just been short listed foe c/house

paulofessex

viktory wrote: »

Sorry, I don't get this. Do you mean they a family should accept a property with (for example) a crap bathroom or they shouldn't?

In some respect yes. The difference in our opinion and that of the housing officer of what is acceptable and not acceptable is a fineline. You have to remember that the council would not usally list a property that has not passed the relevant checks, yes errors are possible but in the main they are suitable to occupy.

One way to look at this is in repsect of our opinion of overcrowding. We would perhaps say that a 2 bedroom property is to small for a family of 6-7, however some councils look at it on the square footage and that a lounge or dining room can be classed as a bedroom.

Alot of councils have applied strict guidelines these days due to the shortage in housing stock (they sold them off, another thread maybe...lol)

Sadly also some people are just too picky...'its to far from my childs school' or 'there is no garden.

So hence its safer to accept a property and chase up any issues once you have the tenancy. I accept different councils may have different rules, however if for example as in the OP's case, who has been waiting 9 years can you imagine having to start right at the beginning.

I am also aware that in some London boroughs if you have made a homeleness application and offered and turned down a property, you are then deemed as making yourselve homeless, then no further duty will be applied.

If l recall, Shelters site provides some good advice on this issue.

Dontknowanymore

I dont suppose anyone on this thread works in or knows anything in depth about social housing allocations and banding priorities?

rukia2004

well if i'm offed this flat i will take it coz my rent wil be a 1/3 of what i paying now and my landlord gives me hell if its a few days late

bestpud

rukia2004 wrote: »

well if i'm offed this flat i will take it coz my rent wil be a 1/3 of what i paying now and my landlord gives me hell if its a few days late

Good luck!

However, don't be fooled into thinking social landlords are soft and/or forgiving - they will chase you for a late payment in the same way any other LL would!

rukia2004

i will be able to £400.00 my rent right now is £1250.00per month i'm on my own working full time with 2 boys and he wants to put the rent up:mad:

rukia2004

and he calls me all hours of the day

bestpud

rukia2004 wrote: »

and he calls me all hours of the day

They don't pester you with calls but they do escalate overdue reminders very quickly so you need to pay on time.

In fact, if you regularly pay a day or so late they will push you to pay by DD.

Hopefully things will be easier once you pay less anyway; I just thought it fair to warn you they don't take late payments any easier than a private LL.

Owain_Moneysaver

rukia2004 wrote: »

well if i'm offed this flat i will take it coz my rent wil be a 1/3 of what i paying now

And once you're a council tenant you may be able to do an exchange or get priority for housing association or shared ownership.

It's amazing what a good scrub and a couple of tins of emulsion can do to freshen up a shabby property, and if you ask hard enough the council might give you some B&Q vouchers to get paint with.

Jowo_2

rukia2004 wrote: »

well if i'm offed this flat i will take it coz my rent wil be a 1/3 of what i paying now and my landlord gives me hell if its a few days late

I'm not excusing any harassment by the landlord which is unprofessional but I find your casualness about late payment of rent quite alarming.

You signed a legally binding contract to pay x sum by x date and each time you are late, you have breached it. Your posting history indicates that you've had a property repossessed by the lender - surely you are aware of the consequences of no or late payment?

Late payment of rent can have repercussions for the tenant, such as the landlord deciding against renewing the tenancy because they would prefer to find a more reliable tenant. They can give your next landlord a poor reference - 'this tenant paid the rent late on x occasions'.

Also, if you are served notice by the landlord that you've hacked off, the council would investigate the circumstances and they have no duty of care to assist a tenant who is being evicted who is found to have behaved in a way that led the landlord to ask them to leave.

Have you thought about setting up a standing order to pay it?

Jowo_2

viktory wrote: »

Sorry, I don't get this. Do you mean they a family should accept a property with (for example) a crap bathroom or they shouldn't?

When I was offered a council place, the previous tenant smoked and the walls were streaked with nicotine and were completely disgusting but some sugar soap and cheap paint did wonders. Wasn't too worried about the cosmetic side of things.

The window didn't close very well and they were reluctant to replace the window but actually did this before I moved in.

The bath was an old fashioned steel one whose enamel was badly stained and the council refused to change it. I thought I could clean it up but it was impossible and remained yellow. One of my friends told me I should just smash a hole in it with a hammer in order to force the council to change it (I didn't).

The only problem was that the council didn't check the ventilation in the bathroom. As soon as it hit winter, my entire flat turned green with mould and it transpired the previous tenant had shoved a towel behind the panel to block it up.