Council Housing

jenny74

emmalita wrote: »

You seem to be suggesting that people living in council property are spongers,get over yourself and bog off to your PRIVATE house and do something useful with your time rather than knocking others down! Is this forum only for wealthy people? The OP has asked for advice not a lecture.

Well said, Emmalita.

My own daugther has a terrible temper (and tantrums!) and is not old enough to know how to control it. (Come to think of it, how many adults do you know that can?)

Jenny

ps for the record, I am an owner -occupier

jenny74

Blacksheep1979 wrote: »

A temper tantrum!??! Have you ever thought about trying to control your children and make them understand that others should be respected? If you let them get away with this at a young age they'll have no respect for others/authority when they're older and it's only going to get worse.

Children are not TV's you cannot 'control' them with a remote control! They have their own feelings, moods and emotions, just like most people. I have a beautiful, kind caring little girl who at 6 has the odd tantrum. I know, from professional advice as well as common sense that children just cannot control their emotions/temper at this age. And as Jaks said, her daugther and my own seem to have more respect for others than you have displayed in this post.

lemonjelly

In answer to the original question, having worked in a HA before I would suspect that the officer is seeking to verify that the information on your application form hasn't changed too much, is correct & true, and that your living circumstances are as stated on the form.

In addition, depending on how they operate their scheme, the officer may need to verify ID, income details etc etc...

Jaks

Thanks for the info lemonjelly.

I phoned Home Select this morning to give them our new phone number (they only had a old number that we had when we registered for Home Select a few years ago). The officer is coming round at 2-45pm this afternoon. I asked why he was coming as I was a bit surprised and he said that was because I put a bid on a house ( I have bidded on 3 others this year that are suitable for disabled people and never had a visit before), he wants to go through some forms and make sure our details are correct ( our telephone number and e-mail address are wrong on their forms but the rest should be correct).

The only changes that have happened are that our children have gotten older and also that we had to declare bankruptcy last September - would the bankruptcy have any effect on things? We will get automatic discharge on 4th September this year.

We are privately renting at the moment and have been here 2 years and we were at our previous address for 11 years (the landlord had to give up his buisiness due to ill health).

lemonjelly

Being a declared bankrupt will not adversley affect you. Indeed, a HA is supposed to provide housing to the most vulnerable/those who would have difficulty obtaining housing by other means. You would fall into this category.

It is one of those "procedure" things.

Whilst I wouldn't want to get your hopes up too much, take it as a good sign...

Jaks

Thanks for your support, I am trying not to get too hopefull. I trust that this is a positive sign, and I am grateful that a Home Select Officer is taking the time to visit us at home and it will be an interesting visit, at the very least it will give me a chance to ask some questions about things and they way they do things.

lemonjelly

Good luck...
In reality, they'd only really visit you for a specific reason. So I think it is safe to say that you are at the very least close to the top of the list. If the current property doesn't come off, you should be in with a chance of the next one...

Jaks

The Home Select Officer turned up just after 2-30 pm, he wanted to check my DH & I's details and DOB, and also the childrens ages and he needed to see proof that I get Child Benefit.

He asked a few questions about my dd (the one with the mobility problem) and asked wether she could manage the stairs and what the future holds for her in reguards of her physical condition (we couldn't really answer that as we don't know fully ourselves yet).

lemonjelly do you know what happens next? Is it a case of waiting and see what happens.

The Officer verified our claim and that we were telling the truth on our forms.

He did state that he wasn't here to offer us the house - that wasn't his job, but he had been asked to check our details (that was his job) and that we were applying for the right type of housing.

lemonjelly

It is a case of waiting to see.

However, I have had to carry out such visits, & was told to say I'm not offering a house. That said, the people I was visiting had usually been matched to a property, & were due to be offered it, but details couldn't be disclosed. Usually this was because either the previous tenants were still in it (& it would be bad for prospective tenants to go knocking for a look around), or there were repairs to be done.

He would also confirm that the property in mind is suitable - hence asking about the mobility issues - ie you wouldn't offer a person who couldn't get up stairs a 4th floor flat where there is no lift. As this would only become a problem in the future if the property is unsuitable.

So, again without getting the hopes up, perhaps some good news is on the way?

Jaks

Thanks for the info.
Do they (where you used to work) let you know either way wether you were successful or not? By phone or letter?