here's one for you budding solicitors

i live in a council house in lincoln,the lock in my back door has broken,so i phoned the council who now inform me that locks are no longer replaced free of charge.there is a charge of 21pounds 50p to replace the broken lock.
further more if i replace the lock at my expense the lock then becomes the property of lincoln city council and i cannot take it with me if i leave there property.
does anybody know if they can legally do this.
and does anybody else who rents a property have a landlord who does this.
regards
andy 1

[paulyoung666]

surely you pay rent to the council to get things like this fixed , are they classing it as wear and tear or malicious damage , i wonder

[DES_1001]

If i were you i'd make a visit to the local citizens advice centre! as paul said that's the sort of thing you pay rent for. One question did the lock just stop working?

according to the council it doesn't matter if it is fair wear and tear if its broke we have to pay to get it fixed.
they changed the tenancy agreement months ago and they sent us letters telling us what they will repair free of charge and what they won't,and if we don't like it tough,it doesnt matter that there tenants didn't sign the new agreements,apparently the tenancy agreement we signed 18yrs ago is superceeded by this new agreement

the lock is worn out some times you can get it to open by waggling the key sometimes you can't

[paulyoung666]

go to citizens advice and see what they see , it sounds as though they are taking the p!ss i reckon , are you still paying to the council or has it changed hands to a housing association ??????????

is it deffo the lock and not the key ??????????


looks as though you are stuffed , see the attachment


assuming it is a wooden door , you should be able to get a new lock for around £10 , just check your contents policy to see whether it states if it has to be a 5 lever british standard one or not
if you are going to change it then make certain of this fact otherwise if you have a break in the insurance wont pay out even if they didnt get in through the door

it is a council property not housing association.deffo the lock and not the key,ive tried my spare key with same result.
sorry lads i don't fancy waiting about four hours at citizens advice,thats why i came on the forum.
but thanks for the advice anyway
regards
andy 1

[Shaun]

Pop down B&Q and get a new barrel for the lock, there only a couple of quid, by the time you move out you'll have had your moneys worth out of it.

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by andy 1

it is a council property not housing association.deffo the lock and not the key,ive tried my spare key with same result.
sorry lads i don't fancy waiting about four hours at citizens advice,thats why i came on the forum.
but thanks for the advice anyway
regards
andy 1

i have edited my post as you posted , have you re-read it ??????????

if , it is a plastic door then a new barrel is as dellwear stated only a couple of £'s

just read your thumbnail paulyoung666,see what i mean theyv'e got us by the b*lls and there aint a thing we can do about it, we pay rent each week,there houses wear out and we have to pay again to get things repaired.not daft lincoln city council hey.
ps thats 75 quid a week rent for a 3 bedroom property that will never be ours and we now have to pay for our own wear and tear repairs

no lads its a 5 lever mortice lock up to a certain safety standard specified by the council

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by andy 1

no lads its a 5 lever mortice lock up to a certain safety standard specified by the council

it wont be upto a safety standard i reckon , it will be to a b.s. standard for security bs8621 according to mine in the back door , i replaced mine a couple of years ago and it was around £10 each , half the price of the council repair i reckon , easy enough to do as well
mind you i would be well p!ssed off at having to pay to repair something i pay rent for

exactly paulyoung666
i suppose i will end up at the local diy store but it just p!sses me off that iv'e paid rent to these robbing so and so's for 28 years now.and now we have to pay for our own repairs.
still i now know what LCC stands for lincoln city conmen not lincoln city council.
regards
andy 1

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by andy 1

exactly paulyoung666
i suppose i will end up at the local diy store but it just p!sses me off that iv'e paid rent to these robbing so and so's for 28 years now.and now we have to pay for our own repairs.
still i now know what LCC stands for lincoln city conmen not lincoln city council.
regards
andy 1

on the point of you being renting for so long , have you asked to see how much it would cost to buy the house ???????? , or is that not an option ????????

yes i can buy the house with a big discount, at one time 3 bedroom houses were going for around 20'000 pounds with a full discount where i live,i don't know what they are now.
i never bought mine because i was in a low paid job with a wife and three kids to support,and if anything went wrong with the property the council would fix it free of charge,but it looks like those days have gone.
also i think the council are trying to off load all there council houses onto housing associations.
also when i spoke to my local councillor about this paying for repairs,he told me that the government have told the council that all there housing stock as to meet minimum standards (double glazing plastic doors roof insulation) that sort of thing by 2010 and the only way the council can afford it is by charging its existing tenants to have there repairs done.thats probably why there trying to off load them