application for re-housing rejected - would appreciate some advice

jasonwatkins

i'll try and keep this concise because i can waffle a bit

basically i live in essex and i've applied to a council in kent to be re-housed there on medical reasons, basically to be nearer to my family.

in a nutshell, i'm currently on anti-depressants and also seeing a psychiatrist due to the area i'm living in and the various issues surrounding that - i'd be willing to expand on that but it would take a long time .

i have 3 local connections, being my mum, dad and sister and I presented a letter from my GP, a letter from my psychiatrist and also letters from the clinic I attended in Luton for weight loss and the hospital I attend in London for my obstructive sleep apnea but the application was rejected and I was awarded zero points.

Now I don't have the final report yet as it's en route to me in the post, but the lady from the council office basically said that their GP had decided that my accomodation - which is a ground floor council flat - was sufficient and there was no pressing need for me to move nearer to my family.

Completely ignoring the sleep apnea, depression and other related psychological issues on the face of things.

I'm entitled to appeal the decision, which I fully intend to do, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to how I could approach the appeal ?

By that, I mean should I continue to ask for re-housing due to the effect it's having on my overall mental health, or should I push the issue of my sleep apnea, as I understand it's covered by the disability discrimination act ?

I'm not asking for a palace or a huge house in kent, just a regular 1 bedroom flat near to my mum and sister - i'd even take a decent sized studio.

i just really do need to get out of this area sooner rather than later and if this appeal fails i really don't know what i would do.

any help or even random ideas greatly appreciated - thanks.

SouthCoast

I'm entitled to appeal the decision, which I fully intend to do, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to how I could approach the appeal ?

I would suggest that you contact your local CAB for help in drafting the appeal.
Be aware that you may have a long wait for an appointment.
Your local MIND may also be able to help.

Catblue

Is there any point in looking for private rented flats in Kent? Housing benefit (or LHA as it is called now) might cover the accommodation costs. If you look on the Benefits & Tax Credits board on MSE you might get an idea of what you'd be entitled to.

You should continue with the appeal anyway, but it might not hurt to investigate other options in the meantime.

jasonwatkins

unfortunately privately renting isn't an option.

I'm on long term incapacity benefit and I just don't have anything approaching the kind of money you would need to even get one foot over the door.

Most places i've asked about would require a deposit equivalent to a month's rent for a start, and then since i'd be applying for housing benefit, they'd want at least a month's rent up front to cover the waiting time between the application and the benefit award.

at a conservative guess, i'd need around £1,500 up front - minimum - to get a private rent and I won't ever have that kind of money. Borrowing the money wouldn't be an option because the bank wouldn't lend me any and i don't exactly come from a wealthy family either.

I personally would be more than happy to give up my council flat and get a private rent near my family if I could, but financially it's just not possible sadly.

I know my local council in thurrock do support a scheme where they can guarantee the deposit with a letter, and the social also are willing to give you a crisis loan to cover a month's rent if you can prove that's what you want it for - i lived in a private rent before this place, and the owner sold it out from under me so i had to get out.

I was facing the prospect of having nowhere to go so that's how i found out about the various schemes before I was offered this council flat.

The council in Gravesend don't actually support any similar schemes though, so i'm stuffed either way ...

demonicangel

Can you not look into doing a mutual exchange? https://www.homeswapper.co.uk is a good place start.

LondonDiva

Can you not look for a flat share? It would be more affordable given your tenuous financial situation and you would have the advantage of being able to establish yourself there fairly quickly.

jasonwatkins

while a mutual exchange technically would be possible, practically i've got no chance thanks to the tenant above me, and the fact that the flat has laminate flooring.

without going into all the details, the amount of parties they have and the noise they generate would be more than enough to get anyone who did swap with me demanding their flat back - that is if i even got anyone to agree to it in the first place since i'd basically have to tell them what goes on upstairs.

any reasonable person would probably run a mile after that ...

a flat share is an interesting prospect though .. never really thought of that.

barnaby-bear

jasonwatkins wrote: »

unfortunately privately renting isn't an option.

I'm on long term incapacity benefit and I just don't have anything approaching the kind of money you would need to even get one foot over the door.

Most places i've asked about would require a deposit equivalent to a month's rent for a start, and then since i'd be applying for housing benefit, they'd want at least a month's rent up front to cover the waiting time between the application and the benefit award.

at a conservative guess, i'd need around £1,500 up front - minimum - to get a private rent and I won't ever have that kind of money. Borrowing the money wouldn't be an option because the bank wouldn't lend me any and i don't exactly come from a wealthy family either.

I personally would be more than happy to give up my council flat and get a private rent near my family if I could, but financially it's just not possible sadly.

I know my local council in thurrock do support a scheme where they can guarantee the deposit with a letter, and the social also are willing to give you a crisis loan to cover a month's rent if you can prove that's what you want it for - i lived in a private rent before this place, and the owner sold it out from under me so i had to get out.

I was facing the prospect of having nowhere to go so that's how i found out about the various schemes before I was offered this council flat.

The council in Gravesend don't actually support any similar schemes though, so i'm stuffed either way ...

Mind do a lot of mental health advocacy.
http://www.mind.org.uk/Information/Factsheets/Crisis+services/Housing+and+mental+health.htm

jasonwatkins

that's interesting - thanks. i'll study the site tomorrow.

jasonwatkins

Thought i'd resurrect this thread since the problem hasn't really gone away.

The situation still is as above, but i've all but exhausted all my possible options. Thing is, the past few months my mum has been niggling away at me to get on to the local MP in Kent to appeal again.

I've told her that it's not something he'd probably be concerned with and also that i'm fairly sure it would cause more problems that it solves.

But she's managed to sort of place a "what if" thought in the back of my mind that keeps nagging me - what if it did work ?. What if he could overrule the local council in kent and help me find a place ?

I'm 95% certain it won't happen, largely because I don't intend on writing to him, but then there's that 5% that i'm now thinking "Is it worth a punt?".

So .. is it worth a punt ?

clutton_2

if the neighbours are so awful, why not contact Environmental health with some proposals as to how to get them out..

i dont wish to sound too unsympathetic, but a wide range of folks suffer from sleep apnea, and i would not have thougth it was anywhere near as debilitiating as many other conditions... so am not surprised that you were turned down...


if the council do not do a Bond scheme.. cant you apply for a Crisis Loan