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Kay’s not a fan of council’s response to chilly problem
A MOTHER has spoken out after going without heating at her council home for almost a week – and she won’t have it until Monday.
During a routine check a contractor for Dacorum Borough Council decided to condemn the boiler at Kay Davis’ council home in Typleden Close, Hemel Hempstead.
Temperatures have regularly been below freezing over the past week and the Met Office has forecast temperatures for the town of -7oC tomorrow night and -6oC on Saturday night.
Kay, 42, said this week: “They said they’d come back the next day but no-one ever turned up and I was left without hot water or heating.
“I tried speaking to the council over the weekend, and spent a lot of time going backwards and forwards, calling so many people, but they said it wasn’t an emergency.
“I’ve had to send my youngest daughter Becky, who is 14, to her dad’s and I’m also worried about my pet cat.
“They’ve given me two very small fan heaters but it’s still cold here and they’re costing me a lot in electricity. “As far as I’m aware you’re only meant to go 24 hours without any heating or how water.”
An immersion heater was fitted on Monday to give the property hot water but Kay has been told a boiler won’t be fitted at her home until Monday.
Manager at the council’s property and place department Fiona Williamson said: “In the majority of cases, Dacorum Borough Council make necessary repairs within 24 hours.
“When a new boiler or parts are required, it may take longer than 24 hours.
“In these situations, fan heaters will be left at the property so there is a temporary form of heating, but it is not always possible to provide hot water.”
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Weather for Hemel Hempstead
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 19 comments to this article
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oldschool
Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 07:36 AMOhhhhh Nooooo! The poor cat! DBC get your priorities right. Don't worry about the pensioners, the children under five and the sick. This poor cat does not have any central heating and no hot water (not sure what it does with the hot water!). I am a council tenant and I believe that DBC are pretty good when it comes to heating issues, although I would advocate tightening all the nuts after they have left. Any other maintenance you can forget. Would not let that shower of s**t "Mitie" anywhere near my house - do everything else myself. Just because I am a council tenant does not mean I don't have pride in my home. I may be paying a lower rent than privately but a lot of my own money goes on keeping this property well maintained. Something that private renters tend not to do.
PrivateDancer
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 08:31 AMrobers06(w), stop being an idiot.......
Mrs burgerking
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 07:22 PMoops....I mean livewell well said . lol yep definately in agreement with Livewell, not Robers06
Mrs burgerking
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 07:08 PMhear, hear Robers06 well said,
livewell
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 06:58 PMRoberso6, you're a bit of a **** aren't you? Firstly we pay water rates seperately, a new kitchen- from the council ..? Ha !! You're so funny. When I moved to this property over ten years ago the kitchen was old then, I have replaced it at my own expense, as most tenants do because you would be waiting a very long time for the council to do it mate. As with the bathroom furniture that had seen better days in the 70's. Replaced at my expense. A free 24 hour repair service... so firstly you are assuming that tenants call out this service regually and you are forgetting that you are not allowed to bring in your own workmen to do the job or you are then liable for all future works ( including once you have left the property ) and if anything goes wrong the council will sue to get the money back. As for the free emergency alarm, the same rules apply to all people living in the area, it's means tested dear. So where I have spent approx 55,800 in rent in the last 11 years, plus the upkeep of the property, plus a new kitchen, new bathroom etc, paid my water rates and had my rent money squandered on other council services for mortgaged tenants what do I have to show for it? The deeds? Err no. So wind in your neck mate, because you don't have a clue.
robers06
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 04:23 PMSo livewell, you think the rent you pay is actually sufficient to cover the actual cost of your rent, rates, water rates, a free 24hr repair service including all labour and parts, an annual gas safety check, and a free new kitchen when your old one is no longer in an acceptable condition? Oh, and a free emergency alarm system when you get old. Get real.
livewell
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 06:24 PMRobers06, the rent it not at the market rate, but i still can not see how you claim the 'rest' is made up by the taxpayer? What rest? Maintenance for properties comes from the rents that tenants pay, if anything tenants are subsadising other parts of the council because not all the money collected go to maintaining the properties. If you are talking about council tax none of that is spent on maintenance, so please enlighten me - a tax paying- rent paying tenant- how other people are subsidising my tenancy?
robers06
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 05:13 PMBut livewell, your rent is not at the market rate, and the difference is made up by taxpayers. Try renting privately and see how much more you pay!
livewell
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 02:05 PMHow are the taypayer paying for this? Maintenance of properties comes out of the rent we pay as tenants, it's no different than if you rented privately and the owner had to replace a faulty boiler.
DacorumLad
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 12:48 PMGood work DBC for spotting and dealing with issue of appliance during routine check. From report it appears DBC have done more than enough to resolve this issue. Dissapointing that service provided prompted tennant to go complaining to local press. What steps has tennant done to make matter good?, or, is it another classic case of grown people unable to do things for themselves and having expectation that all will be done and paid for on their behalf by the taxpayers.
PrivateDancer
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 05:21 PMOne of my firends has a mortgage of £320 pmonth, so I guess he shoud think himself lucky he doesn't live in a council house....
PrivateDancer
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 05:15 PMWebcam, get a better plumber (heating engineer) next time....
PrivateDancer
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 05:12 PMYeah, no-one makes you take a mortgage out. You all do it to hopefully sell it at a later date for a big profit, so now that you are finding it difficult financially don't start slating current council tenants.
livewell
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 03:28 PMLet's see whilst I sympathise with anyone who has to go through a loss of heating and hot water in this weather (that includes the homeless and pensioners - people who are finding it hard to heat their homes in this financial climate) I can't really see how the council can do much more than they are already. On the other note of posts here about council verses morgages. Council rents reflect a more realistic valuation of what people should be paying for accomodation, would any of you turn down a mortgage for your house of 450 per month? I hardly think so. My sister bought her council house in hemel when they first went on the market and picked it up for 28.000 in the 80's, lucky her, lucky people who got in on the ground floor, it's not a council tenants fault that the councils didn't build more houses with the right to buy money. It's not a council tenants fault that they (probably) can't afford to have a mortgage. It's not a council tenants fault that they are one of the lucky one's to have been given a council property (moldy, drafty and under maintained as a lot of them are) it's also not their fault that for whatever reason you people who's bank own their property have choosen to go that route and are now finding it hard to make ends meet. Just think that at the end of the day you will own your property. I have been a council tenant for 25 years and paid about 90.000 in full rent. You should remember that your extra payments are the interest the banks have scammed from you to buy the dream.
PrivateDancer
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 03:02 PMPending Moderation
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