Help - application form for housing association

Wee_Willy_Harris

top_drawer wrote: »

Wee Willy Harris - Thats amazing! I had no idea I could find that out.......... I have signed up with them (as well as Places for People and two others) and looked at what sort of properties they were advertsing and a lot of the 1 bedrooms seem to be for people in the 50+ or 55+ plus range, everything else seems to be family homes. Im not quite that old yet.

Blackpool Saver - I simply cant afford too........ plus im guessing a housing association will be accountable to more than just themselves whereas with LL's in general they will say a lot prior to you moving in but act on very little or at least the very minimum the law will make them do :mad::mad::mad:

I'm worried too about my pets, I have two guinea pigs. When I looked at Gateway all the properties which allowed pets were 1 sheltered housing place and family houses ....

Jen

Don't worry about Gateway and a couple of guinea pigs. Once you have a tenancy with them, they won't evict for that.

Jowo_2

top_drawer wrote: »

...I have signed up with them (as well as Places for People and two others) and looked at what sort of properties they were advertsing and a lot of the 1 bedrooms seem to be for people in the 50+ or 55+ plus range, everything else seems to be family homes. Im not quite that old yet.

Social housing (secure tenancies) tend to be allocated to the neediest - the homeless, those with dependents, the disabled, the vulnerable, such as those leaving care or prisons, etc.

So its unsurprising that they are targetting those with children or those approaching retirement...

Healthy single adults in employment are the least likeliest category to get social housing, though in areas where there is less demand, this is possible.

It is also possible that you will swap your internal flatmate problem for external neighbourhood problems as some social housing landlords that have the capacity to offer accommodation to those not in housing need is a result of high turnover in unpopular areas.

In the city where I live, it's possible to walk into a social housing tenancy but only in a high rise flat in an area of high crime and deprivation, including one where there has been a couple of murders.

Wee_Willy_Harris

Jowo wrote: »

Social housing (secure tenancies) tend to be allocated to the neediest - the homeless, those with dependents, the disabled, the vulnerable, such as those leaving care or prisons, etc.

So its unsurprising that they are targetting those with children or those approaching retirement...

Healthy single adults in employment are the least likeliest category to get social housing, though in areas where there is less demand, this is possible.

It is also possible that you will swap your internal flatmate problem for external neighbourhood problems as some social housing landlords that have the capacity to offer accommodation to those not in housing need is a result of high turnover in unpopular areas.

In the city where I live, it's possible to walk into a social housing tenancy but only in a high rise flat in an area of high crime and deprivation, including one where there has been a couple of murders.

Whilst I agree with your comments regarding supply and demand, It's worth remembering that the single applicant won't be competing with families as their accommodation requirements are completely different. There will also be a large number of people with disabilities who will be looking for ground floor only/adapted properties so, again, won't necessarily be in direct competition with the OP. Employment is no longer a deciding factor with most providers. For many LA's, single person accommodation represents their area of lowest demand and the OPs current housing circumstances should be investigated as there may be a justification for some need based priority.

Blackpool_Saver

I have 2 guinea pigs also, I don't get this not being able to afford to, surely a bedsit which is your own is better than all this carry on...........

PasturesNew

top_drawer wrote: »

I'm worried too about my pets, I have two guinea pigs.

I'd not think guinea pigs were the sort of pet they were speaking of (unless you bred them and always had 10+)

PasturesNew

Can you explain not being able to afford it. Some idea of your income/outgoings would help us to understand why affording it is such a problem.

I know there are some rough old sorts in that town, but looking through RM, there's this one that's not too pricey - it's not the cheapest - and there might also be smaller/cheaper places to let through private landlords:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-15204867.html

How much is "too much"?

The cheapest 1-bed I found was only £275, indicating that maybe there might be studios lurking that are cheaper.

Wee_Willy_Harris

PasturesNew wrote: »

Can you explain not being able to afford it. Some idea of your income/outgoings would help us to understand why affording it is such a problem.

I know there are some rough old sorts in that town, but looking through RM, there's this one that's not too pricey - it's not the cheapest - and there might also be smaller/cheaper places to let through private landlords:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-15204867.html

How much is "too much"?

The cheapest 1-bed I found was only £275, indicating that maybe there might be studios lurking that are cheaper.

Perhaps they want the security that comes with social housing.

RuthnJasper

Hi Top-drawer,

Just wanted to say good luck to you. I am a single 35 year-old woman and I live in a HA property with my dog Jasper. It was a lengthy process, almost heartbreaking at times - but SO worth it.

Wee Willy Harris is providing excellent advice; I agree with what he says (and the others above who are offering sound guidance) so I don't really have anything to add to what they say.




I was on the waiting list for around seven years, as I live in a nice rural area, where house prices are high - far beyond the reach of the next generation of local people. Generally, the problems I faced included:

• Most of the local HA properties that I researched online didn't take pets. That was a real problem for me, as I have not had a terribly happy life, which made me very ill at one point and it was/is Jasper who gives me my reason for living and - literally, on more than one occasion - saved my life. I didn't care where or how I lived - as long as Jasper was with me.

• The Council's Housing Officer kept insisting that I would stand a better chance of being housed if I was willing to move to the suburbs of a city some 40 miles away from the little town where I had lived since I was six years old. The particular area in question has its good folks, I'm sure, but is notorious for basically being a holding bay for sordid chavs to wait in between jail sentences. As I said, before, I would have gone anywhere just to have Jasper with me, but the idea of having to move to the worst area in the county, where I didn't know a single soul, terrified me and I wasn't strong enough to face that at the time.

• The waiting on the list was really frustrating, being constantly told that I would never succeed to a property was demoralising and my living situation was rapidly deteriorating. In the end, because I had some quite severe health problems, my doctor referred me to a local counselling service, which gave me an advisor who could help me deal with the forms and the council's housing department. I know that you probably don't have the same issues that I have, but perhaps someone from the Citizens' Advice Bureau or another advisory service in your area can help you with the form filling-in.?

As for the previous references from landlords, if you don't know the names/numbers, just say so on your form. It's important to be honest. You will probably have an interview with the Council's Housing Team and it will be clear to them from this as to whether you are 'pulling a fast one' in your information. I think I read that you are in Preston? Here's a link to their Housing pages http://www.preston.gov.uk/housing/.

As I mentioned above, the delays and frustrations were all worthwhile. Just over a year ago, I had accrued enough points and was offered a little one-bedroom house in my home town. I could afford the rent (had to renegotiate my IVA repayments though), could have Jasper with me, and even have a little garden. My neighbours are nice as well (apart from the git next-door, who hates everything except his bass guitar, which he regularly plays at high volume - Jasper and I are now as familiar with 'Smoke on the Water' and the hits of Dolly Parton as we ever wish to be...;))

There isn't a day that passes when I don't feel so grateful for how lucky I have been.

Bit of a long post, this, isn't it? Sorry about that. But I really wanted to say that you should be prepared for delays and frustrations, although it is definitely worth persisting with your application.

Good luck to you; I hope you are able to keep us updated with your progress. Please feel free to PM me if I can help you out with any aspect of the HA application experience.

All the best to you and the guinea-pigs!

xx

top_drawer_2

I'm not going to go into the why I cant afford to move, I currently pay £280 a month to rent a room in a shared house and I will struggle to afford anymore than that. This is neigher the right board for it nor do I want to get into backing and forthing about my circumstances. I find too often on MSE posters want info which is way beyond the initial question asked and then cast judgements about it. In addition to all that I do want the security and lack of odd behavior that renting from a HA would likely to bring - there are too many LL's that believe that because they own the property despite renting it out, they can continue to come and go as they wish, dictate what you can and can't do in their property way beyond the reasonable and change the rules depending on their mood that particular day.

Thanks PN that property looks lovely but bigger than what I can dream about and it has a garden which I would also love as I have managed to grow some stuff in the yard here and am really getting into it now but its waaay out of Preston and I dont drive (something which I want to work on but also cant afford too).

Thanks Ruth for the well wishes, I hope I can do the same as you .... I'm ot willing to move too far from Preston city either as I cant drive and find I tend to isolate myself as it is. I like that I can go to the gym nearby, the shops and there's course at the uni and college etc. The bus/train links are reasonable enough so when I want to go home/go somewhere is fairly easy. I am trying to alter things in my life for the future which isnt going too well at the moment, I suffered with long term depression in the past and still have on/off days occassionally and I think this is all part of that.... I am sick of having to put up with other people and their whims; at the moment my housemate is watching Big Brother and their blaring horns about, she is likely settled for the day now as the repeats of the soaps are on later.... all the time I have them banging their bedroom doors (I dont understand how it can be so hard to close a bedroom door!), one housemate in particular is so heavy on her feet; everytime she comes out her room for the bathroom she near enough drags thedoor off the hinges, stamps down the hall to the bathroom, slams the bathroom door. 5 mins later she does all the same in reverse............... I hate living with other people at the moment.

Jen

mumcoll

I work for a Housing Association and we ask for previous addresses to make sure an applicant has lived in the county for two years (that gets the an extra 5 points - wow!) We always check the latest landlord to make sure there are no rent arears/antisocial behaviour complaints etc. You won't believe the amount of people who are 'economical' with the truth.

Good luck, it must be really hard living with people who are noisy/dirty etc.