unsuitable housing

cindy100

Thank yo starbump, your right there are people who are worse off than me, i'm sorry if i have offended anyone who has real debt problems, i'm really not ungrateful, just the fact that there are many empty properties in my local area that are waiting to be done up after people have wreaked them, i have offered to move into a house that needs work but they say it doesn't work that like.

wifeforlife

Cindy I do feel for you and I having a 4yr old DD know how you feel but to be honest, having a secure and stable home without a garden is better than uncertainty.

I live without a garden and to be honest it's easier than you think, you just have to be selective in where you bring you kids. I live in NI and to be honest there is more local and amusing things for kids to do in london - maybe you should look at london like a tourist would and plan adventures for the kids.

I know your thinking about the day to day but if there is a park outside and close by, then even just spending half an hour to an hour with them will be beneficial to the kids and you.

Also have you and your partner been studying for 9 years together? Maybe I've picked that up wrong

I hope things start to become easier to bear for you

Cate

Errata

Take it and work on a transfer to something that will suit you.
My cousin brought up two lads in a high rise in the worst part of Leeds. They both went to Uni and got good degrees.
Life is what you make it.

cindy100

lol i have been in temp acc for 9 years, i should have been studying for that long then maybe i would have a great job and could afford to buy a house, i think i need to look at this like a stepping stone and i'm guessing this will really motavate me into moving on.

pinkshoes

cindy100 wrote: »

I live in London because this is where i was born and all my friends and family are here, I don't expect to be offered a palace but the thought of trying to get 2 littleones and a buggy and shopping up 4 flights of stairs is stressfull, the flat doesn't have a lift, I have considered moving out of London but i thought you had to have some connection to the area to be housed, like family or a job, in a few years time this might be an option but for now it doesn't seem possible

I'm not sure what the rules are, but in some areas of somewhere like North Lincolnshire, you could rent a 3 bed house with garden for around £450 a month. Most towns/villages have bus routes to Lincoln and/or Grimbsby, where there are big colleges that would no doubt do the same type of course. Why not contact the local councils and ask about HB etc...?

If you're not working in London, then it would be to your advantage to live in a cheaper part of the country for now. All my friends and family live 150 miles from me, but I moved to get a good job. Or I could have stayed at home and earnt much less, and give up my expensive hobbies!

A friend of mine in London is applying for jobs elsewhere, as they're sick of living in a pokey 1 bed flat with no garden in a not-so-great area.

I know your friends and family live in London, but you need to decide what is important. I'm sure you'd make new friends if you moved.

My first post wasn't being negative, it was just pointing out that you make your own choices in life, and you can't always have everything you want, and sometimes you have to make sacrifices.

elaine373

Have you looked at the property? I had a house in berkshire and some-one from London came to look at my house as part of a 3 way swap. They said no house matched the size of their flat. I had 4 children in a flat and it wasnt easy but you have to start somewhere on the social housing ladder. you could ask if there is any possibility of a ground floor flat as you have two children close in age. Maybe they would let you hang on for one on the ground floor. This way you could sit outside with the children to supervise them playing. When i lived in a flat i always had some-one to greet and say good morning to. later, when i had been given a house i found it took months to get used to not seeing any-one. Dont assume its going to be a dump, there are probably many people like yourself who have no choice but to live in a flat. Not every-one is going to be `rough`. As far as druggies are concerned,you could get that kind of problem living in a house. you might feel safer in a higher floor property if you can adapt to the lack of garden.Have the council told you what your position would be if you refuse this offer of housing? I.e. will they offer you anything else in 3-6 months?

neas

cindy100 wrote: »

i would love to stay in my house but my landlady is selling it and i am being evicted, i am being offered a 3 bed as i have 3 children, who are 10, 3 and 2, the place they are moving me to is not near any "lovely big park" in fact all the local parks have been trashed and are full of beer cans and what not.

I see your problem . It sucks but its not a 'great park' housing scheme. Most houses in good areas are expensive, so housing associations can get more in 'cheaper' areas.

Just an aside, if you've been in temporary housing for 9 years do you mean going from place to place? Or just renting for along time?

If you ask for snother one its gonna be a while before you could get rehoused.

cindy100

this is my last refusal, they have offered me 2 flats both in the same place, both on the 4th floor with no lift, i'm going to see the other one tomorrow, lets hope the housing officer is strong and can carry my double buggy up the stairs lol. If i don't accept this then i am making myself homeless and they no longer have to house me.

cindy100

i have been in temporary social housing for 9 years, including B & B's and private accom through the council.

nearlyamum

I have recently posted about living in a council flat and how hard it was but my DH and I had no alternative and gladly accepted it. We had previously privately rented but could no longer afford to when my DH had to leave work. We went from a 3 bedroom semi in the suburbs to a 2 bedroom flat on a council estate and it was really hard adjusting but we had to make the most of it. The flat itself was quite big inside, even bigger than my SIL's house.

Where I live there is a 'bidding' system in place for available properties. Once registered, you 'bid' (not money, but asking to be considered) and you are allowed to bid on 3 per week. If you meet their criteria then you will be offered it. It depends how long you have been on the list and what your requirements are as to who gets what. With this system you obviously will not be offered properties that you do not want but will only hear from them if you have 'won' a property you have shown an interest in. We lived in our flat for 2 years but kept on bidding for houses and also joined other housing association lists. Luckily, we are now in a lovely housing association house in a much better area.

I know exactly what you are feeling but sometimes you just have to be grateful for what you are given at your time in need and make the most of it for you and your family. I'm sure the last thing you want is to be taken off the list altogether.

Good luck!