Council housing advice

Curious_Moose

How does the rent for the council house compare with a similar rented house in the private sector?

teeni

Are you thinking that they should give up social housing for private housing or just curious.

If thinking they should move, it is not a good idea, private housing is not secure and in 6 months they could be evicted and will be up the river without a paddle, they would not get social housing again as they would be deemed intentionally homeless if they needed to make a homeless application.

Curious_Moose

teeni wrote: »

Are you thinking that they should give up social housing for private housing or just curious.

I'm just curious...well nosey really

teeni

If thats the case i suppose it depends where you live

In my area l/a rents for three bed semi is £60 - 65 per week
equivenent housing association is £70 - 90 on average

Private rent for a three bed semi is about £150 - 200 per week.

Hope this helps.

By the way I tend to be curious (well nosey) too

Other half says if my nose gets any bigger it will go round corners five minutes before the rest of me.

JoJoB

A 3 bed in this area would be about 600-700 a month I reckon, way above council rents. And yes, there's the insecurity a move like that would entail too. And the getting a deposit and a months rent together would be nigh on impossible i would imagine.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. If she is stuck there and can't get a move she could certainly think about re-arranging the furniture, although they would still be very cramped.

The council know her situation - she has sent over 20 emails now and spoken to people on the phone. They just never get back to her. She has lodged a complaint today re no-one returning her calls and emails so maybe this will gee them up a bit to at least let her know where she stands rather than just ignoring her.

Re the house exchanges - she is on the transfer list and checks it every week for possible exchanges. But her area is so bad no-one wants to exchange with her. Her street specifically is notorious and it would be a miracle if anyone wanted to move there! She is still trying this route though so maybe something will happen. The housing association lists are basically the same as the council list in this area, they are not separate waiting lists - you have to be a council tenant to get on the h/a list iyswim.

Will deffo tell her about shelter and cab. Cheers.

kj*daisy

She should complain to her local councillor if she is being ignored by the council staff. The councillor will not be able to get her/help her get a house but he/she will be able to enquire why council staff are not responding to her - which generally results in increased action from the council staff. Good luck to your freind.

Running_Horse

I know someone who was housed incredibly quickly after going into the housing office every day asking endless questions.

lucysmumwork

I have a friend in exactly the same position, she has a 2 bed council house and has a girl and a boy both under three. She has been told she is adequately housed and the kids can share indefinately. I do know that siblings can share even if they are oppositie sexes. It doesnt sit right I know but there is no law against it. The council here has no obligation either and I think to be honest there simply isnt any free houses for my friend in the town she lives as it is the type of area where everyone is buying up their council houses under the right to buy.

jezmyers

based on the information given, you have grounds for getting some priority based on overcrowding. However, in reality, the priority you get for this is very very minimal as there will be hundreds of people in a similar position to you.

again, the actual overcrowding will be determined upon the age of the children.

Other than simply applying for a transfer/exchange and waiting there's not a lot you can do to move "up the ladder" so to speak. The council or HA won't give you priority over any of the many many families who are in exactly the same situation.

The bunk bed advice is a good one. However, have you considered converting the lounge into a bedroom? Yes it means that you have the loss of the lounge as a central room, but it frees you up a bedroom.

jezmyers

Running_Horse wrote: »

I know someone who was housed incredibly quickly after going into the housing office every day asking endless questions.

that really doesn't help and I can't believe it to be the case. I've worked in social housing for the last 7 years and have never once been inclined to move someone any faster or slower due to them coming in everyday and asking. It would actually be a huge scandal if it did happen.