council house problems!!!!/no rebate for rent/ctax (merged)

someonehadmyusername

this is wierd

just had a call
someone from east durham homes

she said how are you doing as you have been homeless for quite a while-since april (new system)

i corrected her-since january

she asked if i had considered privately renting-yes i said but no houeses at all wheer i want to be

she said they are not getting a lot in but if i dont mind waiting...


i told her about my call yesterday when i spoke to someone and they told me i may be put in a higher band etc when she has spoke to senior officers


what was the name of person you spoke to?
i told her

get this SHE IS A SENIOR OFFICER SO YOU WONT GET HIGHER THAN HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
that im in b and i wont get higher

she said it is her boss and she would call her now and ask what was goingon



whats happened?
why is everyone telling me different things and why did she lie and say she would speak to senior officers when she is a senior officer???

xxx

someonehadmyusername

i got a letter this morning from the 'senior' officer

as part of the rewiew of housing policy it was agreed that to assist applicants in urgent housing need find settled accomadation quickly they would be accepted for all letting areas within the district 28 days after the date of decision

on reviewing your application i have noted that you now meet criteria to be grouped in band A as your property has been identified as having structural problems

you have therefore been banded A from your original date and accepted for your original areas of chioce *********. should you wish to be considered for another area please advise the housing office in order that your application can be ammended





this looks like brill news for me!
does the 'original date' refer to when i was made homeless in jan 2005 or when i was first put on list 4 years ago

am i right in that if there is aproperty available, and 2 applicants with same situation, they will give it to whoever has waited longest??


and would they let me have a 3 bedroomed home as me n b/f were considering more little ones when we are settled in a new home

xxx

someonehadmyusername

am i boring everyone??

Murtle

I'm not sure which date this will refer to, check with them.

I don't think they will consider you for a 3 bedroom house as there is only two adults and one child. Therefore you will only need 2 bedrooms. If you have another child of the same sex, they will be expected to share a bedroom. So you still wouldn't require an extra bedroom. Maybe you want to think about getting yourself sorted initally before having another child?! Or you could end up where you are with two children???

someonehadmyusername

thanks

no, we wouldnt even consider it until we were settled

just wondering if we would be eligable for 3 bedroomed

not likely is it?

there are so many families who really need 3 bedroomed tho, and then 3 bedroomed houses with 1 old man and a dog etc living in them

why arent they offered a smaller property?
x

viktory

Because by law once you have an assured tenancy (I think it is assured) and do not break the terms of the tenancy the council have absolutely no right to evict you on the grounds that your family have grown up, left home and perhaps a spouse has died. This stands even if the person remaining is living alone in a 3 bed, 4 bed etc.

Remember that this is a persons home, filled with memories and they have every right to continue living there until they choose to move somewhere smaller or pass away.

If the councils weren't so quick to sell their properties for a ridiculously small sum (and people didnt buy them) there would be far more council homes available and more choice. This is why you should take any council house/flat that is offered (within reason). Unlike the private sector you cannot pick and choose where you live, how many bedrooms you get or how close to a school it is. Just be grateful that you have somewhere to live at a very reasonable rent. Not to mention all repairs done free of charge. It's not called social housing for nothing.

someonehadmyusername

i wasnt suggesting they throw them out, just offer them a choice to move into a smaller house if they wish

i know a few elderly ppl who would love to move to smaller house/bungalow
but there is a shortage of them too

council should buuild more

i just thought it may be a quicker way to move me as most streets in my areas of choice are 3 bedroomed with a few houses 2 bedroomed in each street
it was just a thought

anyway, i am grateful for a house but not this house, its been hell to live here
i shouldnt even be made to pay rent to live in this mess

and all repairs are not done for free here either

viktory

someonehadmyusername wrote:

i wasnt suggesting they throw them out, just offer them a choice to move into a smaller house if they wish
That is exactly what happens in my area. People that live in a home that is too big for their needs are offered smaller accomodation if they make enquiries. It is always in the area of their choice as well, as the council and Housing Associations are aware that they are making quite a sacrifice.
i know a few elderly ppl who would love to move to smaller house/bungalow
but there is a shortage of them too council should buuild more
Where exactly????? Our beautiful country is rapidly being eroded by constant house building. AFAIC the only answer is to stop selling the existing council houses. Thankfully, as more and more council's sell their stock to Housing Associations this will stop in the future as new tenants are not given the right to buy.
i just thought it may be a quicker way to move me as most streets in my areas of choice are 3 bedroomed with a few houses 2 bedroomed in each street
it was just a thought
Yes, it may be mean that you are re-homed quicker, but it would be at the expense of a family that truly needs the extra room
anyway, i am grateful for a house but not this house, its been hell to live here
i shouldnt even be made to pay rent to live in this mess
Of course you should be made to pay rent. When I moved into my current home it needed extensive repairs. They did get done eventually (about 6 years after i had moved in) but I never withheld rent.

and all repairs are not done for free here either

Obviously each council do things differently in each area, but I have worked for both a council and a Housing Association as a repairs officer and in both the majority of repairs are indeed free. Certain things, such as broken windows, redecoration of internal areas, rewashering of taps, blocked toilets etc are indeed the responsibility of the tenant. This includes damage caused by the tenant and family of the tenant.

I am constantly amazed by the requests from certain tenants for repairs. Anything from changing a battery in a smoke alarm to a new light bulb!

I am constantly reminding our tenants that although the council/HA are the legal owner of the property it is their home for as long as they want it, as long as they do not break the (very reasonable) terms of their tenancy. As a result it is the tenant's responsibility, to a certain extent, to maintain their home and take pride in it.

stellagypsy

Some valid points raised here but to clarify -

Councils can't build new stock. Housing Associations can.

If a Council tenant wants to exercise their right to buy, so long as they fulfil any local condtions / criteria (eg length of residency, no debt, no Court action etc) there is nothing that can be done to stop them buying their home. We have some listed buildings in a conservation area that we let that and they can't buy these as per the deeds.

HA tenants have the "right to aquire" - different legislation, different discounts AND if they sell, the HA gets first refusal on having it back. (New legislation).

We are now having to do shared ownership - in a nutshell tnt can buy a 25% share of the property at market value and pay rent on the remaining 75%. Again, if they want to sell, the HA have to buy it back off them at the current market value. This is the only way to prevent further dwindling of desirable stock.

Here's what happened recently. We are now a HA, we have 3 empty old cottages that if we went ahead and let them, the tenant would be 100% certain to buy them (it is to do with their location, they are in a very famous place). So we have refurbished them and offered them for shared ownership. It is the only way we can hang on to these assets as the 3 cottages have been valued at £600K+ - we are a business now, we can't afford to let them go.

Also with regard to the "beggars can't be choosers" scenario re where the tenants live - whilst that was true of the old waiting list way of allocating properties, we now offer choice based lettings via a web site. Applicants choose which properties they are interested in and express their interest. We still ensure they are the right size of family for the property and we take up references, but apart from that, it is entirely their choice where they live.

I know some LA's / HA's offer financial inducements to single occupiers of 3-bed houses and the like to move out and release the property for a family, but we have not ever done this. Their home is their home until they want to leave it.

Our repairs are free other than for clearly defined items that are their own responsibility and unless the damage is caused by their own negligence.

Stella

Murtle

Where I am working at the moment, they offer a financial incentive of £x amount per room to give up if they downsize!! They are probably making more then that by sub-letting But it does happen (apparently) but they have large families here too.....