Council Points System

TJ27

I used to occasionally get asked to inspect rented houses and to award housing points based on a fairly crude scale.

However, I'm told that we don't even use the points system anymore and I haven't been asked to do any inspections recently. I don't know what system we currently do use.

Might be different in your area though.

Gwenrose

BobProperty wrote: »

1. That'll be interesting.
2. 16 yo "up the duff" chavs aren't likely to get 3 bed council houses, despite what you read in the papers.

Sorry have to dissagree with you there. I have a freind who lives with her husband, in Canterbury, in a three bedroom bungalow, a very large bungalow. Her daughter dated and got pregnant at 17 and was offered a three bedroom council property in Hernebay and the boyfriend was no where in sight.
So lucky old her, nice three bedroom house that had all modcoms and one single mum and baby well settled in, claiming benefits as she was not working and having the rent paid for her by all of us who work and pay tax.

What's really gritting, is that she now has a boyfriend, four years later, she has the chance to buy the property the council gave her, at a reduced rate, while other couples struggle to make ends meet and pay their morgage:mad:

By the way, the rate payers paid for her new kitchen, bathroom, heating system, double glazing, etc.

Now how in gods name does that make sence, when a couple with two children can't get a house and I know of other cases where 16year olds have got pregnant and have a nice house to live in with various boy friends in residents. It really is going on.:mad:

olly300

It really is going on.:mad:

Local councils have to house under 18 year olds as they are children.

However all the young single mums I know or have talked where I live/lived in London who thought they would get nice flats or houses where first made to go an live in B&Bs before given a one-bed flat in a nasty council estate or forced to rent privately using housing benefit.

iceicebaby

I know a single man who has been given a 3 bedroomed council property after being on the list for 7 years but he also has joint custody of his 3 kids who have to sleep somewhere 4 nights of every week. Maybe the single blokes you know who you say have been given these houses have similar circumstances?

Your friend needs to go to the CAB and the council for advice. However I know of families who have been on the list a lot longer than your friend has

wherediditallgo

In the old days, people registered for council housing & then just waited until their name got to the top of the list - they'd get points for each year they were on the list, plus additional points according to their circumstances. There were a lot of people who'd been on the list for years, had never needed somewhere to live, but had stayed on the list anyway. Meanwhile, someone else was further down the list because of them.

Some councils (including my own) have now taken up a system which I personally think works better, as it works on need. The new system means that people wanting somewhere to live have to first be on the council housing list, & then have to register to be allowed to bid for properties. The bids are looked at, & properties allocated on the basis of need - your time on the list is irrelevant: only your actual circumstances count. So for instance someone with a medical need to move who's only been on the list six months could well get housed before someone who's been on the list for years but who doesn't have a medical issue to take into consideration. When I moved, I had medical priority over a single woman who was pregnant & a couple with a young baby (we all viewed the property at the same time), so it's not always the case that single parents get priority over others. My own council doesn't have a large number of empty properties, & many single parents are in B&B - one of my friends is sharing a room with her toddler son in a B&B, & has been there nearly 6 months.

This bidding system means that people who actually need housing will get it before those that just want it. Even those who need it will be assessed on the basis of priority need, & a household with two grown adults capable of working are from the council's point of view more able to afford a home than a single parent with two toddlers running round her feet. The council have an obligation to the children even if they don't have one to her.

There are always going to be issues with the allocation of council properties, but some applicants do bring the problems on themselves. Firstly, when people register for housing, the onus is on the applicant to keep the council up-to-date on their circumstances & keep in contact to find out where they are on the waiting list. A lot of people don't bother, then expect the council to miraculously know they want somewhere to live & why. Secondly, some also seem to think they can be very specific about what they want & where they want it, & then expect the council to come up with the property. I told my council I needed a one-bedroom flat on the ground or first floor (I have a mobility problem, as well as other health issues), & needed to be within an hour's travelling distance of work. That was it - I didn't insist on a garden, double glazing, a lift, intercom, a garage/parking facilities or a host of other things I've seen on other people's applications. It also didn't have to be in a good decorative state - as long as it met the Health & Safety regulations, I'd be happy with it & would sort out the decorating as & when I could. I backed up my application with a supporting letter from my GP without being asked to do so, and I was re-housed 6-8 months later. If I hadn't had a medical condition to take into consideration, I would have been given one offer & one offer only, & if I'd turned that down I would have been off the housing list & would have had to re-register. That "one offer only" policy applies to many if not most councils. If people want to be so exacting about what they're prepared to accept, and/or can't be bothered to keep the council up-to-date on their circumstances, their choices are to either wait or go to the private sector.

PasturesNew

Single person - rural area. I'd be surprised if it weren't about 20 years to be honest.
There is a smaller percentage of housing in rural areas per head of population than in cities for starters.

wherediditallgo

BobProperty wrote: »

The only way IMHO to get this sorted is to go and see someone at the council to go through their application and make sure everything that could be on there is accounted for. Even having taken everything into account, and how the council works its housing lists, a single man of working age isn't going to score very highly (again IMHO). Like Melissa says, I doubt very much if a single man would be offered a 3 bed council house. I would think it much more reasonable and likely that he would be offered a one bed flat and he would also have to be very careful about turning it down. I think we only have half the story here.

iceicebaby wrote: »

I know a single man who has been given a 3 bedroomed council property after being on the list for 7 years but he also has joint custody of his 3 kids who have to sleep somewhere 4 nights of every week. Maybe the single blokes you know who you say have been given these houses have similar circumstances?

I agree - not everything is the way it first appears. One of my neighbours is a single man in his early thirties, & he's been given a one-bedroom council flat in the last few months. People looking at him might think he should be out working & shouldn't have a council flat. It's only because his social worker came to my door by mistake & I took them to the correct property that I got to know the new resident. He has epilepsy (gets grand mal seizures) following an accident, takes regular medication but now can't work. He's classed as a vulnerable resident.

BobProperty

Gwenrose wrote: »

Sorry have to dissagree with you there. I have a freind who lives with her husband, in Canterbury, in a three bedroom bungalow, a very large bungalow. Her daughter dated and got pregnant at 17 and was offered a three bedroom council property in Hernebay and the boyfriend was no where in sight...... It really is going on.:mad:

The phrase I used was "aren't likely to" not "it has never happened". The plural of anecdote is not data.

wherediditallgo's theory also crossed my mind. Most LA's give consideration to ex-service personnel. There is a possibility that the apparently single man getting the 3 bed house could have medical or psychological issues which are being addressed before his family join him.
I've also noticed no one ever considers the !!!!-up theory. There is always the possibility in these cases that someone has made a mistake and allocated an applicant a better house than would usually be the case. Given that all LA housing staff are perfect this could never happen. (apologies to LA housing staff, I'm just making a point no one considers)

Andy_Hamilton

In chester-le-street they use the points system to apply to buy a new affordable homes, so few people applied so the developer was allowed to sell to who ever. I just moved into my (100% mine) discounted brand new 3 bed home for...


...£82,500 :j :j :j :j :j :j :j

I got the application form for a council house and would only get 5 points out of 160.

seven-day-weekend

BobProperty wrote: »

1. That'll be interesting.
2. 16 yo "up the duff" chavs aren't likely to get 3 bed council houses, despite what you read in the papers.

The only way IMHO to get this sorted is to go and see someone at the council to go through their application and make sure everything that could be on there is accounted for. Even having taken everything into account, and how the council works its housing lists, a single man of working age isn't going to score very highly (again IMHO). Like Melissa says, I doubt very much if a single man would be offered a 3 bed council house. I would think it much more reasonable and likely that he would be offered a one bed flat and he would also have to be very careful about turning it down. I think we only have half the story here.

My son (a single, childless, minimum wage man) was told he would get ten points. The high-rise flats near our house you need 75 points for. So no chance of ANY council place then.

If you know how a single man gets a three-bedroom place, please let me know.

(NB - there ARE houses in my LA that you need no points for - 2 and 3 bedroom. Anyone on the Council list can have them. If you want to live on a boarded-up estate amongst the muggers, drug addicts, prostitutes and rats, then that's fine. I wonder why none are taken? Maybe the houses the OP referes to are in this category?)