Is Social Housing an Option?

missbiggles1

davidmcn wrote: »

What security of tenure does the OP have in their parents' home?

(admittedly this is different from "currently being chucked out of parents' home", but I wouldn't call it "secure" in any legal sense)

By that definition, being married or living with a partner could be described as "insecure".

davidmcn

missbiggles1 wrote: »

By that definition, being married or living with a partner could be described as "insecure".

Both more secure than living with parents, as there is legal protection against your partner kicking you out.

GwylimT

AdrianC wrote: »

Of course it will - it will always be a limiting factor for many choices in life. But it (quite rightly) isn't a total and utter block. Wheelchair accessibility to new-build housing has been in Building Regs for years now, so any modern accommodation will be essentially accessible.

Ha, what a joke! Barely any bungalows or flats with lifts, you will also find doorways are wide enough for some manual wheelchairs, but too narrow for the wheelchair user to self propel. From direct experience I can also say they aren't wide enough for electric wheelchairs.

Bathrooms also aren't accessible.

missbiggles1

davidmcn wrote: »

Both more secure than living with parents, as there is legal protection against your partner kicking you out.

Very little.

http://www.housingadviceni.org/splitting-partner-when-you-rent-privately

GwylimT

It does depend on where you are wishing to be housed.

When my wife became disabled she wasn't allowed to leave hospital until she had suitable housing, we simply couldn't afford to sell and buy an adapted home, there weren't any suitable rental properties in our price range within an hour and a half of my work.

It took 7 months to be offered a property, it had a steep set of stairs leading to the front door, property number two came about two months later, the kitchen was too narrow for a wheelchair, all doorways were too narrow (HA weren't willing to alter them, or to allow us to do it) and the toilet wasn't accessible. Property three, about three weeks later this time was a 1st floor flat with no lift, it was suggested that once she was in she wouldn't need to leave again so a lift wasn't needed!

As we had refused three properties without good reason (haha) we were removed from the list all together. So she spent a further five months in hospital, three in a care home and finally with pressure from her consultant, GP and local press the HA magically found five perfectly suitable homes within a few days of pressure being applied by all.

missbiggles1

GwylimT wrote: »

Ha, what a joke! Barely any bungalows or flats with lifts, you will also find doorways are wide enough for some manual wheelchairs, but too narrow for the wheelchair user to self propel. From direct experience I can also say they aren't wide enough for electric wheelchairs.

Bathrooms also aren't accessible.

There might be a good reason for that.;)

Stripeybat

GwylimT wrote: »

Property three, about three weeks later this time was a 1st floor flat with no lift, it was suggested that once she was in she wouldn't need to leave again so a lift wasn't needed!

As we had refused three properties without good reason (haha) we were removed from the list all together.

:mad: Disgraceful! I'm so sorry. I hope you and your wife are now somewhere suitable for you both, what an awful lot of stress it must have been

GwylimT wrote: »

Ha, what a joke! Barely any bungalows or flats with lifts, you will also find doorways are wide enough for some manual wheelchairs, but too narrow for the wheelchair user to self propel. From direct experience I can also say they aren't wide enough for electric wheelchairs.

Bathrooms also aren't accessible.

Very true! I should probably have mentioned it's a powerchair I use.

Stripeybat

Thank you again everyone for all your useful advice.

Thanks to several suggestions we've gone and done our research on disability housing associations etc and found that because our council does Choice Based Lettings they seem to all go together on the one housing register. We did find one very local housing association who has a couple of wheelchair access properties so that could be promising should we be eligible for the housing register.

It's going to be a long road to learning everything and finding somewhere, whether private or social but I feel like you've all helped us take the first steps. Thank you all xx

AdrianC

Good luck, Stripeybat!