Great-gran ‘rushed’ into £2,000 house move

GREAT-grandmother initially given two weeks to move house by the States has been saddled with four-figure bills.
The 79-year-old, who asked not to be named, lived in her States home for more than 15 years.
She received a letter from the Housing Department at the beginning of September asking her to view a flat in the new Hougue a la Perre estate, Grand Bouet.
Within a week she was asked to accept the tenancy and was expected to move within just 11 days. After relatives stepped in, however, the woman was given three weeks from viewing to moving in.
The department insists it has acted within guidelines.
Nevertheless, the woman’s family is outraged. A daughter acting as spokesman said: ‘I can understand the Housing Department wanting to free up three-bedroomed properties for families and I am pleased that they have new purpose-built blocks to rehouse people.
‘But I just cannot get my head around the way they work the system.’
The States told the OAP she had to buy her own carpets and curtain fittings for the new flat, which cost her £2,000, and remove floor coverings from her old home.
As a result, the pensioner moved in such a hurry that she did not have time to organise a phone connection.
Her daughter said her mother was lucky to have the support of her family, or the upheaval could have had terrible consequences had she been on her own.
A Housing spokesman said: ‘The department writes to the tenant as soon as a suitable property becomes available and invites them to view it.
‘The viewing usually takes place within a week. If they accept the property – and there are certain circumstances where they can turn it down – they are given an average of one to two weeks to organise removals etc.

(from thisisguernsey)

this applies to all tenants but housing will give longer if required to.

No-one made her spend £2000 on carpets. If you are short of readies, a large house can be carpeted for less. Regular free ones in the Press too.

Another hard done by states house tenant.

£2000 for nets that dont fit, as for carpets my sheds bigger than those flats. her family should look at who robbed her for the two grand

hey gimp get a life and stop jumping on states tenants.

The "Gurney Mess" once again calls a person having to move and incurring expenses "FRONT PAGE NEWS" Somebody in that organisation should get a life!

Thistle wrote:hey gimp get a life and stop jumping on states tenants.

you what, struck a nerve have i ?

nope,i am a states tenant and get totally pissed off with people like you running us down all the time.

And im fed up of hearing all you lot moanin about the states all the time as if they owe you sommit

working in states houses alot at the mo and all i get is you lot moanin about the work we are all doin / the states at no cost to you.

when are the front page headlines going to read ?

"young local couple who do work, do not have loads of kids, have left the island because its to expensive to live"

i know nobody owes me anything gimp and have never said they do.i have one daughter with learning disabilities who is 30 myears old and lives at home with me.in fact i save the states of guernsey in the region of £90.000 a year by caring for my daughter at home and not putting her into residential care.i work part time and would work more if i could.i am grateful for my house and do all i can to keep it looking nice and keep the garden in a good state .so dont tar us all with the same brush.

Its not a personal view of you thistle.

when i said "another" hard done by, i didnt mean "all"

thank you for that gimp

Do peeps still get a £700 removal bill paid for by the states when they move house ?

they get help, with moving only if they are being moved to make way for the GHA to knock down and rebuild but for no other reason.for example if you asked for a transfer you have to pay for your own removal costs