Housing trouble

samtoby

Advice wise - I would speak to the family who periodically stay. If they are intentionally homeless they can still get advice of where to get financial assistance. I assume they get benefits so they would be eligible for possibly a crisis loan for rent in advance / budgeting loan. They would at least receive child benefit at £20 a week and child tax credit of around £50 a week so I would hope they could save a months rent to go with the deposit. They have to try. The welfare of the MIL is important as is the child or children involved.

I hope the reason MIL has gone in arrears is not due to supporting all these people?!

bigmomma051204

Lizzieb151 wrote: »

Oh fgs I asked for some advice on the situation not for backlash on the family's choice. You think they wanted a special needs person come live them who is very hard to look after and a oap who couldn't even afford to feed herself but it's family - yes you think they haven't tried to get the boys out into work so they can move out but we can't just leave them homeless so thanks to the person who did offer advice.

You got advice, you just don't like the advice. What do you want everyone to say.... yes, they can ask the council to be rehoused BUT there is a MASSIVE shortage of social housing as another poster mentioned. So they can ask, they may get but it will be a LONG wait! Overcrowding only ticks ONE box towards jumping up a banding in most areas so they are certainly not a priority. Priority is for those who literally have no house. There is no quick and easy solution to your family's problem. I can understand that they dont want to leave a person with additional needs and an OAP on the street as it were .... BUT if they owned their own home. And they had been put in the same situation... what would they do? Rock up to the local estate agent and demand them to find them a free house as they needed a bigger one? Or ask a local charity to foot the bill for building a massive extension? Why do people in Social housing think that they have a "right" to that accomodation and that they should automatically have their problems solved by someone else....???

samtoby

Mara69 wrote: »

But surely if this family can get a house before the changes are implemented they'll not apply? And if they are claiming HB for the rent, does it matter?

People typically want council housing because it's cheaper. That's why there is a constant pull from people approaching local authorities when they receive a notice to quit for example and expecting the council will house them. Even if there is a duty for the council to house them and are put in a hostel or b and b the law is changing in that if private housing is found by the local authority and after an income and expenditure form is completed its affordable if they don't apply for it at least duty will be discharged. This is not the case now people stay in hostels until they get a council home. You an imagine how long that takes and the cost to the local authorities. Especially in this financial climate.

mountainofdebt

The problem as I see it is that if the family were to be given a bigger home and afterwards their circumstances changed so that a smaller home was sufficient, would they go to the council and say please now give us a smaller home.

Whilst there are flaws in what the government are proposing, I think it has been forced on them because of people's attitudes.

samtoby

mountainofdebt wrote: »

The problem as I see it is that if the family were to be given a bigger home and afterwards their circumstances changed so that a smaller home was sufficient, would they go to the council and say please now give us a smaller home.

Whilst there are flaws in what the government are proposing, I think it has been forced on them because of people's attitudes.

In the OP's situation they would not be rehoused in a large property to house all the people coming to stay.

I'm surprised if the council are aware that the LA are not looking into the tenancy. I'm sure t wouldn't say all these people can stay rightfully and if the MIL goes to court for those rent arrears she may loose her fight to keep the property because she has one against the tenancy.

The emotional and well being of the vulnerable people in the situation needs to be looked into as well.

HeatherintheHills

Lizzieb151 wrote: »

Hi I am posting this on behalf of my MIL and wondered if anything had any advice please.

My MIL is having housing trouble beause she rents from local authority a 2 bedroom house. However there are 5 adults permently living living there and another 2 adults and a baby on a part time basis but our local authority won't help her to find a new place.

It started out 3 years ago when a cousin who has special needs moved in as he wasn't coping on his own. There was my mother and father in law and their 2 children who were teenagers at the time living there and he moved into the living room.

They got banded at a D because the children were under 18 once they both turned 18 they got moved onto a C banding.

Now my MIL's mother has moved in because she fell into rent arrears at the her place was to be evicted and can't manage on her own either. At the same time one of my brother in law's has had a baby with his girlfriend and moved into her mothers house but got kicked out so are technically homeless. They spend 2 weeks at my MIL's house and 2 weeks at her auntie's house but the council have said they voluntarily made themselves overcrowded so have removed their banding as MIL's mum could go into a home and the cousin could also go into sheltered accomodation.

Neither of them want to go just want to stay with family so my question is what can we do?

Surely having these 2 people living with my MIL saves the local authority money so why is there such a problem with moving them into a bigger house.

Take great care! If your MIL was renting a 2 bed house privately and chose to over crowd it to that extent she would be in breach of her tenancy and facing eviction. The same may be true with her local authority.

Re Cousin: This was a choice. Your MIL did not have a bedroom for him and, if he wasn't able to cope where he was, his care workers would have had to step in. Your MIL made a decision to offer him a home.

Re Elderly pensioner mother. Again, she wasn't coping and was about to be evicted for rent arrears but your MIL gave her a home before that happened. She was never therefore technically homeless but was facing that prospect, if she had been formally evicted her needs would have been assessed and steps taken to meet them. The LA would in all likelihood have moved the elderly person into suitable accommodation, care home or sheltered, and taken over her finances for her if she was unable to cope. Again your MIL made a choice. I accept that, in her view, it might not have seemed like a choice, but it was.

Re over 18 children. They are choosing to live at home, they do have alternatives.

Re couple with child. Seriously, they need to take responsibility for themselves and not make life more difficult for your MIL.

So sorry, I really do not think that the LA will look kindly on your MIL's request for a larger house. She was provided with a house that was adequate for her needs and has chosen to over crowd it.

Her only real option would be to privately rent a house of sufficient size. If all of the adults living there are able to finance their "share" of the larger house, either by earning or qualifying for benefits, then it could be made to work.

What we want and what we can achieve are often 2 very different things. That is a sad but true fact of life.

As Bigmomma said, what do you think would happen if your MIL owned her home instead of renting it from the LA?

gingin_2

mountainofdebt wrote: »

The problem as I see it is that if the family were to be given a bigger home and afterwards their circumstances changed so that a smaller home was sufficient, would they go to the council and say please now give us a smaller home.

Yes. I have a lovely friend who doesn't complain but has been trying to exchange for years. She has 3 children, not all the same sex and a husband who works full time, in a 2 bed house, which is really, really nice but just too small for them. She quite often has a string of single parents round to view with one child, who have a 3 bed but turn their noses up at hers for really petty reasons. The system is very flawed.

Sorry for taking it sort of off topic but I guess it was kind of inevitable

daska

Neither cousin nor MIL nor others have a right to live in the property and AFAIK none of them need to be given notice. So MIL tells them to get out and tells SS she can no longer care for the cousin or the MIL in such cramped accomodation. If necessary she goes to the GP for confirmation of the effects this is having on her health. Which puts MIL back to the original position and removes the need for a larger house.

kloana

gingin wrote: »

She quite often has a string of single parents round to view with one child, who have a 3 bed but turn their noses up at hers for really petty reasons.

Your friend ought to sit tight, as many of those petty reasons for refusal may well evaporate by April 2013.

Fire_Fox

No judgement, just the facts as i see it .... Most of these people don't need to live together, sorry but they have chosen to overcrowd themselves. Some of these relatives are talking advantage of your mother in law's good nature, and some are in this predicament due to their own irresponsible behaviour. IMO you are angry at the wrong people, you should be angry at those who are directly causing the stress and do have other options.

Most of these people would be eligible for housing benefit so could perfectly well move out and rent somewhere privately even if that is more expensive. Council may provide a 'paper bond' if they cannot afford the deposit.

Best thing would be for mother and father in law, grandma and special needs cousin to remain in the two bedroom house continuing to apply for a three bedroom council property; with at least three of them having health issues they should be a higher priority. Two over 18 children move into a shared house/ flat together; brother in law girlfriend and baby get a flat together. Or the two children ad the family privately rent a four bedroom house if they prefer to remain together. These two latter groups are (?healthy) adults, it's time to stand on their own two feet for the benefit of their vulnerable relatives.

The local council should not give them all a large house together because that is making all of the adults council tenants - so basically bypassing the waiting list/ priorities system. Social housing is not supposed to be about saving the taxpayer money, it is providing secure accommodation for those in need which the younger generation do not appear to be. Young families are housed not for the parents' benefit but for the children's benefit - they are classed as vulnerable/ in need and are not capable of supporting themselves.