What can she do???

webbo1981

My girlfriend currently has a 2 bed flat. She has had her best friend and kid living with her in the second room while her brother was working away. however her brother is due to return at the start of October and her mate and the kid need to move out. However my girlfriend is really worried as she is yet to tell her friend she has got to go. My girlfriend has been to the council etc and have said the only thing that can happen is the kid goes into social care while the mum (girlfriends best mate) finds somewhere else to live. Is there anything the girl and the kid can do, quite a situation and please excuse if posted in wrong place. Hope someone can help

best regards

lynzpower

why hasnt this freind just got herself her own place? Does she work , does she get housing benefit? What efforts has she made to find her own place?

She could find a private rented flat who takes housing benefit. The council will have a private tenancy officer who will have access to landlords or know of letting agents etc who have private rented flts who accept housing benefit.

The council are trying to push her away from provision. She has a right by law to be assessed as homeless with her child. Your mate who owns the flat needs to write a letter stating that the freind & child can no longer live with them as of x date. she can then take this letter to the council.

they need to assess whether this is true or not, and if she cannot find a private rented flat, then the council may find some other temp accom. As to whether the child will become looked after by social services, I think this is a legal minefield having worked for SS, and a foster carer where I worked to look after a child was 350 per week, whereas we could get a perfectly decent flat for 150. Money talks at the end of the day. Im not saying it isnt possible, but Ive never heard of it actually happening, altohugh im sure it does.

Theres also an issue in respect of Human Rights. Seperating a child from thier parent due to housing problems is a massive legal minefield. I expect the housing dept has said this to try and "gatekeep" as its so sinisterly called.

She needs to go back, apply as homeless family with the said letter. If there is any discussion of the child being accomodated by SS, she needs to ask for a full legal breakdown of how the social work division agree this in terms of human rights. I suspect that IF this is going to happen, then the SW team would want to agree under S20 of the Children Act ( ie the parent chooses for the child to be accomodated) unless it seriously looks as if both parent & child will be street homeless.

HTH

webbo1981

thankyou for your reply

black-saturn

Yep, your girlfriend needs to put it in writing that she needs the friend and her child out by a set date. Her friend can then take it to the council who will hopefully find her alternative accommodation. It might be a room in a hostel for a while though. The council won't do anything until it is in writing. She should also be on the registered as homeless already.

Fran

She should tell her immediately and give her written notice. The friend should then contact Shelter for advice. They have a free helpline - 0808 800 4444 - see on the site for more info.

tanith

The local council have a responsibility to house this person and her child... I agree with everyone else take the letter to local housing office and they will have to take some action.....

BungleGirl

I was homeless due to my flat being reposessed when my daughter was only about three months old (long, long story!) the council put us in a B&B (I double bed, 1 wardrobe, 1 sink and just about enough room to walk around the bed). They never even suggested taking my daughter away - I would have totally lost the plot if that had happened and in fact it never occured to me that they would do that!

I was in that accomodation for about two months before I received a council flat - I have never been so pleased to open the door to a flat infested with fleas as I was then! I was sufferening with post natal depression at that time and those two months were the worst in my life.

I am grateful that I was given the B&B and that my daughter stayed with me, but it was a hideous experience to go through.

Tell your girlfriend to tell her friend as soon as possible so that she has time to find somewhere privately without having to resort to presenting herself as homeless to the council. If there was any way that I could have done that I would have done but unfortunately it was not an option.

webbo1981

thanks for your replies

black-saturn

They won't take the child away unless there is some evidence of mistreating. Even then it has to be bad before the child gets taken away. they usually go under the care of a social worker before it reaches that stage.