Housing Executive/Homeless Question

live'n'learn

Hi Guys,

was wondering if anyone out there had any knowledge of homelessness via the Housing Executive?

My situation is that we put our house on the market about 4 years ago and got about 80 points (poor points), we were accepted as homeless due to our finance situation but the house sale fell through and we are about to either have to hand the keys back to the bank or wait for the bank to go through court and repossess it? Has anyone been through this and if you have which option did you choose?

If i leave the keys back i realise that we might have to private rent for at least 6 months but will that affect our homeless status?

Handing the keys back would suit if i thought the H.E. would have to temp rehouse us. Going private rental would mean moving maybe 3 times!!

Anyone got any thoughts?

mypie

if you are private renting HE won't score you as Homeless as you are not actually homeless (in their eyes). It seems the only people getting HE houses these days are people that lie about their situation (needs must for some). I know of a family of 4 with one on the way living with a family member for 9 months before they got offered accomodation from HE so it can be a long process but thankfully have been housed in a nice area now. Is there anyone that you could live for a time so as too allow the HE to score you as living in crowded accomodation?

good luck and I hope you get settled somewhere soon.

absoluteutopia

The lying and cheating involved getting he houses is unbelievable. Within 100 yards of me is a HE 3 bedroom house sitting empty for 6 years. Yes 6 years while she lives with her bf up the road, paid for with hb, within 20 yards theres a 3 bedroom house thats meant to have a family of 6 in it but she lives with her partner in a big house in Ahoghill while the young lad lives in the big house all on his own and parties none stop. Joke system happening all over NI

mypie

absoluteutopia wrote: »

The lying and cheating involved getting he houses is unbelievable. Within 100 yards of me is a HE 3 bedroom house sitting empty for 6 years. Yes 6 years while she lives with her bf up the road, paid for with hb, within 20 yards theres a 3 bedroom house thats meant to have a family of 6 in it but she lives with her partner in a big house in Ahoghill while the young lad lives in the big house all on his own and parties none stop. Joke system happening all over NI

That is a shame.

I am suprised they haven't be investigated and caught on or maybe noone has mention it to HE.

concerned43

You should have already made a homeless application with the council as they class homelessness if you have up to two months before you actually lose your home, the council have a legal oblication to place you somewhere - whether that be temp. accomodation or a council house. The downside is that you may be placed in a hostel, caravan or B&B until they find you a home. You would also have to take whichever home they award you.

out_of_cash

i live in bedfordshire and the line below reflects exactly the kind of deal you get here,on the brighter side you can join the council housing waiting list which in my area have just been told is 10yrs long.its nice to know if the uk tax payer ever falls on hard times there is a safety net there to catch them "like living in a tent in a field" i heard they were doing this in southern california in the 1920s and have now started again.and so are we!

"The downside is that you may be placed in a hostel, caravan or B&B"

Lobell

concerned43 wrote: »

You should have already made a homeless application with the council as they class homelessness if you have up to two months before you actually lose your home, the council have a legal oblication to place you somewhere - whether that be temp. accomodation or a council house. The downside is that you may be placed in a hostel, caravan or B&B until they find you a home. You would also have to take whichever home they award you.

Goodness, so much misinformation in one short post....

Firstly, in NI, it is the Northern Ireland Housing Executive that deals with social housing not the councils.

To qualify as homeless you must be actually homeless or threatened with becoming homeless within 28 days. The OP has already been assessed and accepted as being homeless (4 years ago, presumably when they first found themselves to be at risk of losing their home).

NIHE does indeed have a duty to find you temporary accommodation if you want it. No one is forced to avail of it. This will be a hostel or a private rented house which NIHE uses to temporarily house families whilst permanent accommodation is sought (called a 'single let'). In very occasional circumstances, people willl be temporarily placed in a B&B but that has not been commonplace for several years and only happens in certain circumstances. Never a caravan.

NIHE also currently operates a policy of 3 reasonable offers of accommodation within your area of choice. Obviously, demand is high for social housing and turnover in many areas is very low so there is no telling how long one might wait for one offer, let alone 3. If 3 'reasonable' offers are refused, you will be deferred from the waiting list.

You can obtain private rented accommodation on a lease of 6 months or less and remain as homeless on the waiting list.

OP, I would advise you to contact your local NIHE office and ask for a housing officer to call to review your application to make sure that there have been no change of circumstances since you were first assessed that might entitle you to more points. You may also like to review your areas of choice depending on demand/turnover of your current chosen areas. You will also need to ascertain whether hading the keys back to the bank will render you intentionally homeless...my feeling is that it may well in which case you will be declared intentionally homeless and will have your homeless status revoked.

You can obtain private rented accommodation on a lease of 6 months or less and remain as homeless on the waiting list.

tara747

absoluteutopia wrote: »

The lying and cheating involved getting he houses is unbelievable. Within 100 yards of me is a HE 3 bedroom house sitting empty for 6 years. Yes 6 years while she lives with her bf up the road, paid for with hb, within 20 yards theres a 3 bedroom house thats meant to have a family of 6 in it but she lives with her partner in a big house in Ahoghill while the young lad lives in the big house all on his own and parties none stop. Joke system happening all over NI

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

mamabuddah

absoluteutopia wrote: »

The lying and cheating involved getting he houses is unbelievable. Within 100 yards of me is a HE 3 bedroom house sitting empty for 6 years. Yes 6 years while she lives with her bf up the road, paid for with hb, within 20 yards theres a 3 bedroom house thats meant to have a family of 6 in it but she lives with her partner in a big house in Ahoghill while the young lad lives in the big house all on his own and parties none stop. Joke system happening all over NI

sadly though...if you are aware of that situation and do nothing about it you are condoning it ....at the end of the day you have made a choice...although in your case you chose to do nothing...

Old_Git

does anyone know how the points system works with NIHE .
A relative off mine has dementia .They own a house outright ,but are trying to move to a fold .
I was told by the housing officer that they would be classes as homeless and therefore given more points ,but this process can take two months .
Two weeks later a letter arrived stating they had been allocated 16 points.

Lobell

Old_Git wrote: »

does anyone know how the points system works with NIHE .
A relative off mine has dementia .They own a house outright ,but are trying to move to a fold .
I was told by the housing officer that they would be classes as homeless and therefore given more points ,but this process can take two months .
Two weeks later a letter arrived stating they had been allocated 16 points.

This sounds very wrong. Ask for a reassessment. The homeless assessment should be based on the fact that your relatives accommodation is no longer suitable for their needs and it is therefore unreasonable for them to continue to occupy. They will also likey require a 'complex needs' assessment which will determine/confirm the unsuitability of their current accommodation.

FOLD (or other sheltered accommodation) may be unsuitable for a person with dementia as they are not equipped (or funded) to address someone with increasingly high support needs. There are several very good supported living schemes especially for people with dementia which focus on assisting the person to maintain as much independence as possible in a safe, secure and supportive environment with appropraitely trained staff on hand. Your relative's healthcare professional should be able to help you to explore the options.