Pensioner Housing in Southwark - Help Please!

cebegebe

Hi All,

I'd really appreciate some help as I don't know anything about how this stuff works.

Basically, my dad passed away about a year ago, leaving my mum as a widow. He was the sole breadwinner and my mum, now 62 had to move out of their rented flat and is now living with my sister. My sister lives in a 2 bed flat with her husband and 1 year old child.

My mum is staying in my sisters spare bedroom which is now becoming awkward as their little girl is ready to start moving into her own room and it's cramped for the four of them, to say the least. The relationship has also broken down and my mum has a letter from her doctor explaining that she has to go in for surgery and her mental state is fragile as she has just lost her partner of 35 years.

She has spoken to Southwark borough council and has been assessed as a Band 4 on the housing scheme - the lowest - on the basis that she has a bed and isn't disabled.

My question is, what are her options? I've done some reading and it looks as though she can rent a small flat privately and the council will pay her rent? Is that right? This sounds to me like it's a little too straightforward? Any other ideas please?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Cbgb

Jowo_2

Read up on Shelter website's section on homelessness about the local council's obligation to your mother should your sister serve her notice to leave as she will gain a higher priority if she has no security of tenure past the next 28 days. This does not necessarily mean that they will offer her social housing, they may give her temporary accommodation (hostel or B&B), help her to find private accommodation or offer advice.

Speak to Shelter (or Citizens Advice Bureau) about her options and the local council's statutory obligations to help if her current accommodation comes to an end through no fault of her own (intentional homelessness). I'm not saying that she should manipulate her circumstances to increase her priority but this is what would happen if the next logical step is taken and your sister gives her a deadline to leave the property. Realistically, being served notice should catapult her to priority one, as the priorities are based on need and you can't get much needier than having nowhere to live after the next month.

She can find out the maximum Local Housing Allowance for a 1 bedroom property in the local area by looking up the LHA rates on the LHA direct website. If she puts her details into an online benefits calculator, such as the Turn2us website, this will calculate her benefit entitlements and how any income she receives may affect them. The Shelter website also explains how LHA works. Also, see this

http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200008/benefits/202/a_better_service_for_southwarks_pensioners/1
http://www.southwarkadvice.org.uk/Advice/housing.htm
http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200052/looking_for_a_home/866/renting_privately
http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200052/looking_for_a_home/785/help_if_you_are_homeless/2

Some councils operate a deposit guarantee scheme for tenants on low income or in housing need so if she can't afford the deposit, she should look into this.

Many landlords will not accept benefit claimants so that could be the hardest part. Many of those who do will only accept tenants who can offer a guarantor. Is there anyone who can be a guarantor for her? This is because LHA claimants are considered to be risky tenants compared to other groups and this is one of the few ways that a landlord can mitigate the risk.

Also, she has to be mindful of future changes to LHA. Currently the rates are calculated on the 50th percentile of local market rents (i.e. the average) but will change to be based on the 30th percentile (lowest third of local rents) so will be depressed in the future. Also, 1 bedroom properties are being capped at a maximum of £250 per week. Therefore she needs to consider the impact of this, of potentially having to top up the rent from her other benefits or trying to avoid this by finding a property below the LHA limit (which could be hard as many are at or over this already). This link shows how some LHA levels could be affected in the future.

http://www.voa.gov.uk/lhadirect/lha-emergency-budget-news-2010.htm

She could apply to local housing associations, too.

Local councils are notorious for doing their best in resisting the acceptance of homelessness applications - some homeless people can't even get past the receptionist or wrongly ask for further information before they will accept it. Crisis undertook an exercise in London to test how well local councils undertook their statutory obligations to the homeless and from memory they found that 80% did not follow the regulations. Persistence may be necessary in getting the council to accept her homelessness application if your sister orders your mum to leave.

cebegebe

Jowo,

Thanks so much for all of the useful info - I'll go away and do some more research now and let you know how we get on.

Thanks again,
Cbgb

hoo

she may be more likely to get a social housing place if she is willing to move into a sheltered housing flat from what I remember they usually go to folks 65 and over but in certain circumstances they often make exceptions 60+ if no takers in 65 bracket.