Council housing eligibility

Where I am (midlands) if you own a property it's an immediate not allowed on the list unless you're in a serious life threatening situation.

As others have mentioned too, don't sell as you'll be deemed intentionally homeless and you won't be allowed on the list.

Id just contact your local authority and get on the register. Only they can advise what their criteria is and if your circumstances change later down the line your situation will be reassessed and your priority will change if need be. Lots of weight is given to the band your put in and also the length of time on the register so the sooner your on the list the sooner they can provide you a house.

Do not do this.

Yes, councils have rules on who can share etc in social housing, but the OP is not going to walk out of a property they own and straight into a HA/CH!

They're going to have to go into private rented, which means whatever they can afford in the area they're living in and as they have crappy credit ratings, thats unlikely to be a lavish 3 bed property, its likely to be a shitty property that 'better' tenants do not want, so 2 bed flats way above ground floor, 1 bed pokey little starter homes etc.

Then unless there are other factors, the wait on the council list could be decades long. The kids could very easily be grown and left home before the OP gets a council property!

It is absolute madness to leave the security of an owned property to the insecurity of a private rental unless there is no other choice (ie, house repossessed by the bank).

I’d put a sofabed in the living room. You can still keep your clothes etc in the biggest bedroom.

Be careful of the rules in your local authority. If you dispose of your property to rent you could be deemed intentionally homeless.

🤣🤣🤣

what with? The magic fairy builders that don't charge you a penny???

Would it be possible to build a small extension at the back of your property and make it a bedroom?

It is worth applying and also looking at HA.

I was on the council list with an estimated 20 year wait. I happened to be in the civic centre and I saw an advert for a HA new build.

Because I have disabilities and will eventually be a permanent wheelchair user I fitted the category and got a home.

You could also look at shared ownership In fact you appear to be the type of family it is made for, you are currently adequately housed because your children are young but you won't be soon.

Selling your existing home would give you enough money to buy part of a home. Some housing associations will buy houses so it is worth looking at whether you could sell your 2 deb to a HA and get a shared ownership 3 bed.

www.propertyinvestmentsuk.co.uk/sell-my-house-housing-association/#:~:text=Housing%20associations%20may%20also%20buy,with%20a%20tenant%20in%20situ.

This is a really good suggestion!!

Where is this magical land where the council is building loads of new houses and you can get one with no waiting? Because there are many people in desperate housing need who would move there.

And advising OP to have more children to get rehoused? Do me a favour.

I would either move a bed into the living room for you two, OR one of you shares with your daughter and the other with your son.

You have to keep your daughter safe from her brother.

You need to go for a shared ownership house. Then you can use UC for the rent element, and port your mortgage across for the owned element.

First off, how old are your children? I think there's a stipulation somewhere that a boy and girl siblings should not share a room together over a certain age for privacy reasons.

Get the diagnosis for your son first of all. Is he classed as having special needs? Get all the support you are offered if he gets the dx, since this might help you get further up the housing lists.

Are you in danger if defaulting on the mortgage payments and losing your home?
Go onto your local council's website and join the list for housing. Then you're going to have to climb it.

Best of luck! 🤞

If it is actual equity then as long as you had an ok LTV in the new property, you could be freeing up money for debt.

Your current provider won't let you have a 150k mortgage against a 100k house to pay other debts.

To be honest if you have no equity at all they may not let you port

I absolutely would not sell!
Speak to a debt advisory service about your options, your credit rating is already shit so it getting a bit shitter for now isn't a problem, you will be so relieved when you have spoken to someone.
Check if you could pay interest only on your mortgage if you haven't already.
In the meantime could you either have a sofa bed in the lounge for you or one of the children share with you to split them up for now?
I would personally fight tooth and nail to stay on the property ladder, especially as you have children. It gives you options that you just don't have renting and the security is priceless.

Well around me, they’re building loads and the people moving into them…let’s just say they haven’t been on any housing register/waiting list for long.

OP needs to get googling on how she can ensure she is maximising her points and/or have more children to increase her need.

Can you use your living room as a room for you and dh to sleep? Many of my friends in London have done this, you just need a decent quality sofa bed and good storage for bedding etc in the day!

Selling would be a catastrophic mistake, hang onto the security of owning your own home, renting is often an absolute nightmare and so expensive.

There is absolutely no way I would sell to go into rented. None. If it all possible, I will consider moving to another area where we could buy a three bedroom, but definitely absolutely and totally not into rented.

For a start having a bad credit rating, the chances of you getting a place are slim to none.

Then what do you do???

If you did get somewhere, it's going to be Hella expensive and how are you going to afford that??

There is no security in the UK with renting. You have the kids schooling to consider moving once now to buy something in a cheaper area as one thing never knowing how long are you going to be in a place or will need to move find a new place a new school..

Make paying your mortgage an absolute priority and get your finances in order. You may need some help with step change or someone like that to help you reduce your debt consolidate it and advise you how to go about it the right way.

There's nothing to stop you asking about the criteria for going on the council housing list, but I think you'd be looking at multiple years until you were if ever offered a place in the meantime I think the best you can hope for is some temporary housing which is very very unlikely to be suitable for your family.

You would not qualify for council housing owning your house. This is not what council housing is for... They are like gold dust now and basically just for the destitute and those who have waited years. If you can afford to own a house it's just not how it goes. You would also be right at the bottom of the waiting list which would be years and years.
I mean actually if you sell your house to try and get a council house you could be deemed intentionally homeless and the council would discharge their duty to house you.

Yes I check regularly. They changed to a bidding system so essentially anyone in the UK who is homeless and applies to our council goes before me (it used to be council area only) they have basically told me I'll never be offered a home unless I'm made homeless by my current landlord.

What about a Murphy's bed for the living room for you and DH? Far less hassle than a sofa bed because it stays permanently made and just rises up out of the way in the day allowing the room to be used normally.

My understanding is you can't apply for council housing if you own a house ,there maybe exceptions and I would check this out with your LA rather than mumsnet .

Also you can get extra priority for your disabled child. You fill in a form about why they need thier own room. Like extra equipment to help calm down and regulate ect. But I've no clue about what you'd do with your house. Any chance you could put a cabin in the garden for an extra room?