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

Dunroamin

clemmatis wrote: »

More flexible housing would make sense. A house near me's been converted -- by a private landlord -- into a really good set of rooms that share a kitchen, utility room, and garden. (Young professionals only.) It works better than a share, perhaps. And it could easily be converted back.

How is that different from a share?

Dunroamin

nannytone wrote: »

so it's ok for some people to choose to under occupy?
those not affected by the cut in council tax.
but those that are affected should just move to an unknown area without support or just stay put and pay?
hypocracy.
you clearly dont care about the 'families that are overcrowed' inless the person with the extra unwanted room is claiming benefit

If people pay their own way then they have choices that others who are reliant on benefits don't - that's one of the advantages that working should bring.

To add, my parents moved about 10 miles away from where they'd lived for 40 years when they needed to move to a ground floor flat - if they'd waited for social housing in their immediate area, they'd have been dead before they'd been allocated anything!

Mind you, they didn't consider that moving 10 miles was moving out of their area, they would have laughed at the idea.

mazza111

lighting_up_the_chalice wrote: »

Unless there is demand, there will never be supply. How would you propose dealing with under-occupation in such a valuable, oversubscribed, public resource as social housing?

My sympathy, BTW, is reserved for those waiting for social housing while, at the same time, being asked to contribute towards empty rooms for those already in social housing. THAT is unfair.

As I said, I'm all for downsizing and do believe that those who can should. I don't think those who have downsized as far as they can should be penalised when there are no suitable properties available.
But in this area there is a shortage of 1 bedroom properties. We have 2 bedroom properties in abundance. And if you had to go to one particular HA that's here you could apply for and be allocated a 2 bedroom within a couple of weeks.

We also have a shortage of 3+ bedrooms, hence why i downsized when I could. As I do believe in giving others the same chances that I had. There are no priorities given to those who are over occupying in this area either, which is a shame really. It may have encouraged others in larger properties to do what I did.

nannytone_2

wozearly wrote: »

Most local authorities don't have enough social housing stock and, from a bedroom tax perspective, the surplus they have is often the 'wrong' size (which is probably one of the issues you're facing). The HA I work for has a distinct lack of 1 and 2 bedroom properties if we were going to try to 'correctly' house everyone receiving housing benefit.

On the note of the council prioritising someone who is homeless, that's to be expected - being homeless places you pretty near the top of the priority list, (rightly or wrongly) above people who are in social housing but may not be able to afford their current property after the housing benefit cut.

The HA may not push hard to get you moved to the 1 bed and the homeless person moved to your 2 bed instead, because for them its just exchanging one person who can't really afford to live in a 2 bed for someone else who would be affected by the bedroom tax and even less likely to be able to afford to live there.

You have a few options available, although I accept most have downsides:

1. Wait and see if anything comes up in social housing in your area for mutual exchange and/or bid on 1 beds until you get one, but keep paying the £20 p/wk in the interim.

2. Look at areas further afield (provided those local authorities don't have the increasingly common 'you must have a connection to the local area' clause in their bidding criteria) for a 1 bed property in social housing - accepting that this would be a particularly difficult and disruptive change for you personally.

3. Look for something privately rented in the local area / further afield that's within the LHA rent cap, or that would cost you less than £20 p/wk, and accept the lower security of tenure on the open market.

4. Try to persuade your HA to permanently reclassify your property as a 1 bedroom property (even though its not). Very unlikely they'll agree, because the rent would have to be dropped to an appropriate 1 bed level, and the property will have been funded on the assumption it would return the rent of a 2 bedroom property over its lifetime. I know of no HA that's agreed to do this in an individual case, but you can always ask...

5. Try to persuade your HA to reclassify another property as a 1 bedroom property (even though its not). This may have more traction - some HAs have done this when they've had a surplus of 2/3 beds as a method of artificially increasing their 1 bed supply. The catch? They've been properties that were difficult to let in the first place - meaning there's likely to be something wrong with them and/or the area.

6. Ask if the HA is willing to place someone else requiring a 1 bedroom property in the second bedroom in your property, with the two of you becoming joint tenants. Might not be workable, but its something you could discuss.

7. Ask if the HA is willing to give you permission to sub-let the second bedroom in your property, then getting a lodger in to the second bedroom. This would keep the tenancy in your name alone and you'd have freedom of choice over who you let the room to. Several HAs have indicated they're open minded to this as a solution for specific cases, even if not as a general rule.

8. Apply to your local authority for discretionary housing payment (DHP), provided you can evidence that you genuinely can't afford the £20 p/wk from your income. It may not be a permanent solution, as DHP is discretionary (clue's in the name), its being spent quickly and comes out of LA budgets rather than a central pot (if I recall correctly), but it would give you breathing space to pursue the best permanent solution for you without wrecking your income in the meantime.

i do understand what you are saying.
my HA will push for me to get the 1 bed, and will do everything they can to assist. they are a fantastic HA and i can't fault them in any way.
in answer to your otions.
1. waiting for an exchange is futile as there are NO 1 bed properties in my area, apart from the 2 i mentioned ( one is currently vacant. until now they were classed as supported housing for young people and have just been reclassified as general housing.

2. i am inable to look further afield. i live in a very rural area, with many small towns a villages that cover an extremely large area. i am blind and my support is in the town where i live, i wouldnt manage in a place that i didnt know and without support.

3. there are two 1 bed private lets in my area ( copious amounts of 2/3 beds though) one charges £100 a week and the other £110. my LHA is £69 a week. apart from the obvious financial frawbacks, i. like many, need the security that social housing provides.

4.ive already asked. they wont reclassify. they said if they did it here, they would have to do it everywhere.

5.my HA have already dismissed reclassifying, they also only have 8 properties in my area. 6 are two bed flats ( that i live in) and the other two are the 1 bed flats that until recently were supported housing for young people, and ythat i have now asked for a move to.

6.i havent asked the HA about this. i have been considering a lodger though ( which is what you are suggesting) i would have to be very careful about letting a stranger move in as i am blind and obviously an easy target for the wrong kind of person.

7.as 6

8.i havent applied for DHP as there are people that are struggling more than me ( people on JSA for example) rvrn though i spend my DLA on its intended use ( lrc/lrm) they use DLA in their calculations for DHP and so would be unlikely to get it even if i applied

thanks for the thought you put into your answer though
i havent just sat back and let this situation occur. i have considered every option i can think of,

mazza111

lighting_up_the_chalice wrote: »

Those who pay their own rent have been effected by a bedroom tax for decades now. Where was your protest for them?

Hypocrisy.. Such a wide reaching word.

Euhm? How have those who work who are in council properties been affected by this for years. LHA rates are a totally different thing, and tbh I could rent a 3 bedroom property here for the price that's allowed for a 2 bedroom. That's another reason I believe that more power should be given to local councils.

lighting_up_the_chalice

mazza111 wrote: »

Euhm? How have those who work who are in council properties been affected by this for years. LHA rates are a totally different thing, and tbh I could rent a 3 bedroom property here for the price that's allowed for a 2 bedroom. That's another reason I believe that more power should be given to local councils.

Please allow me to take you on a journey into the real world......

Even in social housing, larger properties attract larger rent. Therefore, those in large properties (who pay their own rent) pay more for a larger property. So, Mr "Work 60 hours a week and claims nowt" will pay more if he has a bigger property than he needs, as opposed to a smaller property which meets his needs.... Pretty much the definition of the bedroom tax. Was there a march for him? Oh, no, no, no, no.

nannytone_2

lighting_up_the_chalice wrote: »

All very emotive. But the fact remains.... If they ain't got it, you can't have it. I'm sorry, terrible for you, awful situation, etc etc etc, but there it is.

of course its bloody emotive!

its all very nice for you to sit and discuss the rights and wrongs as you see them ... but it is real peoples lives we are talking about, not just an exercise using ficticious scenarios

nannytone_2

lighting_up_the_chalice wrote: »

All right. No need to shout!! All the LA's in the area have open lists and online applications. But you should already know that.

i know what my council have told me. i can apply but would be given no priority when it comes to banding as i am adequately housed and not in need
they cant put you on a list for something that doesnt exist!

mazza111

lighting_up_the_chalice wrote: »

Please allow me to take you on a journey into the real world......

Even in social housing, larger properties attract larger rent. Therefore, those in large properties (who pay their own rent) pay more for a larger property. So, Mr "Work 60 hours a week and claims nowt" will pay more if he has a bigger property than he needs, as opposed to a smaller property which meets his needs.... Pretty much the definition of the bedroom tax. Was there a march for him? Oh, no, no, no, no.

You don't think I was Mrs. "Work 80 hours a week and claim nowt" at one point? I did it most of my working life. It's only in the last 2 years since I was medically retired that I have been unable to work. It doesn't take away from the fact that there's no where for people to downsize to. He has the option to downsize too if he's in a property that's too large. Obviously not if he was in a 2 bedroom property and there are no one bedroom properties to downsize to. Of course I'm exaggerating, most weeks it was approx 50 hours a week. But in the run up to xmas it was around 80...

I really wish I was able to work 20 hours a week these days, never mind work 80 like I used to. I would rather be working that sitting skint most days. Trust me.

The difference between council properties are minimal in all honesty. Think my 2 bedroom is only around £5/week cheaper than my 3 bedroom was.

nannytone_2

lighting_up_the_chalice wrote: »

Those who pay their own rent have been effected by a bedroom tax for decades now. Where was your protest for them?

Hypocrisy.. Such a wide reaching word.

i paid full rent up until the past 18 months ( when i lived in rented housing obviously)
but for dunroamin to suggest that people find pensioners with 1 bed places to exchange with ( all pensioner properties here are 2 bed anyway, apart from multiple occupancy sheltered housing) is insensitive to say the least. many pensioners claim hb and to find someone in the same situation as yourself just because your benefit gets cut and theirs doesnt is harsh.
even if that were possible to do, there would still be significant costs involved and many dont have the funds do it.

if im lucky enough to get the exchange i want, i will need to borrow from family, and in the long run it will right itself because i wont need to top my rent up. but ive never borrowed money before, as i believe in living within my means, and i really hate to have to do it now