.I am still awaiting an explanation why all these, obviously necessary works, have taken so long.

Theo Dennison ● 4953d

Steve Curran - head housing honcho has known about this for months as I have taken the trouble to keep him up to date, and as I recall Theo kindly said he'd talk to him too - what on earth does it take?

Vanessa Smith ● 4953d

"Is there a remote chance one of our elected representatives could actually take some notice and find out what the hell is going on?" Well we all know they read this Forum so its quite astonishing that not one of them has acted on this matter

Paul Fisher ● 4954d

Think I may have been overly optimistic - well, they say hope springs eternal - nothing happening as far as I can see - could have been a workman I saw. Is there a remote chance one of our elected representatives could actually take some notice and find out what the hell is going on?

Vanessa Smith ● 4954d

In their dreams - obviously compiled by complete fantasists.

Vanessa Smith ● 4956d

From issue 76 Hounslow Homes News Autumn 2012 posted  to me this morning.;Repairs to voids Target 12 days, performance 12.43 days.Average re-let times Target 30 days performance 29 days.

David Squire ● 4956d

Could of course be that Palestinian woman and her eight kids that got evicted by Hammersmith and Fulham Council

Paul Fisher ● 4956d

Something is going on at this house, there was car there this morning and lights were on downstairs, let's hope someone is finally going to move in and make this their home.

Vanessa Smith ● 4956d

And of course no one at Hounslow Homes will be found responsible for allowing this house to be empty for over a year let alone disciplined

Paul Fisher ● 4957d

I wouldn't hold my breath on that one Phil, I think we'll do a moonlight before our two ever have enough money to be able to move out! But you're right - you must be only one of hundreds of families who would be happy to move into that house. It really beggars belief that no-one seems to be able to do anything.

Vanessa Smith ● 4957d

Lol, it'll be resolved when the kids move out.  Sign of the times I'm afraid mate.

Phil Andrews ● 4957d

I didn't realise you were referring to your own family Phil.I am sorry to hear of your housing predicament.I hope it is resolved .

Keith Iddon ● 4957d

Some people are in more desperate need than others Keith, and although we've given up our only living room so that our 15-year-old son and daughter can have their own bedrooms rather than have to share one the fact is there are many in a worse situation than us.

Phil Andrews ● 4957d

If it's a level playing field Phil, surely the family you speak of should be in with a shout if it becomes available...

Keith Iddon ● 4957d

Well I could tell you one family of four living in a 2-bedroomed flat that could use it...

Phil Andrews ● 4957d

You think I what ' a little better than that'?

Keith Iddon ● 4957d

Come on Keith, I think you can a little better than that. The Borough could well have 10,000 people on its waiting list.Vanessa is right. All I would add is why is the management by Officers so poor?

George Knox ● 4957d

It would seem rather profligate to let this house 'fester' as you say.I would have thought that someone,especially in view of the  new hostel for the homeless that has opened on Thornbury Rd,would have been looking into using any available property in trying to get people off the housing/b&b list.Maybe,in view of the changing demogrqaphics of the borough,a three bedroom house is not big enough to house most  families on that list.

Keith Iddon ● 4957d