Housing advice needed urgently

sheramber

Johny86 said:

Yes I have and waiting to hear from them. I place bid on ELLC website and there are barely any properties. Sometimes weeks go by nothing comes and if it does then only 1 property a week.

If the council don't have  properties available then there is not much they can do.  They can only rent out what they do have.

Presumably, other bidders have more points/ priority than you have. 

Are there any swopping schemes in your are where you can offer to swop  to someone wanting to downsize?

Have you looked into private rental properties?

Flugelhorn

unfortunately they can't let out places that they don't actually have - can you move to somewhere else in the country? suspect London is probably the worst place to be for this 

Alderbank

 'I live in a one-bedroom flat with my two opposite gender children aged 14 and 15. My children have been sleeping on the floor and sofa in the living room.
Recently my wife and a 1-year-old daughter have moved in to live with us...'

You don't say which London borough you live in but I know that Southwark Council penalises housing applicants for ‘deliberate overcrowding’

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/council-penalises-housing-applicants-for-deliberate-overcrowding-66846

'Southwark Council decided not to give two families living in overcrowded homes priority on its housing waiting list, after determining that the families had “deliberately” put themselves in overcrowded conditions.'

To some it might look like abuse of the housing system that tenants of small properties would move extra people in, then complain to their MP that the Council would not give them a bigger property.

Perhaps you and your wife would be better to make separate application for housing initially? Your flat was already too small (in my opinion) to bring even more people in to live there. Once your wife and daughter have secured their own accommodation you could approach the Council to exchange your two properties for a single place for you all. That should be more successful.

RAS

Yes. But the forum team moved it. So you can no longer find the thread on the old forum.

jonnydeppiwish!

Op, you need to help yourself and find somewhere else to live. As others have, if there’s no housing for the council to rent, you can’t move.

There are many people who don’t have anywhere permanent to live so they will always be prioritised over your application, and rightly so. 

Can you find a job elsewhere outside of London? This would possibly improve your ability to rent privately and a bigger space.

As for your daughters sleeping on the sofa, why aren’t they in the bedroom and you in the sofa? Logistically, that would make much more sense and give them, as teenage girls, the privacy they need.

sheramber

jonnydeppiwish! said:

.

As for your daughters sleeping on the sofa, why aren’t they in the bedroom and you in the sofa? Logistically, that would make much more sense and give them, as teenage girls, the privacy they need.

my two opposite gender children aged 14 and 15.

Alderbank

sheramber said:

jonnydeppiwish! said:

.

As for your daughters sleeping on the sofa, why aren’t they in the bedroom and you in the sofa? Logistically, that would make much more sense and give them, as teenage girls, the privacy they need.

my two opposite gender children aged 14 and 15.

The OP is male. Reading the above as 'my daughters aged 14 and 15' is not beyond the bounds of possibility.

Johny86

breaking_free said:

OP, is there a reason why you won't rent privately? 

I can't afford to pay privately as the cost will be much much higher. By going private I will lose my right to buy entitlement in the future 

Johny86

sheramber said:

Johny86 said:

Yes I have and waiting to hear from them. I place bid on ELLC website and there are barely any properties. Sometimes weeks go by nothing comes and if it does then only 1 property a week.

If the council don't have  properties available then there is not much they can do.  They can only rent out what they do have.

Presumably, other bidders have more points/ priority than you have. 

Are there any swopping schemes in your are where you can offer to swop  to someone wanting to downsize?

Have you looked into private rental properties?

I'm registered with Homeswapper, housing exchange and home finder but haven't had any luck. Private properties I haven't looked at and do not think it will be an option for me due to the higher cost involve etc etc 

Johny86

jonnydeppiwish! said:

Op, you need to help yourself and find somewhere else to live. As others have, if there’s no housing for the council to rent, you can’t move.

There are many people who don’t have anywhere permanent to live so they will always be prioritised over your application, and rightly so. 

Can you find a job elsewhere outside of London? This would possibly improve your ability to rent privately and a bigger space.

As for your daughters sleeping on the sofa, why aren’t they in the bedroom and you in the sofa? Logistically, that would make much more sense and give them, as teenage girls, the privacy they need.

Finding a job elsewhere is a problem and its not feasible to leave my permanent job