Am I eligible for council accomodation?

vise

Im kinda lost.. but heres my story in brief:

Came to this country with my parents 13/4 years ago from Lithuania
Dad has been working his !!! off ever since, mum has been at home looking after the children ever since.

We saved until we could afford our own house, have bought a house an have been paying off the mortgage for the past 7odd years
Me and my parents never get along; I have always been made to look after myself, always provide and take care of myself. They gave me the necessities to live, but never more.

I have completed my A levels in sixth form, have worked as self employed for the past year, an now studying Accounting in college on my second year.

I cannot find any work, I have signed up to JSA, but parents are forcing me to pay rent of £50 a week. I have no money, Im borrowing from friends to meet their demands. They make my life a living hell. Every time I come home I regret stepping in. Its constant shouting and arguments and constant stress.

I literally cannot hack it anymore. I have lost all concentration in regards to my studies, I cannot focus to the point that hearing their voices drives me nuts. Im looking for work, but nothing is coming up, nothing in the Electricians Mate sector, and nothing in the accounting sector.

I cannot afford to move out, I simply do not have the money; be it even renting.

Please people = any chance of the council giving me a flat whilst I sort my stuff out?

BigAunty

Does your college offer support services or an accommodation service? Most do, and can advise on accommodation and money problems, offer counselling for relationship and stress problems.

The Shelter website explains about social housing allocation and housing benefit. Their site, or advisors, will explain about your housing options.

A non-disabled person without dependents (i.e. children) who is currently housed is not a strong candidate for the allocation of social housing as you are not in a priority group.

Have a look at your local council website to understand the process. But virtually all UK citizens over the age of 18 can apply for social housing - few get it because of very limited supply versus strong demand.

You will find the maximum LHA payable for a single person under the age of 25 on the local council website (this is usually equivalent to the lowest third of local rent for a room in a shared house). Some councils offer a deposit guarantee scheme and will provide a loan for the deposit that is paid to the landlord.


PS - I assume that you are not an owner occupier and that your current course is part time?

RAS

At your age, you will probably be entitled to a shared room rate on Local Housing Allowance but if you are in studies full-time, not at all.

Are you not entitled to any grant or loans at college? Check out the Student Loans Company.

Oldernotwiser

A single person of 19 with no children or disabilities - not a chance!

MissMoneypenny

vise wrote: »

Came to this country with my parents 13/4 years ago from Lithuania
Dad has been working his !!! off ever since, mum has been at home looking after the children ever since.

I have completed my A levels in sixth form, have worked as self employed for the past year, an now studying Accounting in college on my second year.

I cannot find any work, I have signed up to JSA, but parents are forcing me to pay rent of £50 a week. I have no money, Im borrowing from friends to meet their demands.

Look at it from your parents' point of view. As you have already said, your father has been "working his !!! off" and I assume, supported you through your A levels? Now you have left school and claim JSA. I would be taking £50 off you too, to encourage you to take a job, any job!

Not sure why you have to borrow from friends after paying this £50, as even JSA for under 25s is £53.45.

vise

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

Look at it from your parents' point of view. As you have already said, your father has been "working his !!! off" supported you through your A levels. Now you don't work and claim JSA. I would be taking £50 off you too, to encourage you to take any job!

Not sure why you have to borrow from friends to meet their demands as even JSA for under 25s is £53.45.

I understand that completely. But I havn't been successful with my A-Levels, an they have been giving me hell ever since.

I never took benefits of any form, and only applied for the JSA roughly a week ago; got a call for the appointment tomorrow. I have been unemplyed since the first week of October. I have been a bad saver, though I dont generally have anything to splash my money on, I have found myself out of pocket usualy a week after each pay.

I am no recieving anything yet, only get demands for what I cannot afford. As a frequent gym goer where lifting has become more of a lifestyle than a hobby, I have to adhere to a strict diet, this is where at least £20 a week goes. I need to pay for weekly travel aswell. Ive got a phonebill to pay, a gym membership I cannot cancel, and rent.

Atm Im struggling but my parents refuse to budge.
And Im not being lazy... as I said i was kinda oblivious to JSA until someone brought it up. But I don't want to work as an electricians mate ... Im currently putting all my free time and effort into finding a job that goes hand in hand with my AAT course (which is so awkwardly difficult)

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

A single person of 19 with no children or disabilities - not a chance!

Ive gathered; but I have no idea how this system works. Ive seen people that have gotten flats when they turned 18.. .and frankly their life was bliss without them.

RAS wrote: »

At your age, you will probably be entitled to a shared room rate on Local Housing Allowance but if you are in studies full-time, not at all.

Are you not entitled to any grant or loans at college? Check out the Student Loans Company.

I will have a look as soon as, but as a part-time student; last tie I checked they mainly cater more for the full time students.

BigAunty wrote: »

Does your college offer support services or an accommodation service? Most do, and can advise on accommodation and money problems, offer counselling for relationship and stress problems.

The Shelter website explains about social housing allocation and housing benefit. Their site, or advisors, will explain about your housing options.

A non-disabled person without dependents (i.e. children) who is currently housed is not a strong candidate for the allocation of social housing as you are not in a priority group.

Have a look at your local council website to understand the process. But virtually all UK citizens over the age of 18 can apply for social housing - few get it because of very limited supply versus strong demand.

You will find the maximum LHA payable for a single person under the age of 25 on the local council website (this is usually equivalent to the lowest third of local rent for a room in a shared house). Some councils offer a deposit guarantee scheme and will provide a loan for the deposit that is paid to the landlord.


PS - I assume that you are not an owner occupier and that your current course is part time?

thanks for this interesting bit of info.
I am a part-time student, day release.









Thank you for all your replies. Im stunned that its been so quick.

I mainly want to focus on my studies and get on my career path as soon as possilbe. However its more tedious than I imagined.
I used to work two jobs, a night shift at sainsburys 3 nights a week, coupled with ay time Electricians Mate work 5-7 days a week.

I am eager to work, I simply do not wish to postpone my future prospects. The house I currently live in gives me hell day in and day out. They have lost all faith in me, despite me wanting to out perform. Its raining hate and negativity all around me.. I just want to get out.

Any form of accomodation, shared or what not sounds plausible and better than my current status,

samanthaknd

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

A single person of 19 with no children or disabilities - not a chance!

Not true, plenty of single people getting 1 bedroom flats where I live! I cannot say how they pay though as some work and some are students!

Oldernotwiser

vise wrote: »

thanks for this interesting bit of info.
I am a part-time student, day release.

,

You can't be a day release student without a job.

BigAunty

samanthaknd wrote: »

Not true, plenty of single people getting 1 bedroom flats where I live! I cannot say how they pay though as some work and some are students!

Unpopular housing estates in my city have a large turnover and even advertise for applicants. They are unpopular for a reason.

I do know young people leaving care that have been allocated social housing (because local authorities must ensure they are not homeless and have an obligation to sort out housing for them) but their lives are far from blissful even if though they get a place to themselves, which is very rare for teenagers and seems to be a fantastic privilege.

For example, they don't have coping or basic household skills so get into debt very quickly and can't afford to top up their electricity or gas meters so have very patchy access to energy supply, their properties are burgled (just because they are in high crime areas).

Also, because they in the rare position of having their own pad, they can alienate their neighbours, simply because their mates leech off them, they show off and have lots of parties and so on.

I know that these issues are aggravated by their tendency to have a more chaotic approach to life, more vulnerable, perhaps a bit too young/immature to have the responsibility of managing a tenancy. I'm not saying the OP will have these issues, or that they just happen to youngsters in social housing.

JSA is simply not enough for many people to be able to live anything other than a subsistence life, prone to debt, if they cannot share living expenses with other people.

sueturnersmith

No matter how bad things are at home, you are still going to be better off living with your parents than living in a shared house in a really rough area - if you can find one in your price range.

You need to cancel the gym membership as soon as possible, and get rid of your phone. Adhering to a 'strict diet' for the gym is rubbish - you are not a body builder are you?

If I were you I would either go back to college full time and get some qualifications - if you are 18 or 19 this should be free. Otherwise go out and look for a job - any job is better than nothing.

Caz3121

Have a look for the LHA rate for the shared rate for your area and this is the maximum that will be paid. If the rent is more than that you will need to top it up from your JSA. Your JSA will also need to cover your food and bills including your phone bill/gym etc. Have you would down your self employed business or is there just no work currently?