Any hope of a council / social housing

[confusedinlondon]

Through some expected events my family and I are in a dire financial sitiation. The major concern is housing and I have started to look into council houses; what is the waiting time for a council house in London? It would be for me, my wife and children. I have heard it could take years even when children are involved.

My local council is Hillingdon and they require someone to be resident in the borough for 10 years before they would add them to the social housing list. We have been here for 5.5 years and because of that Hillingdon council don't seem to be at all interested in help. Does anyone have any experience of how to go through this process, as it seems very harsh to make people wait 10 years before helpping them.

Does anyone know of any council with a less strict residency provision or a council where council houses are more readily avialable.
Thanks

It's 10 years to get on the list - not 10 years then here's a house!!!

Seriously there's no housing - it's based on priority and stock available - if only 1 beds come up you won't be considered

I doubt there's an actually country list of availability - but more luck if your further north

Contact some of the housing charities for advise - but do not leave your current home making yourself homeless - you have to go through the process

It depends on your circumstances and if you meet the criteria.
Council housing in most areas of the country is sparse and I think London more so.

Are you homeless or soon to be homeless?

You could try asking Shelter for advice.

Are you currently renting somewhere? You could apply for housing benefit.

If you have a roof over you currently then no, there's zero chance

Why do you feel you should have one?

RacoonBandit is right. Contact Shelter for advice as soon as you can. Or perhaps consider the place you lived before Hillingdon, or even somewhere further north. Your local housing department can't conjure up empty properties to house everyone who wants one, hence the ten year residency rule.

If you do become homeless, and the council is found to have a statutory duty to house your family, you may find their only option is a b&b. Please get advice.

Where I live waiting list is approx six months, north west.

Different boroughs all have different criteria. My borough (London) requires you to be resident locally for 3 years to be eligible to apply for the list. Then, you have to be assessed as eligible to actually join the list. Basically, if you could reasonably rent privately (including if that means with housing benefit), and no major concerns - so no disability / illness issues that lead to needing rehousing, not overcrowded (by which we mean children can share unless teens of opposite sex, and if you needed one room extra that's low priority for overcrowding) etc - then you probably won't get on the list.

Then, once you're on the list, it could take years depending on your level of need and the priority awarded based on your circumstances. Obviously it's not impossible, but housing stock is incredibly thin on the ground so they keep it as much as possible to long-ish term residents in need due to severe overcrowding, disability / illness, home life issues (e.g. Domestic violence), or homelessness, for instance.

London is a tough place to be, rentals are rocketing each year and it's not great so I appreciate your situation but unfortunately council housing is very difficult to get these days due to the low stock available. Looking for cheaper areas to live, if possible, housing benefit, and contacting groups like Shelter are your best options. Depending on your circumstances there may be other options available, e.g. affordable rent (usually requires a minimum salary and no housing benefit), or long lease landlords / social sector landlords that charge a lower rent etc.

London is full. Waiting lists, there isn't any because there's nothing really available. To get on a list where I am you have to be resident for x amount of years and working for at least 2 years.
Then just getting on the list means nothing. You are given points, and once you have enough points you have to bid. But because of competition, it's not just you and a few bidding, it's thousands per property. A major exclusion is intentionally homeless - so leaving you property for no reason, rent arrears, breech to tenancy to warrant eviction.
There is also no local homeless. Instead of being temporary housed in this borough or any in London you are sent up North. And with the homeless system you can be moved around from temp to temp for years.

Why can you not apply for housing benefit in Hillingdon?
Have you also approached housing associations in your area?

Where I live you need to be resident in the Borough for 6 years before you can 'bid' for any housing. Have you spoken to the housing department? There could be exceptions, but its doubtful. Social housing in London boroughs are as rare as hens teeth, from what I've watched and read.

Last year, 20,000 people applied. 6% were housed. Not going to improve.
Sorry the X amount is 5 years, but this is increasing.

Are you an essential worker? There are co-ops in Westminster with mega reasonable rents for social housing for families of essential workers. no long interviews - given by housing need/housing fit and interview. you must be on board with the co-operative element and willing to get involved a little. Only for essential workers - I believe Crown estates run a similar scheme. 2 - 5 bed flats circa £400 to 750pcm.
Also shared ownership?

I'm sure if you are homeless they will find you a roof as you have kids - it may not be the roof you want but it will get you into the system - depends how desperate you are.

North west here current waiting 5 years 6 month average and that is only for priority need

Where I live it's 3 years. My housing officer has told me it's a 84 year wait for council place.

what is the waiting time for a council house in London?

Well your grandchildren might get one if you get them on the list now....

If you Cosby afford London. Move out.

In Northern Ireland, down on list under threat of being homeless, I waited 3 years. 10 years just to get on a housing list is mad. Annoys me when people here bitch about waiting a few years, they forget how fab the NIHE are. The situation in the south of England sounds woeful.

Hi, i don't know if i can get any help with my situation. I am 24 years old living with my parents and we are waiting for a two bedroom house or flat from council for over 10 years. Still nothing. My mum going through mental/suffocating illness over the last few months cz of the property we also got a medical letter from the gp proving that. I am suffering from a serious back pain as i have slept on the sofa for years and still am as i don't have space to put a bed. Been told that if I continue sleeping on the couch it could worsen up to something really serious. My dad also a heart/diabetic patient. Our one bed studio flat also been the victim of a burglar attack. Which is another reason mum feels scared all the time. We also been targeted of attack where every other day we would wake up to see someone has thrown eggs in our car. Sometimes youngsters keep on banging our windows too. Is there any chance that we hold to maybe soon get a 2 bedroom house or flat from this tiny one bedroom studio flat. Which doesn't even have partition from the bed where mum dad lives to where i sleep on the couch. I never had any privacy in my life cz of that. Now that i am 24 looking to get married I cannot even to do that cz of this situations. We tried to move into a private house cz of the financial situation we could not do that. We have almost £10k loan in our head. Which is another reason we cannot privately rent a bigger house. I will highly appreciate your time & concerns. Many thanks

Fayba please start your own thread, bumping all these old threads will only get people annoyed

ANOTHER zombie thread bumped up!