council housing

Anthillmob

not too sure i've put this in the correct forum but have a question.

i am lucky enough to have a one bed ground floor council flat as i am disabled and they had to move me from a houseshare in a highrise with no lift.

anyways, question is. now that ive had my baby there isnt much room. i have been to the housing down the council but they say they wouldnt even consider moving me until the baby was at least 2 years of age. is this correct?

myself, my partner and the baby are all sharing the one bedroom which isnt that big now that we've got the crib in there.

we are looking at an exchange but need to find someone who wishes to downsize. our flat is ideal for a pensioner, or anyone on their own. at the moment an exchange is really the only option we have.

however what are the laws on overcrowding? if we were renting a private place and had two bedrooms and claimed benefits im sure that the rent officer would agree to 2 bedrooms otherwise we would be classed as overcrowded, so how can a council say we are not?

i know babies are small but the amount of stuff they need etc takes up a hell of a lot of room.

the same council have told my neighbour who has a 3 year old girl and another (girl) due in april that they wont move her out of her 1 bed until the eldest girl is 10!!! (mind, i believe that she hasnt declared her partner living there and im not about to crap on my own doorstep)

CIS

When we had first baby we where living in a 1 bedroom flat ,very cramped, council said they wouldn't have to consider rehousing until the baby was at least 1yr (the law according to them).

We stayed on the list and got a house just before his first birthday.


If the neighbour had a two bedroom house, in this case children of the same sex are deemed able to share a room until a later age than two different sex children could, therefore rehousing isn't considered a priority.

But with 1 room , 2 children wouldn't be considered overcrowding in the eyes of the law.

Have a read of this link

http://www.cherwell-dc.gov.uk/housing/overcrowding.cfm

and

http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/sitemap/cd_ph_overcrowding

Ted_Hutchinson

Might also be worth looking at a Points system for rehousing
There's one here
Your local authority will have it's own and may let you have a copy if it isn't already online.
This example allows Social Services, and your Health professionals to influence the points score in your favour. So it may be worth asking your doctor if you should be given medical priority for rehousing and maybe asking Social Services for a home care assessment to see if they will support your request for rehousing.

gravitytolls

I think most authorities consider it acceptable for babes to share with their folks until 1 yr, which probably is reasonable, as lots of parents have babes in with them till this time anyway.

However, as you are disabled, your needs may be such that you need more space to manoevre, maybe have to house equipment as well as baby paraphernalia? So a letter from GP, consultant, health visitor etc would doubtless help your cause.

If none of the above apply, and you are really cramped, perhaps you could request a home visit from a housing officer so they can see for themselves how you are fixed.

In the meantime, count your blessings, you've got a foot on the council housing ladder, and you will be rehoused at some point, and enjoy your beautiful baby.

A_LANCASHIRE_LAD_2

I think it varies according to the council, and also with housing associations, my wife had a baby in November. We were on the lancashire council waiting list before baby was born & the council said we would only be allowed a 1 bedroom place, whereas the housing association couldnt give us anything less than 2 bedrooms according to their policy as they would technically be knowingly overcrowding us. Since the baby has been born, I let the council know & they immediately put our status to 2 bedroom family accommodation, meaning that we can't even apply for flats.

Anthillmob

thanks guys.

i am greatful for already being in a council property.

the woman at the council told me they couldnt move me on medical grounds because they done that once already. i think i smell bull.

Spendless

A friend of mine had a boy and a girl, 14 years between them, different dads and a 2 bedroomed council house. She didn't get a 3 bed place despite 2 coming up in our area 1 on the same street . In the end she gave up and bought it with a view to building an extension.

Maybe you should consider talking to your local councillor/MP. I've found mine to be helpful especially when they are on the opposite party and a local election is coming up;)

Alleycat

Hi,

In a lot of local authorities, the overcrowding criteria can be pretty strict. In a lot of cases, a person would not be considered to be overcrowded unless they were lacking two or more bedrooms. If the child is under 1yr they can be expected to share a bedroom with their parents and if living in a one bedroom property would have sufficient bedrooms. Even when the child is over 1yr, if in a one bedroom flat they would only be considered to be overcrowded by one bedroom and therefore not in priority need to be rehoused.

You should still be able to go onto the housing list for a two bedroom and could apply for a swap, but dependent on the demand for housing in your area, this could take a pretty long time to be successful.

A lot of local authority housing advice services publish advice on the council websites, so this may be a good starting point for you.

With regard to a move based on medical grounds, if you have moved into a property sufficient for your needs already, then they are perfectly entitled to refuse you another move based on this reason.

Also, a living room can be counted as a suitable room for sleeping in as well, so parents in living room with pull out bed and baby in bedroom. I know this is not ideal, having a nearly 1 yr old myself, I certainly agree that the amount of stuff they accumulate is huge, but due to such high demand for housing in most of the country, local authorities are seriously overstretched and are having to push legislation to the limit.

I would suggest you register with as many housing associations as you can, as some have better overcrowding policies and may be able to assist quicker than your local authority.

Don't give up on a swap however, especially if you are living in an adapted property, or one suitable for an older person, as they often need to downsize from family housing once the kids have grown up and they need a level access flat.

Anthillmob

another thing i forgot to ask is is housing association property much the same terms and condisitons etc as a council one?

i have this morbid fear of HA's and im not sure why but am a bit wary of giving up my council tenancy for a HA one.

suki1964

If you get a transfer to HA then you have the same rights as you have as a council tennent - apart from the right to buy. Many moons ago I went from council to HA and nothing changed apart from the standard of accomadation - much better (in my case) and much better maintained

Alleycat

They are all regulated to a certain extent by the Housing Corporation and are considered to be social housing and therefore will have pretty much the same rules and regulations. You won't have a shorthold tenancy and theoretically could live there for life unless you broke your tenancy agreement through anti-social behaviour or rent arrears.

Which local authority to you live in as I can see if I can find out any further info for you.