Can anyone help please?

shezam

Firstly, I know this is not the correct place to post this, but people on this forum have helped me before and I was wandering if someone could help me again.

Its about my living situation, my family chucked me out 5 years ago, since then I have been staying with my partner in his bedsit, he also has his 10 year old daughter to stay 4 nights a week, at present he has to sleep on the sofa and me and his daughter in the bed, then in the mornings we have to take her up to her mothers to get changed before School as there is just no space in the bedsit. We have been on the Council list for a bigger property for 5 years and we are not getting anywhere, the council do not seem to care about us. We both work and are willing to for our property, but at present they are just giving houses to heroin addicts and people who are just out of jail.

Its really getting me down and im beginning to get scared. The council recently moved a female upstairs from us, I think she is a heroin addict, she has people up everynight and last night (we are on the bottom floor) there was people outside the window till about midnight, we had to take my partners daughter home as these people are not safe, throwing stones, shouting, screaming, they threw our plants away, broke the washing poles etc. The thing is we have had problems with thses people before and they are not people to be messed with, they would not think twice about smashing our window and coming to start fights with us. Does anyone know what I can do, we have contacted the council and they say there is really not much they can do, we are 86th on the waiting list but we have been on that list since June 2005.

Sorry this is a long post. Can anyone help?

clutton_2

can you not find a larger home with a private landlord and claim some housing benefit ?

mlz1413

The council have very few houses so it will be a very long wait to go down this route.

Have you been to CAB and asked what your rights to housing benefits are and how they system works?

If you are experiencing problems with a neighbour you need to report it to the police or the enviro health.

I'm also not quite sure why the daughter can't have the sofa when she stays over and allow you and OH to have the bed as normal.

PasturesNew

From a priority perspective, you're a couple in adequate housing. That the daughter stays over, is not part of the criteria for priority.

Many people, with children, are on the list 10-20 years before they get a place. I suspect you would wait a similar amount of time.

Your only real option is to rent privately. So you have to weigh up the quality of life you have now, -v- the security of tenure a council place gives.

Jowo_2

See the Shelter website about how to deal with neighbourhood issues, including anti social neighbours. Contact the council to put in a complaint. When there are breaches of law, contact the police to attend.

Fang_3

Firstly - wouldn't the four nights a week mean that your partner has primary custody? That should help get you somewhere bigger to live. I assume that you both work, so why haven't you saved up enough money in the passed five years to move?

maninthestreet

You are both working - You haven't told us how much you are both earning, and what part of the country you live in, but with two incomes, why isn't renting privately an option?

Mum_of_3_3

clutton wrote: »

can you not find a larger home with a private landlord and claim some housing benefit ?

I agree with Clutton that maybe you should start to look for somewhere to rent privately if you are both working.

Some posters on here have mentioned schemes whereby the council will lend you some/all (?) of a deposit to get you started if that is what's stopping you.

M_o_3

Fire_Fox

Why do you need a council house? The system is supposed to be there for vulnerable families, you are both working and the daughter has another home. Just move into a one or two bedroom privately rented flat (depending on the layout some one beds can be used as a two bed).