Council Mutual Exchange , Bedroom Tax & what is allowed??

[Deleted User]

Please can anyone help me who has experience in these matters?...

I am currently looking for a homeswap / mutual exchange and am downsizing but I NEED a 2 bedroom place for when my Grandchildren come over to stay , especially as my Grandson is Autistic and needs special care

I am reading in many places online that some / many councils won't even ALLOW you to move into a place with an extra bedroom now even if you pay the bedroom tax

I know they don't seem to have special rules for disabled children , but I don't want to view my dream home , go ahead with the paperwork only for the council to refuse me on grounds of swapping for somewhere with an extra room even though I am downsizing , not upsizing

Do you think there is ANY way that they would take into consideration my Grandsons special needs and the fact that I am a carer for him and have him during the school holidays and weekends and he needs his own room???

Or rather I have a feeling that ''rules are rules'' and before even viewing any potential lovely new homes I better find out if I will even be allowed the one extra room even if I pay the bedroom tax

Seems my options are limited even though I will be giving up tons of space for a bigger family to make use of / move into , but am SCARED my preferred areas will say no and dash my hopes as there are some lovely council places in my preferred area , just too scared to ring them to find out right now ( I know it's silly ) but I don't want my dream to be dashed in one phone call with an unsympathetic worker on the other end getting my goat up!!!

( I just don't see why I can't have just the one extra room under the circumstances whichever borough it is , even if I pay out for it which I am already doing where I am but this place is way to big for me now & I thought the council would be happy that a larger family could make use of it , but I am NOT taking a 1 bedroom no matter what so they are holding up the whole process and limiting my options and a family potentially having this place if they say no! )

DomRavioli

You do not NEED a two bedroom property, therefore you will not be offered one - you are not the primary custodian/guardian or parent of that child, if you wish to have a child stay with you, then you will usually need to find a private let as this is your choice, not a necessity.

You will only be granted an extra bedroom if you receive child benefit/child tax credits for the child named. Being a part time carer does not increase your need for an extra bedroom, so you are a one bedroom need.

However, the move would be down to the housing officer's discretion alone, although it is highly unlikely that you will be allowed to move to that property unless you have mitigating circumstances - being a part time carer does not constitute that, as they will usually advise you to look after the child in its own home, instead of your own.

And there is no reason for you to refuse a one bedroomed property, as you are only a one bedroom need. I wouldn't go into your landlord with the attitude you have had here, as you will be blatantly turned down, I know if you turned up at my housing office, you would be asked to leave. You are choosing to occupy the property you have at the moment - and you cannot have the extra room because you have no recognised need under the 1985 Housing Act. You are a one bedroomed need, and that is all you would be offered under the choice based system.

And the workers are not "unsympathetic", they are doing their job and following the legal and procedural rules applied to social housing set out by national government.

letthemeatcake

What size property are you currently in and why do you want/need to downsize?

Sadly I don't think they will take into consideration his special needs, as you are not his primary carer but wonder why you would be prevented from getting a 2 bed. If you currently have a larger home then you would be helping one family move into a property with adequate space if you were to swap into a 2 bed.

paddedjohn

To be fair to the OP, is she wants to pay the extra then the council may let her have a 2 bed property, they are not as sought after as 1 bed ones and she is holding a trump card by offering to free up a larger property.

Housing_Benefit_Officer

cazzap06 wrote: »

...so they are holding up the whole process and limiting my options and a family potentially having this place if they say no! )

They are not holding up the process - you are holding up the process. Councils don't want to give single people oversize properties anymore because of the 'bedroom tax'. They will give you the size of property that your circumstances say you need - a one bedroom property. Gone are the times you could be allocated a 2 bedroom property becasue there were no 1 bedroom properties available.

[Deleted User]

Yes but I already have more than 1 bedroom in a HUGE property that I would love a larger family to occupy

I am looking for a small 2 bedroom place even if the 2nd bedroom is tiny

I personally feel I do need a 2 bedroom place as caring for my Grandson at my daughters place does not give her a break and as a single Mum with a disabled child she certainly NEEDS a break from time to time

I am not going to be forced to move to a one bedroom place - That would be absolutely fine if I did not want to care for my Grandson and support my daughter , but it is just not an option for me as I am not going to have him sleep on the sofa and he needs his own place of familiarity with his special toys and a calm , restful place to sleep in and a bedtime routine is important to him

I might sound selfish but I don't care as I am doing this out of love for my family and even though I don't agree with the bedroom tax am paying it already so he has his haven at Nannys house as my families happiness means the utmost to me even if you would kick me out of the housing office for it!

( NICE by the way ... My motivation is for a special needs child , not so that I have a spare room for my own use or to use as an office or gym or something lol )

If this is the attitude I get from the housing offices then I think I'll be STAYING PUT!!!!!

But I have a feeling some councils still DO allow it ie to have one extra room if you pay the bedroom tax , so am still hoping my preferred area does and if not I will have to find a borough who does

To me this IS based on need , not greed , as am not being greedy in my opinion just wanting a room for my special needs Grandchild to stay over to give his Mum a break plus to spend time with him as I adore him

There is no love and care for families in these new rules! :(:(

The caring , sharing government rules with no compassion for families!!! :mad::mad:

midnight_express

There is no such thing as bedroom tax and therefore no such thing as paying bedroom tax. A benefit cut is not a tax.

midnight_express

You could always rent privately and pay your own rent.

pmlindyloo

cazzap06 wrote: »

Yes but I already have more than 1 bedroom in a HUGE property that I would love a larger family to occupy

I am looking for a small 2 bedroom place even if the 2nd bedroom is tiny

I personally feel I do need a 2 bedroom place as caring for my Grandson at my daughters place does not give her a break and as a single Mum with a disabled child she certainly NEEDS a break from time to time

I am not going to be forced to move to a one bedroom place - That would be absolutely fine if I did not want to care for my Grandson and support my daughter , but it is just not an option for me as I am not going to have him sleep on the sofa and he needs his own place of familiarity with his special toys and a calm , restful place to sleep in and a bedtime routine is important to him

I might sound selfish but I don't care as I am doing this out of love for my family and even though I don't agree with the bedroom tax am paying it already so he has his haven at Nannys house as my families happiness means the utmost to me even if you would kick me out of the housing office for it!

( NICE by the way ... My motivation is for a special needs child , not so that I have a spare room for my own use or to use as an office or gym or something lol )

If this is the attitude I get from the housing offices then I think I'll be STAYING PUT!!!!!

But I have a feeling some councils still DO allow it ie to have one extra room if you pay the bedroom tax , so am still hoping my preferred area does and if not I will have to find a borough who does

To me this IS based on need , not greed , as am not being greedy in my opinion just wanting a room for my special needs Grandchild to stay over to give his Mum a break plus to spend time with him as I adore him

There is no love and care for families in these new rules! :(:(

The caring , sharing government rules with no compassion for families!!! :mad::mad:

I actually find your reasoning astonishing in view of a thread you started not that long ago.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4515239=

From a quick google of mutual council house exchange for a couple of councils they can indeed deny your mutual exchange if it exceeds your bedroom entitlement.

I would be looking at renting privately if you feel that strongly about it and forgo your council house security.

Caz3121

you need to look on your councils website for their rules on mutual exchange. My daughter did a swap earlier in the year, (2 bed to 3 bed) by the rules they were entitled to a 2 bedroom place (2 children op sex under 10) but the council's published criteria said they could mutually exchange for a 2 OR 3 bedroom place. (it was originally rejected bur went ahead after appeal) However they do not receive any housing benefit so not sure if that came into it.
The council certainly would not have allowed them a 3 bedroom place until the eldest was 10 but the rules appeared to be different for a mutual exchange

Alter_ego

midnight_express wrote: »

You could always rent privately and pay your own rent.

From what I read she pays her own rent.