Homeless in 10 days refused RSL allocation

fairy_lights

How old are your grandsons? Will they be leaving home soon?

JazzaG

Grandsons are 13 and 15, but both have social and behavioral difficulties. They both have ECH plans until they are 21, so I don't envisage them leaving home in the near future, as they are very dependent on us and unwilling to be mentored.

tomtontom

This doesn't make sense. An IS claim indicates a claim for Carers Allowance, so at least one person in the household is in receipt of DLA/ PIP. If the OP is truly only receiving IS then they need a benefits check up. On the circumstances given their household income should be very healthy.

missbiggles1

JazzaG wrote: »

Before my Grandsons came to live with us in 2004, we were on track to being mortgage free this year. Because of the difficulties with the children and my disability, I lost my job through illness, and my husband had to finish work to care for all of us. Concerning our budget, we went from a £30,000 yearly income to being on benefits. We budgeted over the last 12 years exactly as dianatrois suggests - in fact we also bought our last suite from the British Heart Foundation with savings from our weekly surplus. I feel very lucky that we got enough for the property to pay off the mortgage and be left with some equity, and dont feel that we should be penalised by having to use this equity which has built up for the last 25 years on a years rent. Are people on benefits not allowed to spend some of what is effectively a one-off windfall to better their living conditions, as it is impossible to do on income support. Also, we have not had a holiday- in Britain or abroad - since the boys have lived with us. Are we not allowed to use some of the money on a holiday to give us some respite from our day to day slog! Dont forget, we are grandparent carers who are saving the establishment thousands of £s they would have had to spend on residential or foster care if we had not decided to give up our freedom and independence to care for them in our home. They came to us with nothing, and no help financially or otherwise from Social Services.
Also, dianatrois do you really think that it is fair that you are paying for rent or housing benefit overpayments from the extra income you have from disability allowances?

Many low income workers won't be able to have a holiday and they certainly won't be able to spend £10k on furniture so it really wouldn't be fair for someone who gets a higher income than they do from benefits to be able to do so.

xylophone

I feel very lucky that we got enough for the property to pay off the mortgage and be left with some equity, and dont feel that we should be penalised by having to use this equity which has built up for the last 25 years on a years rent. Are people on benefits not allowed to spend some of what is effectively a one-off windfall to better their living conditions,

Your feeling is irrelevant to the issue - if you cannot obtain the social housing because your capital excludes you, you will need to rent privately until some part of that capital has been used up?

Detroit

rtho782 wrote: »

Not really, she has the cash to pay a 12 month tenancy in advance on a house costing £2000 a month. She shouldn't have an issue finding somewhere.

After 12 months she can move into social housing.

She will need to use the £25k to live on as her benefits will stop due to the capital.

Detroit

OP, you can spend some of the money. What you can't do is spend it deliberately to qualify for benefits. And I assume this will apply to qualifying for housing too.
You will be classed as depriving yourself of capital if you are considered to have spent your money with the intention of qualifying.
What you spend on is not always as relevant as the intention, though obviously essential spending is more likely to be accepted than frivolous spending.
You are likely to run into problems if you spend £10k on furniture, as this is conveniently just the right amount to take you under the threshold, as well as extravagant, so looks deliberate. However, if you genuinely need household items, and can provide receipts and maybe evidence of the poor condition of the items replaced, this should be ok. You wouldn't be expected to buy from charity shops either. Just reasonable spending on items you need.
I've actually seen cases where modest holidays were accepted too.
I can't stress enough though that you should get proper advice on this before disposing of any money, and also as others have said, do get a benefit check.
With regards to your feelings, I empathise. Life has not dealt you a great hand, and the fact there may be other people also struggling is irrelevant, this thread is about your circumstances. I agree you deserve a break, and I hope you get support to access everything you're entitled to for you and your boys, who can't have had it easy either.
You are quite right that your care for your grandsons has saved money, and clearly you and your husband contributed to society when you were able to work. The welfare state is supposed to be there to support people when they find themselves in circumstances where they need help, and you should not be made to feel you are wrong for trying to secure a decent life for your family.

[Deleted User]

No I don't think its 'fair' I felt like I was robbing my older son every month I paid the top up on the rent but well, erm when was the world ever fair? I stopped believing in fair when I was 5 lol. Paying that money meant my son had a room of his own, and eventually devolved to 'well at least we have a roof over our heads'.

It is how the world is.

Spending £10k on furniture rather than getting good but more economical furniture and expecting to receive benefits also isn't fair. I'm sorry but I don't think it is.

You decided to sell your house, when you were on track to be mortgage free this year? I know this is what you are feeling in your head., but I did a degree so I'd stand less chance of being unemployed and did start a good career. Then I had my sons and also ended up giving work. I could think 'what's happened to my life, all that really hard slog doing a degree was totally wasted, my dreams have gone down the drain' and feel robbed and cheated.., but that's not going to do me any good. I have also got two wonderful sons who are my little miracles (not so little with the older one lol but he is in my head). I've now got a 20 year old whos not in College, fighting the education system so he can get an EHCP.., college he was at lying, and same with my younger one's school. They made an agrement as to what they would do for my son who was refusing school, two months later its all disappeared and they are surprised he's refusing school again. And telling me an EHCP isn't an option. There are so many things I could feel 'cheated' on but what good would it do. I pick my battles (fighting the education system for my older son, starting again with my younger son), got a small battle on the back burner with housing, managed to get my older son a PA (took two years).., and just shut my mind to the unfairness of it. I don't even think of the £100 a month I'm paying on rent.., that's not even worth thinking of lol. Otherwise I would be in a bad state mentally. lol This maisonette had cockroaches when we moved in, so I concentrated on 'thank god we have two beds and a roof rather than one room in shared lettings or no roof at all' rather than the fact I couldn't breath cause of the spraying I was doing lol. I did NOT allow 'what the f was the council doing giving me this crummy place' enter my head. That took some control I can tell you. I concentrated on laughing at myself every time I screamed when another of the darned critters jumped out at me. It was all I could do.

I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be nasty, but the thinking seems to be a little skewed. If you can try and straighten out expectations it might reduce your depression. I tend to find taking the world on on its own terms, face on, rather than with what I think is 'fair' (fair would have me not in emergency accommodation, or still in private accommodation with a LL who didn't threaten to evict me every time I wouldn't kow tow to him and who actually did repairs lol) stops me feeling depressed because I know in a jaded way what I am dealing with.

Kicking out at an unfair world because its unfair is about as successful as trying to stop the tide lol.

Yes try to fight the HA's decision (although as I'm doing the same against a council refusal to give us a priority that takes into account the special needs in the houshold.., its not going to be easy even getting anyone to take an interest - I've tried everywhere myself) but you decided to sell the house. Don't be too surprised there is a con to that. Like unfortunately, you will be expected to support yourself rather than receive benefits and buy £10k worth of furniture and fittings. There's just no point in that expectation.

sniggings

JazzaG wrote: »

On a quick tot-up of things we need to buy or replace, including floor coverings for our new home the total is approx £10,000.

Please reconsider spending £10,000 on doing the new place up.

You can outfit a new place for a lot less than that, maybe £2-3k.

If you can't work, you may never get such a big amount of money again.

I would rather shop around and get a few deals on sofas etc and have as much money set aside for those unexpected expenses.

Nothing worse than being on a limited budget and having no money for those extras that are sure to come up.

JazzaG

deannatrois wrote: »

Spending £10k on furniture rather than getting good but more economical furniture and expecting to receive benefits also isn't fair. I'm sorry but I don't think it is.

You decided to sell your house, when you were on track to be mortgage free this year? I know this is what you are feeling in your head., but I did a degree so I'd stand less chance of being unemployed and did start a good career. Then I had my sons and also ended up giving work.[/B] I could think 'what's happened to my life, all that really hard slog doing a degree was totally wasted, my dreams have gone down the drain' and feel robbed and cheated..,

I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be nasty, but the thinking seems to be a little skewed. If you can try and straighten out expectations it might reduce your depression. I tend to find taking the world on on its own terms, face on, rather than with what I think is 'fair' (fair would have me not in emergency accommodation, or still in private accommodation with a LL who didn't threaten to evict me every time I wouldn't kow tow to him and who actually did repairs lol) stops me feeling depressed because I know in a jaded way what I am dealing with.
Yes try to fight the HA's decision (although as I'm doing the same against a council refusal to give us a priority that takes into account the special needs in the houshold.., its not going to be easy even getting anyone to take an interest - I've tried everywhere myself) but you decided to sell the house. Don't be too surprised there is a con to that. Like unfortunately, you will be expected to support yourself rather than receive benefits and buy £10k worth of furniture and fittings. There's just no point in that expectation.

We bought this house in 1991, as our financial circumstances were on the up. I had gone back to work when my own kids were 5 and 6 years old. We gave up a council house that we had lived in for 6 years when we moved. By 2004, we both had good jobs with good prospects, as, the same as you, both myself and my husband are "educated", and were at that time on track to be mortgage free by 2016 after a 25 year mortgage. My children were adults and no longer living at home, so we were also looking forward to a quiet and comfortable life. We did not choose to sell our house, we were given a choice of waiting to be repossessed because we have not been able to reduce the capital loan by any noticeable amount since 2004, this would probably have meant the house going to auction and leaving a deficit for us still owing. I can name at least 3 people to whom this has happened. Or we could sell. We had been offered a full renovation grant to improve our home and build a downstairs toilet extension.The housing options homeless team negotiated with our building society to extend the mortgage period, I even offered to pay the mortgage off completely in 6 years when I received my pension lump sum. They were not willing to do this, because we were on benefits, even though we had been on benefits since 2004, and the capital owed had been reduced by a couple of thousand during that period. The housing options team advised me to get my house on the market quickly so I did not end up in debt with the Building Society. At no time did they say that I may not be able to be re-housed by the RSL that hold the majority of ex-council stock if I got any equity back after the sale.
At no time in this thread have I said I would expect to still receive benefits. We will lose Income Support, Council Tax Benefit and Child Tax Credit. I am aware of this, and have no intention to try and "con" the system by "frittering away" £10,000. The amount I quoted includes all large kitchen appliances and bedroom furniture, which are integrated or fitted in our current house. We will lose over £300 per week in benefits, have to pay out between £100 to £200 per week rent regardless of whether we get a social or private rental. So, just to stay at our current standard of living, we will have to use between £400-£500 per week of the equity we receive, bringing us under the £16,000 threshold within 5 months. The RSL knows that to cover my disability needs I will have to pay over the odds in private accommodation, which I will not be able to afford for long. they must know I will be back on their doorstep in the short term, so why have such a low threshold? I have lived in the same house for 25 years, and need housing that will provide me with the same level of stability. In fact, their own housing policy states that a factor when deciding on eligibility is "the positive impact of securing more suitable accommodation". This is even more pertinent when bringing my mental health into consideration.
I have clinical depression, brought on by PTSD, I do not just "get depressed". I cannot choose to think about "happy things" to stop getting depressed, My depression is a fact of life that I have to live with, and would have to live with even if everything in the garden was rosy and I wore rose-tinted glasses.
If you are in temporary or emergency housing, does the council not have a homeless duty to you, as I think S6 or S7 (Housing Act 1996) re homelessness includes people in temporary or emergency housing? In our borough the High Needs aspect of my banding is due to statutory homelessness, the Plus denotes multiple housing needs, including my disability.