Council house

Alleycat

tanith wrote:

I have yet to fathom out how Local Authorities allocate council housing ,, my daughter was in a one bedroom flat with 2 children a girl and boy , when she became pregnant with 3rd child they moved her to a 2 bedroom maisonette where she now has a girl of 12 a boy of 8 sharing (she has temporarily divided the room with wardrobes) so they at least have a little privacy and she her partner and 11mth old baby share the other room... council say she is not overcrowded.... how can this be good for the children.... but at least she has a tiny outside space that the children make good use of...

The oldest child is too embarrassed to bring her pals home because she has to share with her brother.......

Is the baby a boy or girl? If it is a girl, she may be allocated priority under overcrowding once the baby is one. The guidelines say that a baby up to the age of one can share with their parents and it is preferable for children of the opposite sex not to share a room over the age of ten. Some local authorities also say that a teenager needs to have their own bedroom, but due to massive housing shortages it is becoming increasingly rare that this is given.

Usually someone is allocated priority if they are at least two or more bedrooms overcrowded. In this instance, the parents require one bedroom, one child the other bedroom and a third bedroom would be required for the baby (once it is 1 yrs) and the other child. Therefore they are only overcrowded by one bedroom and would be unlikely to be overcrowded.

People should note however, that guidelines are followed differently in many areas. Dependent on availability of property, demand for larger accommodation and other such local factors. It is always best to first check out your local authority website for further details and approach for assistance to find out what their policies are.

tanith

The baby is a girl and almost a year so I guess they might try to convince the council that they are indeed overcrowded.... it makes me mad that its the kids that suffer .. my daughter manages really well but her oldest daughter is becoming very withdrawn as she can never invite anyone home as she is too embarrassed to admit she shares with her brother... its such a shame...... she is always being invited to sleepovers with her school pals , she has started to turn down these sort after invites as she cannot return the favour......

Anthillmob

my mums neighbours live in a 2 bed council house with their 2 eldest daughters, toddler twins and a baby. the council tried to find them a bigger place but cant. the only one they did find was a 4 bed in another borough and they were trying to get an eviction order on the old bloke who lives there on his own but it failed.

now thats what i call overcrowding and i think its appalling that the council cant find anything. there must be one 3 bed house for them at least.

Alleycat

Although they may not be able to move them very quickly (again, massive housing shortages and increased demand for property) they wouldn't necessarily be able to house them in a three bedroom as they would continue to be overcrowded. Depending on whether the baby and toddlers are siblings and their ages they would either require a 4 or 5 bedroom property. There will be maximum occupancy guidelines on a three bedroom and dependent on the make up of the family, they would probably exceed them.

Really the daughter/s and children have created a new family unit and it could be suggested that they look to find their own place with enough room for them and their children. But obviously whether they wanted to do this or not would depend on their ages and the reason for wanting to remain with their parents.

black-saturn

The council came to measure my last house and said it was overcrowded. We had 4 tiny rooms in the whole house with 4 people living in it. They said we were overcrowded but we still werent given anywhere bigger.

Anthillmob

Alleycat wrote:

Although they may not be able to move them very quickly (again, massive housing shortages and increased demand for property) they wouldn't necessarily be able to house them in a three bedroom as they would continue to be overcrowded. Depending on whether the baby and toddlers are siblings and their ages they would either require a 4 or 5 bedroom property. There will be maximum occupancy guidelines on a three bedroom and dependent on the make up of the family, they would probably exceed them.

Really the daughter/s and children have created a new family unit and it could be suggested that they look to find their own place with enough room for them and their children. But obviously whether they wanted to do this or not would depend on their ages and the reason for wanting to remain with their parents.

sorry, wasnt clear enough and caused confusion. the toddler twins and the baby are siblings to the elder girls who are 13 and 16.

spankymonkey_2

if you need some idea on rules and regulations and council house swaps etc. take a look on here... http://www.council-exchange.org.uk/index.html
its where i found my exchange because i was overcrowded and had to find myself an exchange as the council couldnt. it is very informative ...

Alleycat

Anthillmob wrote:

sorry, wasnt clear enough and caused confusion. the toddler twins and the baby are siblings to the elder girls who are 13 and 16.

They may be able to apply for a four bed, but could be expected to remain in a three bed. At least until the baby and toddlers are a bit older. Mum and dad in one room, two teenage daughters in second and three little'uns in the third.

Savvy_Sue

Anthillmob wrote:

my mums neighbours live in a 2 bed council house with their 2 eldest daughters, toddler twins and a baby. the council tried to find them a bigger place but cant. the only one they did find was a 4 bed in another borough and they were trying to get an eviction order on the old bloke who lives there on his own but it failed.

I know it's difficult being severely overcrowded, but as Alleycat has explained, councils and HAs won't normally move you from one overcrowded property to another where you'll still be overcrowded. Various reasons for this: avoiding the disruption and expense of moving; the fact that it doesn't get you off the register altogether; etc.

And there are not as many larger properties as are needed.

Plus they couldn't have been evicting the old bloke just because he was living in a 4 bed house on his own: there must have been some other reason like him not paying his rent or breaking his tenancy agreement in some other way! I believe councils sometimes offer inducements to people who are under-occupying, eg extra points or priority for an adapted property, but if that's been someone's family home they don't always want to leave. And can't be forced to if they choose not to!

Glittermonkey

but if that's been someone's family home they don't always want to leave. And can't be forced to if they choose not to!

I have a friend in this position. Has lived in the same council house all his life and is now there alone. It is lovely as well, 3 great big bedrooms and a huge garden.

Another friend of mine rented through a HA, there was her, her partner and her 5 year old daughter sharing a 1 bed place, she was also pregnant again. She phoned the HA to see if she could move to a 2 bed and they told her no, her and the baby can have the bedroom and the partner and daughter can sleep in the front room.