How did you survive temporary accommodation?

[Wanderer19]

Hello,
I am soon to be homeless with my one year old as my relationship broke down and partner gave me until August to leave. I spoke to the council and have a housing assessment at the start of July. I’m in central london southwark to be precise. I am not working. Anyone know where they are likely to house me at the end of august ? B&b or straight into a flat??

any tales of hope from mum’s that went through temporary accommodation?♥️

It happened to a friend of a friend with a baby, toddler and older son at secondary school. They were in a premier inn room and it was very difficult for them, but the council got them into a local holiday park chalet for 12 weeks after some time (?months) of the hotel room and gave them passes for the facilities which was obviously a big improvement in their circumstances. Then they succeeded in getting rehoused. I got involved helping them advocate for themselves using the housing policy and getting themselves made an exception to policy which was successful and they have now been rehoused.
London's going to be a bit different and if you are successful in getting accepted onto the housing list, what happens next could well depend on if you are prepared to move out of London permanently or not. They will advise you. It might be worth you reading through their housing policies and then you can work out your chances of being accepted and what might happen next. Then you potentially will have some questions to ask the officer at the meeting
Good luck.

Hostel /b&b, you won't be getting a flat straight away, if you are lucky temporary accommodation housing

It's likely that it'll be a B&B for some time and not necessarily in the borough. However, it's a necessary process to go through, as refusing it or staying with your ex/friends/parents/relatives will mean that you aren't actually homeless.

The important thing will be that you aren't dependent upon him anymore. So it'll be worth it in the end.

Unfortunately it's very likely you will be housed locally unless you can claim extreme detriment, hostel/hotel is most likely and not in Southwark. If you return to work in the interim, you would have a stronger case to stay nearby

You are more than likely not to be housed locally tbh

Hey doll been homeless for 4 months living in travelodge I suggest you get on to the Mp and head of council complaints and try suggest they move fast with your case. I haven't been offered any b&b / temp
Accom due to insufficient houses

deffo seeing it as a stop to a secure home for my son. I don’t mind being moved away from London tbh it will be a fresh start. I actually spent my teens homeless in hostels and b&bs but the ones I was in were full of drug addicts talking I had to use public toilets because the ones in the b&b would have piss and poo all over the floor. I’m scared to have my son exposed to this..

I’m so sorry to hear what ur going through, what absolute shambles the system is..

There is woman refuges and hostels that are designed for women/women with children

Hiya!
so they placed me and my son (4 months at the time) into a hostel for 7 months (you will likely get your own bathroom and not shared as your baby is so young) then unexpectedly moved me to more of a b&b type place (they seem to move people around quite alot unexpectedly, I also moved rooms in the hostel, not out of choice, so be prepared for that, I am in essex so maybe your council will be different)
I have been here for about 4 months and have been in the bidding process for about 2 months now.
That was just my experience, but everywhere is different.
Good luck with everything, I hope it all works out! xx

Thanks for replying ! Did your b&b have ur own bathroom ?
wishing you all the best hope you get something soon doll xxx

Yeah In the B&B I have my own bathroom, I think they have to give you your own bathroom where you are a single mum and your baby is so young. If you don’t have your own bathroom I would definitely argue that!
I got quite lucky in my hostel and was placed somewhere it was mainly family’s and single mothers, if you speak to a housing officer it probably wouldn’t hurt to ask if there is any room in a place more suited to your baby but I think they will probably cater to you a bit as you are a single mother with a young baby, so technically you are vulnerable, but again, everywhere is different this is just my experience.
It seems like a really long process but just stay positive! The sense of security you will have for your and your baby at the finish line outweighs everything else!
If you have anymore questions let me know! xx

Really appreciating you responding to me. My biggest question is what have you been doing food wise for you and ur bub? Do you have ur own kitchen facilities too?
im also worried they are going to push for me to get into work and go private rent but I’ve spent the last 10 years moving around all over the gaf with no place to call home and I don’t want that for my boy.

In the hostel I shared a kitchen upstairs with 1 other couple so cooking wasn’t a problem (I must add I’m not a big eater at all so I rarely cook for myself, just the baby but where he was so young at the start, there wasn’t much to it) But the facilities were actually ok in the hostel.
On the downstairs floor of the hostel, there was a massive shared kitchen but you were delegated a section so you had your own cupboard space and your own cooker that you would share with one or 1 other people/familys.
Where I am now (in the B&B) it’s just one kitchen shared between everyone (about 12 rooms) so it’s a bit of a pain, there’s alot of Anabel Karmel meals throughout the week! Iwouldn’t start making a shepards pie or a lasagne in there but to put something in the oven is fine.
How old is your child? Have you made a phonecall yet to make the next step? xx

The hostel doesn’t sound too bad at all. I hope you’re out of the b&b soon. My son is 17 months to be exact but he’s a big eater (eats more than I do lol) I do have a ninja multicooker that I’m planning to take with me so that should help. I called them two weeks ago and they told me to send some documents in with a letter from ex to say I am to leave by end of august. Since then I’ve had a email to say my housing assessment is booked for start of July via telephone so after that I suppose they will get back to me?
its such an awful place to be in mentally and the anxiety looms over you about all the worries and how long the process will last. Atleast I’ll have little man to keep me busy instead of sitting around in a state of despair

Yeah perfect, you will absolutely have cupboard space and plug sockets sockets in there as, it’s obviously not ideal to share a kitchen but it’s doable, and all of these little things that are a bit of a pain, you have to just tell yourself it’s not forever!
Again I don’t know how it works with your council but, they called me on a Thursday to tell me they had a room for me and the baby, I went to look at it that same day, they gave me the keys there and then and then I moved in the next day, they move very quickly seemingly out of nowhere so just be prepared for that aswell. There’s not much of a heads up, which is understandable as there’s so many people in the system moving around.
Try not to worry too much, just roll with it, It’s not as bad as it sounds, it’s scarier thinking about it than it is actually being in there, just try and stay positive, keep a good mindset and keep reminding yourself it’s temporary. The thought of me and my little boy being able to sit on our own sofa, in our own living room and watch a film together makes the process a lot easier! xx

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me God bless ya xxx

No problem! Good luck to you and bubs xxx

A relative of mine was put in a flat, which was kept to be used as temporary accommodation. It was a really lovely flat. I hope you get something suitable soon. This was not in London.

Does that mean that you’re holding out for social housing? You might be in TA in London or elsewhere a long time if that’s the case. When he’s got his nursery hours, is there a reason you can’t work?

I don’t mind going back to work once he’s in nursery but i actually have worked in childcare my whole life only having left 3 years ago and personally am not comfortable with him being in nursery right now or childcare. And yes to be truthful I would rather wait for somewhere secure than repeat the last 10 years all over only this time round with a baby!

I didn't want to read and run.

I did went a similar path with a young child, in a different area.

The worst part around it for me was the judgements I made on myself that I'd got myself into that situation, and I worried what others thought.

Once I put those negative thoughts aside, it was the best decision I've ever made for us.

If your child is young they won't even remember it! As ridiculous as it sounds, if you are happy they are happy and you literally can frame it as an adventure at that age.

Best of luck

Don’t expect to be given a flat right away, especially with Southwark council.
They were voted as the worst council in London.

In regards to temp accommodation, you will likely be put in a room at first. You will have kitchen and wash facilities, they can only keep you in that room legally for 6 weeks whilst they do all they’re checks to see if they have a duty to house you.

After 6 weeks they must find you a suitable temporary place to live, in your case you will be entitled to a two bedroom as your son is over one, however these are in high demand so you’ll likely be given a one bed.
They can and will move you out of London if they cannot find a suitable property within the borough, which stretches from Crystal Palace down to Bermondsey so you can be placed anywhere inbetween. You cannot refuse these offers as they will then release you from their duty of care and deem you intentionally homeless.

You will then go onto the bidding system, if there are no medical conditions or special circumstances, you will go into band 3 and have to bid weekly for a two bed flat or house whichever is on there.

Band 3 has a 5-7 year wait list, they do not give out direct offers anymore so you have a very long wait ahead of you.
Whilst in temporary accommodation, the council must provide you with a fridge and a cooker everything else you need to provide for yourself.

They can also move you at anytime, especially if you are provided with a privately owned temporary accommodation.

Also when bidding make sure it is somewhere you really want to live as again you only get one chance of you refuse the offer they will close your case and you will then have to go private.

I wouldn't be giving OP any false hopes I used to live in London(a year ago) and it's not always like how you explained

What a sad state this country is in when we can't even house a mother with young children. Housing should be a human right