Advice required

Fernierice

Please advice .

I have a mortgage on 1 bed flat worth pennies really 40,000 at most . I bought it when I lived on my own.
I got pregnant rented my flat out and moved in with partner who has house with housing association. Council 
The relationship has broke down.  I am on maternity leave .
I've had to go homeless with my 8 month baby .Council have put me in b&b for now however today I recived a call from her to say as I own a property I am not entitled to social housing , I explained to her I'm not living in it there is a tennat in it and it's 1 bed which wouldn't be suitable for me and my child now . 
Also I wouldn't be able to afford mortage as on mat leave .
Is this correct ? 

_Penny_Dreadful

Fernierice said:

Please advice .

I have a mortgage on 1 bed flat worth pennies really 40,000 at most . I bought it when I lived on my own.
I got pregnant rented my flat out and moved in with partner who has house with housing association. Council 
The relationship has broke down.  I am on maternity leave .
I've had to go homeless with my 8 month baby .Council have put me in b&b for now however today I recived a call from her to say as I own a property I am not entitled to social housing , I explained to her I'm not living in it there is a tennat in it and it's 1 bed which wouldn't be suitable for me and my child now . 
Also I wouldn't be able to afford mortage as on mat leave .
Is this correct ? 

Each council has its own criteria for social housing. That said, property owners often cannot join the housing register.

But you could maybe join if you:

• need sheltered or supported accommodation

• cannot live in your home after a relationship breakdown

• live in an unsuitable or overcrowded property and you cannot fix things

  
  

  Point 2 would apply where one homeowner has to move out of a jointly owned home following a relationship breakdown  

  You are able to challenge the council’s decision  

  https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/council_housing_association/challenge_a_council_waiting_list_decision
  

  
  

deannagone

Call Shelter or find out if there is a charity in your area that gives housing advice.  I am afraid because there are far more homeless people than social housing properties, councils can not always be relied upon to make good decisions as to whether they have an obligation to house you or not.  Depending on criteria in your area, they may be correct, it is worth checking though.

It might be worth looking at your council's housing policy on their website.  

How long could it be until you can serve a S21 and start to get the tenant to leave? I am afraid that a one bed flat, while not ideal, would usually be considered big enough for a single mum with an 8 month old.  You can find a couple with a child living in similar or even a studio flat.  As said, not ideal but sometimes there is no choice.

_Penny_Dreadful

1 adult and 1 baby living in a 1-bedroom flat certainly wouldn’t be classified as statutory overcrowding. 

silvercar

Why can’t you private rent yourself? You have rental income which should more than cover the mortgage. 

Grumpy_chap

Fernierice said:

Please advice .

I have a mortgage on 1 bed flat worth pennies really 40,000 at most . I bought it when I lived on my own.
I got pregnant rented my flat out and moved in with partner who has house with housing association. Council 
The relationship has broke down.  I am on maternity leave .
I've had to go homeless with my 8 month baby .Council have put me in b&b for now however today I recived a call from her to say as I own a property I am not entitled to social housing , I explained to her I'm not living in it there is a tennat in it and it's 1 bed which wouldn't be suitable for me and my child now . 
Also I wouldn't be able to afford mortage as on mat leave .
Is this correct ? 

I think this query might be better suited as a query on the "Benefits and Tax Credits" board.

AIUI, the rules are correctly stated that you are not entitled to housing support if you own your own home.

It may be a double whammy as any equity in the house you do not live in would also be considered as "savings" and impact any entitlement to benefits.

I also understand that a 1 bedroom flat would be considered sufficient for one adult with baby.  It is probably more space, privacy and freedom than the current B&B provides.

You need to start the process of evicting the current tenant from the flat as soon as possible so that you can live in the flat.  Unless you have another plan that allows the BTL to continue as a BTL and then you have income from elsewhere that allows you to rent privately.

Is your baby's father contributing as he should?  If not, why not?  Can you take steps to ensure that the father does contribute?

You have not indicated what income you have or whether you currently receive any other benefits.  Have you visited one of the online benefits calculators to establish any eligibility for support?

You may also be worth visiting the "Debt Free Wanabee" section of the forum and completing a "Statement of Affairs" (SoA) budget.  You don't need to share that unless you want to, but the SoA tool can be very useful at creating budget which is something you will need to do for your current financial situation (maternity leave) plus the future situation (after maternity leave) - will you go back to work?  How will you manage childcare?  Do you have family that can assist with practical arrangements?  I am not asking these questions to pry, and there is no need for you to share the answers, but these are all prompts for the queries you need to be asking yourself to put a coherent plan together.

Good luck 

gwynlas

You and your baby would be expected to live in one room if offered emergency accomodation by council. Certainly many parents do not move baby into own room until older. If you wanted to give room to child you could easily use sofa bed in living room. It is unrealistic to expect individual bedrooms for everyone most families have always shared.

Schwarzwald

deannagone said:

...I am afraid because there are far more homeless people than social housing properties, councils can not always be relied upon to make good decisions as to whether they have an obligation to house you or not ...

really difficult to argue the case that the public has an obligation to provide housing to someone that owns a house ...

as said by others, most likely best routes are starting to evict the tenant and then move into the flat OR sell the 1-bdr flat, potentially with tenant in situ even.

but if your 1-bedroom is woth 40,000 and rental yields in your area are somewhere 5-7% .... even if you sell it wtih a discount at auction you could bank a substantial amount of money within 2 months or so and rent privately ... not sure why the public has an obligation to provide housing instead?

FlyMeSomewhere79

I think this is what winds tax payers up, people have  a baby and rapidly split up after it's born,which suggests the relationship wasn't ideal to start with, baby daddy seems to be playing no active part in housing his child, you want a free tax payer funded second home alongside the home you already own and you are already picking and choosing how big it has to be. You and the baby's father are capable of looking after the child without becoming a drain on the benefit system. And avoid further pregnancies until you can afford to buy a bigger place first. 

I hate being harsh but the single mothers / non contributing fathers phenomenon in the UK gets grating especially when they get a council flat and go on to have further pregnancies with the expectation of another funded much larger home on demand! 

theartfullodger

I think the council are correct.  Rent privately.

ian1246

Any valid reason the child can't reside with Dad at his property whilst you sort housing situation out? I know that might not be the best recieved, but ultimately Dad should be as equally involved in that child's life as mum - regardless of the split.

All too often a baby is viewed as "mums" as opposed to both parents having an equal obligation & rights to their child.

Obviously... there may be valid reasons such as alcohol or drug abuse, domestic violence etc... - but even then, alienation of a parent is an incredibly bad thing to do and the child should be given every possibility of a relationship with the other parent.

Don't let Dad off the hook with his responsibilities - whether that be housing your child whilst your homeless, or contributing financially.