council housing transfer...help required

the_devil_made_me_do_it

squibbs25 wrote:

When my sister was looking to move (from London to Somerset) she found this site very helpful.
http://www.council-exchange.org.uk

It covers every area possible in England, Scotland, and Wales.
There will be litrally hundreds of people wanting/needing to move listed on it.
Good luck.

great site, but it's got nothing in the areas I would consider. I live in the north east, and there ain't many options on the forum sadly. however, I will keep checking back.

Savvy_Sue

Be aware that if you do an exchange, you will probably do it on an 'as seen' basis, and should the tenants you're swapping with decide to remove all the light fittings (for example), the council wouldn't be obliged to do anything about it, even if it was unsafe. Having said that, most exchanges go smoothly.

Definitely worth getting 'on the list' with Housing Associations as well. They sometimes have more flexible criteria for some properties.

Your family connection with 't'other side of town' might not get you extra points, but wouldn't do you any harm.

And being in arrears does you no favours, so the fact that you're not is a good thing!

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

Council House Or Association All Tennants Have The Right To Go On The Exchange Register Rules Are You Cant Go From A 1 Bed Flat To A 3 Bed House If Theres Just You Etc,but You Can Go From3 Bed To Similar,or Down Size As Long As Not Over Crowding ,you Dont Have To Have A Reason Other Than You Wish To Move Becouse You Want To ,you Must Not Have Rent Arrears Your Council Or Association Will Check Your Accomodation And The Other To Ensure It Reaches The Relevent Standards, Good Luck Also Check The Web Site Suggested Earlier Perfect Site May I Also Suggest Private Rent May Cost More But Living In A Nice Area Is A Plus And Worth That Bit More Money

the_devil_made_me_do_it

THE_LONE_RANGER wrote:

Council House Or Association All Tennants Have The Right To Go On The Exchange Register Rules Are You Cant Go From A 1 Bed Flat To A 3 Bed House If Theres Just You Etc,but You Can Go From3 Bed To Similar,or Down Size As Long As Not Over Crowding ,you Dont Have To Have A Reason Other Than You Wish To Move Becouse You Want To ,you Must Not Have Rent Arrears Your Council Or Association Will Check Your Accomodation And The Other To Ensure It Reaches The Relevent Standards, Good Luck Also Check The Web Site Suggested Earlier Perfect Site May I Also Suggest Private Rent May Cost More But Living In A Nice Area Is A Plus And Worth That Bit More Money

Hey thanks for that info. I don't wanna move to a bigger property, I'm happy with a 2 bedroom house, don't need a bigger property, even if I fall pregnant. I only intend having the one, I'm 34 after all
Do you know if the council generally have long exchange waiting lists?? Basically, I rekon, even tho' I live in a bad area of town, plenty of folk would take my house no problem. It's nicely decorated, and my floring has only been down a year or so. I have a tidy,neat garden too. The house wasn't this nice when I moved in. It was overgrown, and a state of disrepair to be honest. There are plenty of folk in this area who would not wish to leave the area because they have family here, or have lived here all their life.

I'm gonna have to keep my fingers crossed I guess, and hope for the best

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

Hi Lists Are Long But Stay On It And Some One Who Likes Your Area They Allways Come Along Will Grab At The Chance Where I Come From They Put The Odd Rough Neck Out In Realy Rural Areas And Those From Rural In To The Rough Areas Why I Know Not But They Get To Exchange So Get Your Name On The Exchange List Or As I Said Go Private Its Worth The Extra If Its Getting You Down Good Luck

the_devil_made_me_do_it

THE_LONE_RANGER wrote:

Hi Lists Are Long But Stay On It And Some One Who Likes Your Area They Allways Come Along Will Grab At The Chance Where I Come From They Put The Odd Rough Neck Out In Realy Rural Areas And Those From Rural In To The Rough Areas Why I Know Not But They Get To Exchange So Get Your Name On The Exchange List Or As I Said Go Private Its Worth The Extra If Its Getting You Down Good Luck

There are a few problems with private. It's never really permanent. Landlords can be a pain in the backside, and the town I live in, it seems hard to get nice private properties. That's why I prefer to stick with council or housing associations. These associations have properties in nice areas, it's just getting one lol :rolleyes:

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

Of Course What Evers Best For Your Circumstances

Purdy_1

When I was a council tenant I got a transfer from one council to another through what they called the "Mobility Scheme". I had to prove that I had a geniune reason to need to be moved.
It took 4 months in total from the beginning form filling to when I actually moved. I had several reasons why I needed to move, one being that my MIL is disabled and we spent so much time going back and forth to her house to do jobs etc that the travelling was more than we could afford.
My second reason was that I was pregnant with my second child and had suffered severe PND with my first. By moving closer to both my family and my husbands it gave me a support network that I would need when the baby came.

jet77

I live in West Midlands and we have a 2ce wkly paper called Bargain Pages which lists people that want to exchange (pgs and pgs), as mentioned by other people, there is also a big book of people wanting to exchange that you can sit and look at in your local neighbourhood office.

I was in a 1 bedroom 12th floor flat overlooking the M6 when I had my first baby and the council told me I was looking at 5 yrs before I would be able to move to somewhere better (may be wrong choice of words).

I found a private landlord that was prepared to accept Housing Benefit and moved. The landlord was terrible and the house was in a terrible state of disrepair but at least it was a bit of a step up. I only stayed there for just over a year before finding a much better property and a much better landlord.

Have you considered private renting?

As for Housing Associations: The waiting lists are really long (as in years). The lists are only open for a couple of months each year and then they close them until the following year. It is worth persisting and getting on the list because it's free and it can only benefit you even if the size of the waiting list puts you off.

I don't know whether you are in a position to purchase a property, but some Housing Associations offer part rent part buy schemes. I got accepted for a brand new 3 bed property (they did want the deposit there and then when I went to view the property though) - this was a lot quicker than renting from the housing association (took about 2 months) but you have 2 bills each month (rent and mortgage repayment) so I decided to buy outright in the end.

Anyway - GOOD LUCK!!!

black-saturn

Could you go to the doctors and say you feel depressed because of the area your house is in, get him to prescribe anti depressants and write a letter to the council saying your accommodation is making you depressed. You never know they might rehouse you.