Improvements make the world of difference

Mr Mogford has lived in Cimla most of his life, moving into his current home when he was just three years old.

With his parents as the tenants, having work done at home was previously arranged by them, with his mother a firm believer in ‘if it’s not broken, we don’t need to fix it!’

But last year his mum went into a home and Mr Mogford took on the flat. Taking on the home he has lived in for over 70 years was a big deal for him, a great sense of pride signing his contract and having something that was his. However, as repairs and improvements to the home had been limited, the property was in need of some TLC.

Mr Mogford said:
“My mother was a firm believer in ‘if it’s not broke don’t fix it’ so, she refused lots of the upgrades offered by the council and then Tai Tarian.

“When I noticed my old boiler wasn’t working properly soon after I took on the flat, I looked up the number for repairs and rung in for the first time to ask for some help.

“The time had come. It was broken, and we needed to fix it! The boiler was a huge thing, taking up lots of space in the kitchen.

“Instead, I was offered a replacement boiler and an air source heat pump that would be fixed to the outside wall of my flat.

“I had never even heard of one, but James spent a lot of time with me explaining how they worked and how I would save on gas which is fantastic.

“That was the start of things really, my windows and door were 35 years old so they were replaced and then I met Phil the TLO (Tenant Liaison Officer) who said I could still have a new kitchen and bathroom, after my mother said no to the work so many years ago.

“He explained what would happen, how long the work would take, and I decided to go for it. Then came the choices of cupboards, flooring, tiles, looking at the layout, it was all very thorough.

“I had both the kitchen and bathroom replaced together so it was about six weeks of disruption, but I can’t believe the change, its looking lovely here.”

Senior TLO Cath said:
“We want all our tenants to take advantage of improvements to their homes, but we understand that some people really don’t want the disruption, especially if they are older or feel what they have is still in good working order.

“We were aware that there were a number of improvements needed to Mr Mogford’s home, so it’s been lovely working with him to get things upgraded.”