How many council/HA points did you have? (or got and still waiting!)

dobbie82

Hi, i've done searches and can't find similar threads so thought I would see what we can find out.



I am a mother to 2 kids under three, will be back to working 4 days a week when my maternity leave ends soon, OH works 5-7 days a week but lives apart form us as wages here are too low for us to afford market rents.

Local council 25 points originally, a bit of bugging upped it to 35
HA1 - 23 points, upped to 33
HA2 60 points but think its a different system

with all three the vast majority of points are local connection. (born in the town, lived here 23 out of my 25 years on this earth)

so frustrating to see houses coming up and outsiders from cities 100's of miles away getting them cos they braved the hostel for a few months.


how many points do you have? or how many did you have and how long did you have to wait?

I am in north wales BTW

few of these to touch the tip of how i feel:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

dobbie82

edited to try shorten it a bit!

Diamond78

Hi Debbie,
Every council works different hun. It depends onthe council and area. In parts of London where I am it is based on band A,B, C and the next on after that is NP(non priority).

I was in band B and was in temporary accomadation for nearly 4 years.I t was a house and i have 1 boy age 5 and it was a 2 bedroom and the rent was shockingly very very high but they did not rehouse me even though I had problems with domestic violence, medical and other issues. Even when my sons bedroom ceiling caved in, it did nothing. Some councils can be helpful, you have to know all the details otherwise they just make you wait forever.

Unfortuantly I had to flee my home due to hate crime and as i did not want to be in the same borough went elsewhere and got the deposit paid on private property by the previous council i was with. Legally I have not made myself intentionally homeless but now Im not a council tenant and dont have many rights.I could argue my case as it was the councils duty to rehouse me ie transfer me which they never.

Anyway I am now on the housing list for the borough im in now and they are different but have also the band system of a b and c. Im currently non priority even tho the property i am in now is not suitable and again have medical problems ect.But the way they house in this are is thorugh a bidding system. depending on your band every week they have properties avialable either online yo9u can view or magazine and you can bid for a home. I found just one which was for non priority but there are thousands on the list so its a luck thing. I have been told i probaly will never be housed but i hope i am as this will help me get better as the place im in now is awful and landlord is awful to. Atleast if i was given a home with the rent being reasonable I would be able to work without worrying so much of the rent where as with private its a different case.

Lady_S

We are considered a bronze band, and we have to 'bid' for houses.

We have been waiting 3 years. At the moment we are both living with my parents as rent around here is too high when combined with CSA payments.

We are really stuck in a vicious circle. We can't afford anywhere, as we have the kids every weekend, so need somewhere big enough for them to stay, DD 12, DS 9. So they can't even share a room.

The costs for petrol to see them are amounting to about £150 a month now due to the fuel increases, and we only live 70 miles away, but its across country so no decent roads to get there.

We pay for two children, and look after them every weekend, but we don't get any child allowance on tax credits for this, which pushes us even closer to the poverty line.

I have actually given up any hope of owning property unless the cost vs wages drops significantly.

LISA68_2

Thought I would add my situation to compare

Have been on council/housing assoc. waiting list for 14 months have 14 points. We have a bidding system here and you get extra points main points for overcrowding, welfare issues etc. As I do not have any and living in private rented property with 2 bedrooms classed as adequetly housed just myself and a 6 yr old (although I have large shortfall on rent). I get 1 point a month waiting time. I can bid but most flats go for 130 - 200 points in rough areas. So I will be waiting approximately 15-20 years.

I am 40 this year so looks like I will never get housed realistically. I am stuck here too as only working part-time while daughter young don't earn enough to save up deposit as flat very small to move and majority of landlords do not like housing benefit even though I work as well.

oldMcDonald

We got housed a couple of years back on 95 points, but the system has changed where we are now and you have to bid on houses, rather than be top of a list.

Our council told us the points the last (similar) house was given on, so it may be worth asking yours what points they are housing at the moment?

lynnexxxo

Lady S
Do you know you can apply for a discount in the CSA payments if you have the children overnight?

shelovestobuystuff

I was on the waiting list for 9 years in my area,ended up at the last count with 91 points,I was 2nd place on the list which meant another week and I would have an offer.After about 3 weeks I though,this is taking longer than I expected,so I went to see them.Apparantly they sent me a letter to check if wanted to stay on the list,to my old address,so of course I didnt get it and didnt reply to it and I then had to wait a full year before I could apply to start over again.
By that time though we were in a position to buy somewhere ourselves and we thought we had better do that or be in rented flats forever.

Diamond78

So basically those of us that are waiting to be housed have a small chance of being housed. Im a single parent and at the moment unable to work but am starting a course so I can gain qualifications to work in a school eventually. Even then it makes no difference into being housed.

My letter i recieved clearly states that most people in my position have no prospect of being housed. Does my depression great reading that. Had my ex left me alone to live in peace i would of still had my council flat but no, he had to carry on giving me grief and making my life hell and due to his violence and threats, I had to flee my home.
I want to be a teacher and I am hoping oneday I will once i have got all my nvq's and done all the training but even with that wage i will never be able to afford a mortgage. I am independent and could never live in someone elses home as in if i met a partner. Unless I win the lottery i have no hope what so ever. And as for the bidding system, i will be very luck if a property is available for non priority band. Atleast im trying and can only livein hope.

SmellyOldSock

Just thought I'd add my story.

We've been on our local council housing list for 6 years, every year we get asked if we want to stay on, sign the form and return it.
3 years ago we were evicted due to landlord selling property. Council got us a house on a new estate held under the 106 agreement, the next day we were offered a council house, but weren't allowed to accept it due to landlord wanting us out asap.

They are now changing the system to bands of bronze, silver and gold. We will have to 'bid' on the property.

I get so frustrated, that families are moved into the area who don't want to be here, trash there house and moan about everything!

We currently live in a 2 bedroom house, my hubbie, myself, 2 sons, 1 daughter and every weekend we have my hubbies kids from his first marriage, 2 girls and 1 boy. Apparantly we're not over crowded!!!! Our tenenacy agreement is up for renewal in June and I don't know what we'll do. Our rent is not of council rates unfortunately!

Diamond78

so most of us seem on the bidding system!!! I havent been told how they choose tenants. I mean once we have made a bid and the bid has ben accepted along with all the other hundreds of tenants how is the selection process done. Is it on who bids first?I dont have hardly no choice, some weeks there are no properties for non priority tenants, so im stuffed