Loosing the will to live

Lily-Rose_3

outofmoney wrote: »

Silvercar - They could give us a 4 bedroom house, this is why we can bid on them. They won't give us a house because we don't meet the criteria of working and having children under ten.

I am sorry if you have already answered this, but which council and H.A.s are you referring to? Because I have never known - ever - any council or H.A. refuse to give a couple with children (or a single person with children,) a house because their children are not under ten.

It just seems really weird. I can understand the reluctance if all the children are over 18, but not over 10. In fact, I do know a woman with a 21 year old son who got a 2 bed house last year, although it was in a hard-to-let area as it was a village with no public transport.

My friend got a 4 bed house with a H.A. 2 years ago, with her and her husband, and 3 daughters aged 20, 16, and 12 at the time. There was, quite simply, no reason whatsoever, for them to refuse them a house. And I know many people who have been allocated a house with no children under ten. So I am a bit puzzled.

I do get that some H.A's prefer there to be at least one person working, but not allowing a house to someone with no children under ten? Never heard that before.

If your local area flat out refuse to give you a house (as they DO have their own weird policy,) then what about signing up with another authority out of your county: we did, as we were struggling for AGES to get a bungalow in our immediate area, so we stepped out of our comfort zone, and moved 35 miles away into another local authority area. We got housed quite quickly then, as this area has a low population compared to where we lived before. If we had stayed, we would still be waiting. Over 2 years later!

My husband changed jobs soon after, to one closer, but as none of you are in work at the moment, you don't need to worry about that at the moment anyway. And only 2 of your kids are in school, so they could switch schools. It may be that another local authority isn't as far away as 35 miles. For some, it maybe only 10 or 12.

So why not register on another local authority's list? Like I said, we did. It just opens up a lot more options for you, if you're prepared to step outside your comfort zone. I have seen so many new places, and live in such a pretty area now, and met so many wonderful new people. Try it!

jayss

Are there any charities for your children's disabilities which could advocate for you?

Carer

Do you have a back garden? We built a shed/cabin for my teenage daughter, we lined it with insulation, boarded the walls, painted it all nicely inside, added electric radiator, and double glazed the windows. She lived in for 3 years and loved it!
We still use it for visitors, it's great.

Pricivius

As you have considered social housing outside the area, what about private renting? There must be some landlords prepared to take on a family who presumably have a long history of paying rent on time and in full. Your preference is obviously social housing, but surely a larger private rent has to be better than the current scenario?

outofmoney

Lily Rose - We are more than happy to move. But most councils, if not all, require you to have lived in the area for 2 - 5 years before you can join the list. The law was changed last year.

The HO is Orbit. This is from their LLP which was drawn up with the local council.

5. Allocation and letting

 Families with at least one parent working 37 hours per week (paid), proof of income will be required. Working for a minimum of 6 months.
 Families with at least one parent working 16 hours per week or more (paid), proof of income will be required. Working for a minimum of 6 months

 2 x Four bedroom houses advertised as 4 - 6 persons. Families with no more than 4 children two of which must be under 10 years and who are economically active or on a low income

Jayss - Tried a charity. They suggested getting a grant for the house we are currently in. Sadly the grant would not cover the cost of an extension and it would also require our LLs agreement. He did not allow loft insulation so unlikely to agree to this either.

Carer - Yes, we have a small one and this is another option we are considering. Just looking at costs.

outofmoney

Pricivius - We would be more than happy with a larger Privately rented property. We have been privately renting for 20 years and only been late with payment twice. Once when hubby was swapped from weekly to monthly payment and then when he lost his job. But we paid the rent before the next month was due. We keep our home in good condition and usually do touching up paint yearly. We even replaced all the carpets here when we moved in at our expense.

But it is like finding a needle in a haystack. Most LLs tend to think that HB = Trouble and won't take the risk. We know we are good tenants, but there is no way of convincing them.

Plus Without living in the areas it is really hard to find Private rental as they are normally just advertised locally.

I tried to place a wanted ad today on a website in an area which we could afford and you had to have a local postcode to register.