Also, I was thinking. If you and I were neighbors I just know you'd probably never leave Poptart alone and try to change his name. But, I could always hoard some birds if your landlord comes knocking again.

Since you'd be there I'd most likely hold you hostage until you watch Felidae again.

I wish I lived next to you Barbara as well. We can be such good neighbors since we share hobbies. I can keep your birds in my aviary until your landlord stops checking on you. I am still upset that he has to force you were to sleep. I feel like your house is more like a jail. Landlords are so annoying. My neighbors are weird. One of them is a father and a son and the child is taking drugs so the father constantly screams at him. The father called the cops on his child 10 times last year. I constantly hear them fighting. They have an Amazon as well as 3 dogs but I only went there once which was 3 years ago because he told the city police that we had chickens. So we wanted to talk to him.

Looks like Sesamo might like her new suitor as much as he likes her lol.

My advice is to sleep wherever you damn well want to and cover up the evidence before any council people pop in. Keep a small bed in an 'official' bedroom. Maybe tell them that after trying the former bird room you found that you like sleeping in the boy room better. Don't have all the bird cages in the same room - the birds don't all have to sleep in the same room, but let them spend the day wherever you want them to with enough window coverage that peeping council members can't see them. You might have a hard time covering up the presence of a dozen birds if people are going to be coming and going a lot, but if you get caught once you can say you're birdsitting for a friend. If you get caught more than once that's going to be a problem so do what you can to avoid it. Does the landlord have a key to your place? If so, can you change the locks without getting in trouble?

Thank you all for the kind words, you guys and my bird-crazy friend are without any doubt the only people who understand how horrible all this has been.
A neighborhood completely made of bird-loving people: that's what I would love dearly!!!

Tielfan, no the landlord (Council) has no keys and they cannot show up at your door demanding to be let in unless they make an appointment first.
If they show up unannounced you have the right to refuse them to enter the property.

Once the tiles work is completed I will be able to move things around a bit, push the bed in a corner, and by then I will have started my official complain.
Their argument is: the living room is dangerous to sleep in because there is an open gas fire. There's even a carbon monoxide detector in that room.
My argument is: if that open gas fire is dangerous, it needs to be removed. If there is a gas leak, I'd die anyway regardless of where I sleep.
They know that I am right but they are cheapskates and don't want to spend a dime to make things better.


I bet you haven't watched it yet

I have seen your bird room on another thread and was so inspired by it! You did such a beautiful job! I am so sorry this happened to you. I can't believe they can dictate where you should sleep! That is so not right. Any of it! I hope you win your case.

Oh contraire, I've seen it 3 times, gore and all. Except for the puppet nightmare. Still scared to watch that.

But anyway, I think you have a great point. Definitely argue about that.

Hi, Barbara.
Just wanted to mention that my mother was from the UK, and I am close to relatives there. My aunt served on the County Council in Somerset for some years.

I lived in an apartment in a "coop" for 23 years, and the coop board had a lot of restrictions on what you could or couldn't do. I slept in the living room for many years, because the guy downstairs snored so loudly in the bedroom that it kept me awake. I was not able to have birds there, because of building rules.

I am now living in a mobil home (not the kind you drive around LOL), and I am so happy. It is part of a coop, and there are restrictions about what you can do with your gardens, but the inside is totally up to me.

I thought the fire hazard argument was pretty weak to begin with, and you've come up with a good response to it. Your desire to not set yourself aflame has to be stronger than their desire for you to not set yourself aflame and incidentally set fire to the building while you're at it.

Barbara where to start..... I'm fuming... since when did the council tell anyone where to sleep in there homes? Never as far as I know... ( What if your ill, or old and need to sleep sat up. I know lots of people who sleep in there living rooms.)
Second: as long as you pay the rent ect. and the birds aren't a hazard to anyone, what does it matter how many you have! Id be asking question of your rights... our council only have rights on how many dogs can be in one property.
third what business is it of the gas man, he is only there to check the boiler...
I'd refuse to have him in your home again...
Im guessing you want everything to settle down and not to be trouble some, in which case what you've done is for the best...I still don't agree with any of it tho!
Keep smiling and enjoy the birds you can keep...

Ahhh Jan, no no no I have no intention of keeping quiet AT ALL.
I complied with all their demands because first of all I need the heating working not just for me but also for the birds; we are already freezing some days here. Second reason why I complied is because I want to "enter the battle", so to speak, from a lawful position.
At the beginning of all this mess I was in such a state of mind I wanted to go to the council offices and scream and if possible beat my housing officer up. Fortunately I spoke with the Citizen Advice Bureau first, and they recommended that before starting any kind of action I needed to be within the law and comply with the council regulations, so that I don't need to worry about a possible eviction.

Now I am gathering as much information as I can about these open fluid gas appliances, talking with the neighbors (there are 24 flats in my street with this type of fire in the living room) to see if they are interested in a group action, will contact the local press, my MP and Watchdog.
I might lose the battle but at least I need to try! It's such an injustice, keeping quiet is not an option.