Assaulted twice in a shared house

Comms69

HampshireH wrote: »

Your original posts says your girlfriend doesnt live with you and then goes on to say her parents want her to leave (which implies she lives with you)

If your gf works then no reason why she cannot look to rent and top up with partial UC for housing (your bit)

You seem to be putting a lot of barriers up. Why don't you consider just out of the area. If you arent working and have no tie there you could broaden your search criteria.

I think it means she lives at home with parents, but they want her to move out

Slithery

If all of the adverts that you're looking at state 'no DSS' then I don't see what your problem is.

The DSS was dissolved in 2001...

financegeek

Sounds like you're going through a horrible time OP. Your home should be your safe place, not somewhere you're at risk of physical (or mental) assault.

do you have any mental health support other than the anti depressants? if not, i'd go down the route of exploring counselling / support worker options, as they'll help you cope with the pressures of getting out of there.

Your end goal needs to be getting a different place to live, either by yourself or with your girlfriend. what does your girlfriend do? does she earn enough to pass the rent checks herself, with your benefits topping it up? some estate agents (Leaders are one) have a no deposit option, so might be worth exploring that?

How long has your GP signed you off for? if you can manage it, finding work might be a good option, if only to get you out of the house and away from your housemate. for example, if she's there mainly in the evenings, could you look at bar work or something similar? that way you'd be home during the day, but out when the chances of bumping into her are higher.

could you look at moving somewhere cheaper? if you haven't got many ties to the area and the support services are on the useless side, could a new start somewhere else be a good idea?

i know when you're in the depths of depression that self motivating is incredibly difficult, but sometimes you have to struggle on through the worst days to make the good days better. hopefully your girlfriend will support you and together you can find a way to move out.

good luck x

[Deleted User]

Chatham isn't a good area, but it is cheaper and when I wandered through there I'm sure I saw places advertised as needing no deposit.

I also don't understand why you don't fall in a recognised vulnerable group as far as Medway housing is concerned. You could ask your MP about this.

I don't know much about Medway Community Health. I live in Gravesend and I must say our Community Mental Health is pretty bad too (basically not worth bothering trying to get help from them lol). But they did have a day each week when they do one stop shops, including housing advice, each week. Would it be worth phoning them, asking if they help with housing issues for people with a mental illness and what you need to do to get that help?

If Medway council have lost the change of circumstances letter, probably a good idea to do another one but get a receipt for it, or email it in so there is a record. However, Housing Departments are very hard hearted about letters from parents saying a son/daughter has to move out. They know that parents will not normally force a child to leave their home. They do see it as a tactic. If you could produce evidence that your gf is your carer, that will help, although this could affect your benefits.

Have you tried getting advice/support from Bipolar UK https://www.bipolaruk.org/?

As others have said, you are in an awful situation. Well done for coping with it as well as you have. You shouldn't have to have done, but well done.

James_Green_1982

Why is the landlord so keen to keep the alcoholic woman tenant?
Surely if this woman causes the OP to move out, she'll probably cause the OP's replacement tenant problems too?
If I was the LL I'd evict this woman.

Even worse, if she's an alcoholic she's at a higher risk of causing a fire etc. or attracting other drug addicts or alcoholics to the house.

breaking_free

James_Green_1982 wrote: »

Why is the landlord so keen to keep the alcoholic woman tenant?
Surely if this woman causes the OP to move out, she'll probably cause the OP's replacement tenant problems too?

The landlord is probably going for the "path of least resistance". As long as the alcoholic woman is paying her rent the LL hopes that everyone else will just put up and shut up. Easier to deal with the odd tenant leaving and needing replacement than to try and evict the trouble maker. That's my guess.

snickersbars

If you have a local Facebook group or page, can you join it and ask if anyone knows of any places to rent? I would set it out very factually and with no backstory though to avoid putting people off with 'clutter', e.g.:

"I am looking to rent a room with ABC features from X date for up to £Y per month in Z area. Does anyone know of any landlords who have available properties?"

Browntoa

There is a " Medway acts of kindness" Facebook page you can ask on

James_Green_1982

breaking_free wrote: »

The landlord is probably going for the "path of least resistance". As long as the alcoholic woman is paying her rent the LL hopes that everyone else will just put up and shut up. Easier to deal with the odd tenant leaving and needing replacement than to try and evict the trouble maker. That's my guess.

I think you're probably right. Are the OP and alcoholic both tenants not lodgers?
Either way - it's short term thinking by the LL, because the alcoholic woman will cause the LL more hassle and voids etc in the long run.