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Wheelchair woes...

Messages
1,082
Location
UK
I just did a random search online and it seems its a common problem with people getting letters from management about storing items in communal cupboards because of fire hazards etc. and some people have been threatened with prosecution and removal from management teams. Some of them were advised to contact the fire brigade to ask their advise. But this was about storing normal items, not a wheelchair
 

peggy-sue

Senior Member
Messages
2,623
Location
Scotland
Contact the local Fire Brigade and ask them about the regulations.
I'm sure it's something they're quite used to and they have a reputation for being very helpful.:)
 
Messages
1,082
Location
UK
  1. Tenancy agreements, both Assured and Secure from 2007 put responsibility onto tenants:

    “To keep communal staircases and passageways clean and tidy and not to impede or obstruct any common parts”, also:

    “You are not permitted to store personal items such as (but not limited to) bicycles, pushchairs, tables, chairs in the communal areas”.

    If the above happens to be in my tenancy agreement also, the estate agent may not be able to help out even if it is inside a cupboard. But because its a wheelchair, i don't know if there's any loopholes for that.
 
Messages
1,082
Location
UK
This is not fire brigade but on a council's fire regulations page...

  1. If you have an electrical cupboard which is situated in the fire escape route, then you must not have any combustible material stored in them. If you store any items in these cupboards there is an increased risk of it catching fire and as such items should be removed
So that would cover the wheelchair, however, the management themselves have plastic chairs and hoovers in there.... So they cant really slap that rule on me!
 

leela

Senior Member
Messages
3,290
@Hell...Hath...No...Fury.. , I feel certain that you will either get permission to keep your wheelchair where it is, or they will build you another cupboard. The discrimination is so nonsensical, and unlawful, I'm sure reason and common sense will prevail.

You have many details (hoovers, chairs) to support you, the law (disabled access/fairness in housing) and the simple fact that if
you, a disabled person can move the chair if it is blocking something, then so can the meter reader!

All this to say, even though they got some initial traction, I don't think the irrational voice of one thoughtless moron is going to prevail here.

If I saw my neighbour's bin out for an extra day I would put it away myself as a service to both of us.
How twisted people's points of view can become. Clearly this person has a warped way of viewing the world. How miserable they must be.

Staying relaxed in your clear knowing, and not allowing the feeling of victimization (which is natural to feel!) to be predominant, I think your voice of reason will speak directly to the hearts and minds of those who can team with you to find the perfect solution, just like you did with the bins.
 

leela

Senior Member
Messages
3,290
As was stated in another post, they can (and must) make amendments to a tenancy agreement if it prevents a disabled person from living there. I would hit the refresh button and come at this from a position of "team with me to find a solution" rather than from
either adversarial or feeling piled on. I have found in my own experience that most people love to be asked to contribute in finding a solution, rather than being presented with a "problem."

Since ultimately all you want is a safe and convenient place to keep your chair, I suspect most people will feel really happy to help get you there.

If anyone ought to feel embarrassed is the one who made the complaint. But that is a breeze that has already passed.
Focus on the solution that is waiting to unfold. :)
 
Messages
1,082
Location
UK
Yeah the bin issue did really shock me at the time and gave me a heads up from the start what kind of people i share a building with.
I've contacted a few organisations from the links given today for advise and emailed my landlord/estate agent to see if they can help.
 

MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
This is not fire brigade but on a council's fire regulations page...

  1. If you have an electrical cupboard which is situated in the fire escape route, then you must not have any combustible material stored in them. If you store any items in these cupboards there is an increased risk of it catching fire and as such items should be removed
So that would cover the wheelchair, however, the management themselves have plastic chairs and hoovers in there.... So they cant really slap that rule on me!

Can you take photos of the other objects in the cupboard, perhaps with and without your wheelchair, to show the comparative space taken up by the different items?
 

MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
Yeah thats exactly what i plan to do tomorrow (when most of the neighbours are out)
Mainly in case the managements items disappear and it looks like mine is the only one in there ;)

Make sure you're prepared for new revelations about the depth of people's ignorance and spitefulness.

For example, if people have seen you walking, they may have decided that you are not really disabled but malingering in order to get benefits and 'special treatment'. Maybe go to any meetings armed with a short but authoritative leaflet on ME.
 
Messages
1,082
Location
UK
They've all seen me walking and all seen me in the chair/mobility scooter/zimmer frame and with walking sticks. They know i can walk as i live on the top floor.
I couldn't really go to any meetings as i'm housebound most of time. It would have to be conducted in my home which i really resent. Though at least they'd see the scooter, zimmer frame, bath lift, bed lift, pillow buttons to turn on lights and open doors etc.
I'm 100% certain thats what they already think of me, which is why i'm embarrassed.
 
Messages
1,082
Location
UK
Yey estate agent says they'll speak to management and hopefully sort it for me :) though just to be on the safe side i might chain it to something in the cupboard around the removal date :thumbsup: i feel loads better knowing the estate agent is backing it, thanks so much for the replies over the weekend guys, i really appreciate it, made me feel less alone :hug:
 

MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
Yey estate agent says they'll speak to management and hopefully sort it for me :) though just to be on the safe side i might chain it to something in the cupboard around the removal date :thumbsup: i feel loads better knowing the estate agent is backing it, thanks so much for the replies over the weekend guys, i really appreciate it, made me feel less alone :hug:

Sounds promising. Hope they keep you informed. Chase them up if they don't.
 
Messages
1,082
Location
UK
All sorted (i hope) :thumbsup: they won't be taking the wheelchair. I'm very relieved as one of the organisations got back to me about how to proceed etc and its sounds like a headache if you're ill.
You have to write a letter asking them to keep the wheelchair where it is, and if no joy from that, then you have to go to court where a judge decides if you are disabled or not and the judge decides whether they think the wheelchair is needed or not on ground floor.
I don't know if i'd have the strength to deal with all of that so feeling very relieved right now.
 
Messages
1,082
Location
UK
In some respects they are nicer (than ones i've had previously) in my old flat, the neighbours were all young and unemployed so they were in the building all day and night, unbelievably noisy, had parties, had loud violent arguments (the couples), doors slamming constantly, drums being played above me day and night, they knocked at my door daily for various reasons, and chatted me up or were generally pervy or creepy. The girls in one flat i'm 80% sure were prostitutes, and stole my wheelchair from the corridor and when we went to collect it, they were about to have sex on it!
The neighbours in this building are the total opposite, they all work, keep themselves to themselves, very, very quiet, no parties, but they're snotty and unhelpful. But as far as my health is concerned, this type of neighbour is much more suitable for me. After living in noise hell previously; i'd opt for peace and quiet and no help any day even if i do feel like a second class citizen living here :confused:
 

MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
In some respects they are nicer (than ones i've had previously) in my old flat, the neighbours were all young and unemployed so they were in the building all day and night, unbelievably noisy, had parties, had loud violent arguments (the couples), doors slamming constantly, drums being played above me day and night, they knocked at my door daily for various reasons, and chatted me up or were generally pervy or creepy. The girls in one flat i'm 80% sure were prostitutes, and stole my wheelchair from the corridor and when we went to collect it, they were about to have sex on it!
The neighbours in this building are the total opposite, they all work, keep themselves to themselves, very, very quiet, no parties, but they're snotty and unhelpful. But as far as my health is concerned, this type of neighbour is much more suitable for me. After living in noise hell previously; i'd opt for peace and quiet and no help any day even if i do feel like a second class citizen living here :confused:

I'm in an analogous situation. My neighbours here keep very much to themselves, and rarely offer any help, despite seeing how I sometimes struggle to get my waste sacks up the slope to the road.

But there is one who is a pain in the backside and has caused a wide range of problems - for all the others, so at least I don't feel singled out, although I appear to be particularly 'blessed' at present by his siting a huge pile (I just typed 'pie' :lol:) of horse manure against my garden wall, facing my new conservatory and next to the area where I sit and work on my plants. This is clearly in revenge for my not cutting back my rhododendrons, which he said posed a threat to his horses, but I had explained that it was difficult due to my disability and told him he was welcome to cut them back on his side. I have finally cut them back, having finally been able to afford a decent lopper thanks to pensions maturing, but he carried on building up the heap.

I can't complain to the authorities, as there is strong evidence that two cat disappearances (mercifully temporary) were actually due to him kidnapping them to spite me when I reported him for other things, including one of his dogs killing another neighbour's cat.

But believe it or not, he is nowhere near as bad as a previous one, who was seriously evil and was probably the trigger for my ME through making my life hell.