Help with renting from council

Chris_1

Hi, I am currently 24 years old. I still live at home with my mother and am looking to move on. I am in work how ever it is not the best paid job so a private let is a bit to expensive for me.

I have been to 7 local housing associations and got there application packs here with me. I am just looking for some advice to help me through the process. As looking over the forms and point based system I feel I won't achieve a high level of points.

The home I'm in at the moment currently has 3 bedrooms between me, my mother, my 2 younger brothers (both aged under 16). So I don't think it will be classed as over crowding.

Is there any advice anyone could offer? And after I hand back my applications I have been told to keep on phoning up the housing associations every week as it will push my application further. Is this true? Or will I be wasting my time and the housing associations time by doing so.


Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.:cool:

Flibsey

you're NOT wasting your time.
#1. get your mum to officially throw you out. some parents refuse to do this, but some realise that it's only on paper and they they're not going to be judged for not loving their child.
2. make sure you're registered to vote at the house you currently live in.
3. if it's taking too long, contact your MP.
4. be prepared for a long wait.

BitterAndTwisted

Single people who are in work and have no dependents are an extremely low priority. Because of the acute shortage of HA and Council properties they need to ration what housing stock they have available and allocate it according to need. A single person with no dependents is considered able to provide their own housing.

You could get lucky and find that they may have some studios or one-bedroomed places available. Who knows?

Why not consider a flat or house-share or becoming someone's lodger rather than a self-contained place of your own? That's what most youngsters do when they first move from their parents' homes.

Chris_1

Yeah I thought as much being very low priority, a flat share or lodger is a big no no. The full reason in wanting to leave is the need for my own space and privacy.

I think I may go down the homeless route, it's a shame that you have to go to these lengths for housing.

If I was an unemployed drug addict with a long criminal record I would be top priority.

Chris_1

Flibsey wrote: »

you're NOT wasting your time.
#1. get your mum to officially throw you out. some parents refuse to do this, but some realise that it's only on paper and they they're not going to be judged for not loving their child.
2. make sure you're registered to vote at the house you currently live in.
3. if it's taking too long, contact your MP.
4. be prepared for a long wait.

Yeah on the form it says... Homelessness Gets you 80 points. If you have been accepted as homeless by your local authority.

casualwalks

Chris_1 wrote: »

Yeah I thought as much being very low priority, a flat share or lodger is a big no no. The full reason in wanting to leave is the need for my own space and privacy.

I think I may go down the homeless route, it's a shame that you have to go to these lengths for housing.

If I was an unemployed drug addict with a long criminal record I would be top priority.

At 24, very few people can afford to live on their own. I certainly couldn't! I was in a house share until I was 30 when myself and my partner bought our house. I fear your expectations are unrealistic. We all have to live according to our means (think what your needs are rather than your wants). Social housing is so precious at the moment and is needed to help people in the most desperate situations. By all means apply, but do not expect to be offered a property in the near future.

It_can_get_better

How do you propose to convince the council that you are homeless? Where are you going to live whilst you wait for a property to become available? If all you had to do to get local authority housing or a housing association property was to turn up and say that you're homeless, there'd be no rough sleepers.

pmlindyloo

Most councils operate a criteria test for homelessness. This is Ashford's.

http://www.ashford.gov.uk/community_and_living/housing/housing_plus/homelessness/homelessness_criteria.aspx?theme=print

If your mum wrote a letter saying that she did not want you living there then they would probably not find you intentionally homeless as you have no legal right to live there.

However, your 'sticking point' is that you are not in priority need and therefore the authority do not have to give you emergency accommodation.

They should offer you housing advice.

As has already been said there is just not sufficient council property to go round and what is available has to be given to those in priority need.

You may be lucky and your authority has properties to offer.

I know you want your privacy and don't want to share/lodge but you may have no alternative. My daughter house shares and loves it. It is possible to have your own privacy if you choose carefully.

You don't say how much you earn or what the rents are of places that you have looked at.

Are they totally out of reach on your salary? Could you take on a second job to up your income or do some overtime?

BitterAndTwisted

I agree with casualwalks: your expectations are completely unrealistic. Very, very few young people can afford to rent a place of their own despite their very finely refined sense of entitlement. And the public purse should not be your first port of call. If you think you need a place of your own on your own you need to provide it for yourself. Or stay where you are until you can

Chris_1

Listen i dont know where you get off trying to make out like i am out looking for a handout!!! I work and pay taxes i have no sense of entitlement as you say... I am simply looking for a home for myself which i will be paying for. My expectations are unrealistic???? What?? wanting a home??? Yeah really unrealistic If i go out and get someone pregnant or get a drug habit and get arrested and be a general drain to society, no doubt i will get a social worker and moved into a flat in no time!!!

BigAunty

These days it is unrealistic for someone who is a low priority for social housing to expect to get it due to high demand and low supply. It's not to say that you won't achieve it, just that it's quite hard to secure.

The most common route for leaving home for a healthy, single working adult is via a house share, then perhaps moving into a private property, then buying one with a partner, not being given social housing because its allocation criteria means young single people without disabilities and dependents who aren't homeless rarely get it. That's why the other members have given you some other options to consider.

Some areas in the UK are better than others, some housing associations may perhaps be more focussed on having a mixed community rather than just letting out their stock to those in priority need.

As you are aware, it is allocated on need and a lifestyle aspiration to have your own place with cheap rent (rather than lodge, share with others or pay more disposable towards a private 1 bed flat) is not considered a priority.

Read the Direct Gov website and Shelter websites to understand how social housing is allocated. You could also check if you would be eligible for any housing benefit in a private property by finding out the shared property rate on the local council website and entering the details on the Turn2us online benefit calculator.