housing benefit reduction. a solution but the council is blocking it!

nannytone_2

regulars on this forum know the position i am currently in. there are two 1 bed flats to rent privately. their rents are £100 and £110 a week respectively ( LHA rate has recently been lowered to £69 a week so non starters even if i were willing to give up my security) and two 1 bed flats, supported housing for young people.

today i became aware that one of the tenants of the social housing flats is moving out tomorrow, and that they are no longer exclusively for young people. the council will be putting them up for bids next week ( it's already on the board in the council office, but no bids will be accepted until the internet site is updated over the weekend)

so i phoned the housing association and spoke to my housing manager. he was more than happy to let me have it, but he had to phone the council and ask them to withdraw the property. he phoned back 10 minutes later to tell me that the council have REFUSED, they want to property to be kept available for someone that is homeless ( he will talk to his superiors next week to see if theres anything he can suggest to get the council to back down,

so it seems we are told to downsize or lose benefit... but when i fond somewhere to downsize to.. they wont allow me to move!

so now tell me im not being 'forced' to pau for the reduction in housing benefit!

Dogger69

You'd rather someone remain homeless, just so you don't have to pay a bit of rent? I'm lost for words!

MamaMoo_2

Agree with Dogger here. Properties are put up for bids for a reason. It's not fair that you can jump the queue just because you ring up. If there are people who are a higher priority than you, then why should they lose out on the opportunity to bid for this property and gain themselves a secure tenancy? They would not be able to bid on the property you're leaving either due to their size needs, so they'd lose out.
Why not approach other people and offer a mutual exchange?

nannytone_2

they cant live in my flat and pay!
why is it oj for me to struggle but not for someone else?
there is no homeless problem here .... we have surplus social/private housing.

you make me laugh .... you say 'you should downsize' and when i try to i get told im depriving someone else!

so i was obviously right, there is no choice and im being taken hostage by the council and forced to pay

just point outm the landlord (HA) want me to have their property. its the council that dont have ANY properties of a suitable size that are blocking it

MamaMoo_2

nannytone wrote: »

they cant live in my flat and pay!
why is it oj for me to struggle but not for someone else?
there is no homeless problem here .... we have surplus social/private housing.

you make me laugh .... you say 'you should downsize' and when i try to i get told im depriving someone else!

so i was obviously right, there is no choice and im being taken hostage by the council and forced to pay

just point outm the landlord (HA) want me to have their property. its the council that dont have ANY properties of a suitable size that are blocking it

You can downsize appropriately, rather than selfishly.
Appropriately = bidding and waiting until you win a property fairly via the bidding system, or through a mutual exchange.
Not appropriately = trying to bypass the fair system in place to save yourself a few quid, whilst simultaneously denying the property to whoever would have fairly won the property.
The housing association have a contract with the council to offer their properties fairly for rent, so they cannot just go back on that to benefit you.

bestpud

If there is no housing need in your area then you will surely win when you bid for it...

Or am I missing something?

Dogger69

nannytone wrote: »

they cant live in my flat and pay!
why is it oj for me to struggle but not for someone else?
there is no homeless problem here .... we have surplus social/private housing.

you make me laugh .... you say 'you should downsize' and when i try to i get told im depriving someone else!

so i was obviously right, there is no choice and im being taken hostage by the council and forced to pay

just point outm the landlord (HA) want me to have their property. its the council that dont have ANY properties of a suitable size that are blocking it

From what you have said, your currently housing situation is entirely inappropriate for you. You do not have family or friends nearby and you are relatively rural - you need a support worker to do anything. There is no good reason why you should not expand your search area to find something more suitable, either in social housing or the private sector. Indeed, there is no reason why you cannot flatshare - many older and/ or disabled people do.

Your suggestion that you should have a greater priority than a homeless person is very selfish. If you think your own situation is difficult, try living in their shoes.

nannytone_2

so i am selfishly struggling to manage on my income now that i have to pay 1/5 of my cash income towards housing?

there are 2 1 bed prperties... how often do you think they will become available? there are only 2 properties to mutually exchange with ( the same 2 properties)
so either a single person or childless couple. so another few yerars before either would want to move.

you get told the answer to you problem is to downsize, then get called for trying to do what youve been told you should be doing!

Dogger69

nannytone wrote: »

so i am selfishly struggling to manage on my income now that i have to pay 1/5 of my cash income towards housing?

there are 2 1 bed prperties... how often do you think they will become available? there are only 2 properties to mutually exchange with ( the same 2 properties)
so either a single person or childless couple. so another few yerars before either would want to move.

you get told the answer to you problem is to downsize, then get called for trying to do what youve been told you should be doing!

I refer you to bestpud's excellent point:

bestpud wrote: »

If there is no housing need in your area then you will surely win when you bid for it...

Or am I missing something?

nannytone_2

Dogger69 wrote: »

From what you have said, your currently housing situation is entirely inappropriate for you. You do not have family or friends nearby and you are relatively rural - you need a support worker to do anything. There is no good reason why you should not expand your search area to find something more suitable, either in social housing or the private sector. Indeed, there is no reason why you cannot flatshare - many older and/ or disabled people do.

Your suggestion that you should have a greater priority than a homeless person is very selfish. If you think your own situation is difficult, try living in their shoes.

who said i dont have friends nearby?
my friends are the support network that allow me to have a sommewhat normal life.
my daughter lives 40 miles away and both she and her husband work full time, so moving near her would be pointless as i would still be alone.
private renting is not an option, as it offers no security, and as a disabled person, security is even more important than it is to everyone else.

as a blind person, moving to a place i dont know, and people i dont know would be inappropriate to say the least..
lets permenantly blindfold you and drop you in a place you have no knowledge of and see how easily you would manage

nannytone_2

i cant bid. i was removed from the list when allocated this property. when the benefit reduction was announces i was told there was np point in applying as there was no alternative accomodation available ( size wise) and no plans to allow any to be built ( council policy is that 2 and 3 bed homes give them more options)