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

[Deleted User]

bloolagoon wrote: »

I don't see it being an issue as long as you don't apply for extra payments, very few will want a box room as a 2nd bedroom.

Choosing a specific area you want may be your biggest challenge as I'm sure they are in higher demand.

You may also find you have your grandchild less when they start school. I know I fight my parents for weekends as I miss them so much when they are at school so I'm not as prepared to give them over as much as pre-school days.

He has been at his special needs school for 2 years now , thankfully I don't see him less , but my daughter does need a break from time to time as he is exhausting in his own adorable way! lol

skylight

Cazza - contact your council. Speak to them and find out what their policy is based on your circumstances. If they say no, then ask what the appeals process is, and so on.

Only they can give you a answer.

[Deleted User]

letthemeatcake wrote: »

If you can afford the rent why not stay where you are especially as your Grandson is familiar with it? If however you find the rent too much of a burden then see if you could find a nice 2 bed to rent privately.

It seems a bit strange to me that the council would prefer to leave a family in a house too small and somebody who wants to downsize in their respective properties when they could happily swap.

That is exactly my point ...''no you cannot downsize your home to a 2 bedroom and free it up for a larger family'' , ok then I'll stay put! lol

Thing is I do actually love my current home but it honestly IS too large for me and I am ''rattling around in it'' now and want ( sorry , know I'm not allowed to use the word 'want' ) a little Granny cottage so I can have my cozy family place and will be happy for someone to enjoy the benefits and space of my current home

I know I'm going into defensive mode on here , it's just that I find alot of the comments upsetting and am close to tears because all I want is for my Grandson to be happy

Yes I am temporarily on benefits so that makes me the undeserved in many peoples opinion but what about raising a happy , secure family and then sending them out into society ( One daughter is married with mortgage , the other one rents ) and then also doing a job with IMMENSE satisfaction as it's NOT about me sipping Pimms in the garden it will be where I care for other special needs children so I will be assisting other families with childcare which is difficult to find and I have to do extra training

So I don't want this new place just for me and to meet my needs but very much also the needs of my family and the place where I can open it up for other children with special needs to have their little haven too

I honestly don't see what I am doing wrong here apart from using the words 'want' and 'need' instead of 'desire' but am happy to use the word 'desire' as I do desire it for my family and I hope I get what I desire as it feels like if you are on benefit or in a council property then you don't deserve anything at all , but then neither does my family who I care for? And possibly other children / families too!!!!

Morlock

midnight_express wrote: »

You could always rent privately and pay your own rent.

Or rent a private, two-bedroom property within the one-bedroom LHA rate, there is no bedroom tax in private accommodation.

pmlindyloo

cazzap06 wrote: »

That is exactly my point ...''no you cannot downsize your home to a 2 bedroom and free it up for a larger family'' , ok then I'll stay put! lol

Thing is I do actually love my current home but it honestly IS too large for me and I am ''rattling around in it'' now and want ( sorry , know I'm not allowed to use the word 'want' ) a little Granny cottage so I can have my cozy family place and will be happy for someone to enjoy the benefits and space of my current home

I know I'm going into defensive mode on here , it's just that I find alot of the comments upsetting and am close to tears because all I want is for my Grandson to be happy

Yes I am temporarily on benefits so that makes me the undeserved in many peoples opinion but what about raising a happy , secure family and then sending them out into society ( One daughter is married with mortgage , the other one rents ) and then also doing a job with IMMENSE satisfaction as it's NOT about me sipping Pimms in the garden it will be where I care for other special needs children so I will be assisting other families with childcare which is difficult to find and I have to do extra training

So I don't want this new place just for me and to meet my needs but very much also the needs of my family and the place where I can open it up for other children with special needs to have their little haven too

I honestly don't see what I am doing wrong here apart from using the words 'want' and 'need' instead of 'desire' but am happy to use the word 'desire' as I do desire it for my family and I hope I get what I desire as it feels like if you are on benefit or in a council property then you don't deserve anything at all , but then neither does my family who I care for? And possibly other children / families too!!!!

First of all I apologise for referring to your other thread and making you angry.

If you read my previous posts you will see that I usually refrain from being judgemental.

I have absolutely no quibble with what you would like to happen.

Unfortunately you are in a system which has rules and regulations.

You have had the benefit of a gorgeous house but now it is too big for your needs and you want to move to a 2 bed to free up your house for a larger family. However, moving to a 2 bed place would also 'deprive' a small family of a house while you use the extra bed on a temporary basis.

I know you are prepared to pay for this but because this is council housing you are not freeing up this property for others in greater need than you. (some may think the 'bedroom tax' is about making money but others will also recognise that it is about making properties available)

It is not about you not being able to have dreams etc etc it is about being part of a system that has to have rules and regulations to serve the whole community.

I wish you well and hope that your dreams do come true.

seven-day-weekend

I don't think anyone is being nasty, but social housing is a very scarce resource these days and there will be some small families that have waited YEARS to get the two-bedroomed place you desire so that your grandson can sometimes stay over.

Yes, I can see why you want it and yes, you would be freeing up a place for a larger family. But what about a family with one or two children that are in a bedsit or living with parents, don't they need the two bedrooms more than you to have your grandson to stay over occasionally?

See what your Council say, but otherwise consider a one-bedroomed place . Your grandson could have the bedroom if that is your wish, you could have a sofa-bed in the living room on the occasions he stays over.

I hope you manage to sort something soon.

(And actually I think your other thread IS relevant inasmuch as you were saying it was not fair for someone to have social housing whilst others were in more need. Of course what you propose is not illegal, but you would be depriving someone in need as much as those people you mention on your other thread).

[Deleted User]

This is my living room & I am not willing to give it up for ''just anything'' BUT I am willing to take a living room a quarter of the size as long as I can have and pay for even a box room for my Grandson!

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Morlock

pmlindyloo wrote: »

(some may think the 'bedroom tax' is about making money but others will also recognise that it is about making properties available)

The only way to make the predicted benefit savings is if tenants do not move and pay the bedroom tax themselves. It is all about slashing benefits, and nothing to do with freeing up properties.

seven-day-weekend

cazzap06 wrote: »

This is my living room & I am not willing to give it up for ''just anything'' BUT I am willing to take a living room a quarter of the size as long as I can have and pay for even a box room for my Grandson!

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And that's a Council house???:eek::eek:

[Deleted User]

I'm sorry , but my kindness for others DOES have a limit ... As I said I will be HAPPY the day I hand over the keys for the new family to enjoy my current place and I do want to see / know it is being filled with a family to enjoy it...

I do want to open up my home to special needs children , albeit a job , it will benefit the community in some ways surely as does me taking my Grandson to give my daughter some respite the council would otherwise have to pay for

But do I REALLY have to sleep on a settee in my own house just for another family , am doing my utmost for everyones happiness but sorry MY GRANDSONS HAPPINESS and my families happiness comes first before the other strangers that I supposedly have to sleep on the settee for

I am being as kind as I can along with looking after my own family and am not Mother Theresa or a sacrificial lamb , so sorry , no that is going the extra mile too far and to be honest expecting too much of a human being for the good of society when a simple box room plus caring for others as much as I can is all I can do at this point