Social housing and 13 month old baby

[Mumtobe202310]

Hi All,

I've been living in a private rented flat with my husband for 6 years. Now we have been sent a letter saying we have to leave by end of December as landlord needs to sell their property.

In this time, we majority of the months had to sleep in living room on the sofa bed because of how cold the bedroom would be.

Years later when a plumber came to fix the bathroom issues he pointed out there were huge insulation gaps on the windowsills on both bathroom and bedroom. Explains why those places were only cold! We looked at all the flats around us and even the neighbours ones in our flats insulation gaps were all filled except ours. We asked if landlord could fix this but they refused saying they didn't get permission from whoever. The place also has mould and damp. The second year of living there it was a cockroach infestation... it was horrible. Yet Landlord never helped.

Even after I gave birth, we probably only slept in the bedroom because it was summer for maybe few days before we moved into sleep in living room. I have PND and me and LO who is now 13 months old have pretty much every single day majority of the time seen living room and kitchen. I don't mind, because I know people have it worse. We went to look at a house we saw on right move to rent out... I cried in the car on way home because how horrible it was and run down (plus get this, the person was saying how the one who is renting it out will come after 8 months from their country and live in the shed in front of kitchen... how awkward). But I did cry on the way he because it made me appreciate so much more the place we are living in. I grew my baby inside me there, brought him into that house, newborn stage was there, I'm so used to every place there and just happy with is, because i tried my best to make it a home feeling.

But, I need to get over it and know we need to move. So far, we can't find anything decent so I made an appointment with council housing because the letter the landlord sent us is under section 21 I believe and it is a no fault eviction.

I wanted to explain circumstances to the council housing, about how I have PND and it's been difficult trying to find a suitable place private wise. Do they take PND into account or no? I have appointments with therapist to prove it.

Also, I'm not working at the moment but my Partner earns sufficient amount, will they deny council housing on this ground too saying he earns decent money so we should rent privately?

Any other advice would be much appreciated.

Unfortunately, I suspect you will be way down the list for council housing. You could be waiting for years.

Put your name down and keep bidding and hope for the best.

I've never been evicted and am not a landlord or anything so I don't really know the rules, but I think you're best off waiting until they actually evict you before you move out (unless of course you find something suitable in the meantime) and then they'll have to house you somewhere.

What do you mean by your dh earning a decent amount? Do you qualify for UC? If not why are the private properties out of reach? Is going back to work feasible if you could get funded childcare?

You can certainly put yourself on the list but you are likely to be low down and very, very unlikely to get a place before December.

Why can't you continue to rent privately?

Get your name down for local authority housing and get some advice from local authorities, citizens advice .They will know best how it works in your specific area. Sometimes it really is best to be made homeless as bumps to nearer the top of huge waiting list
I really hope you get somewhere decent to live it's not much to ask is it ?.

If your DH is earning a sufficient wage for private rental you are likely to be very far down the list or perhaps unable to join. I've recently been helping a friend with housing and in our borough a household income of £64k makes you ineligible is you need a 2 bedroom property, £77k for three or larger. This is in London, where those household income levels aren't sufficient for most family size homes. There's also a savings/capital limit of £30k.

I would imagine you will likely receive advice, perhaps help, on securing a new private rental.

If want a council property you would to stay until the bailiffs comes and then they may put you in temporary accommodation.

You will need to simply go into the waiting list like everyone else. If you have 1 child and are currently not homeless then you won't be in a high band, but you will be on the list.

Where abouts in the country are you? It's so changeable by area.

If you're in London then you'll likely be waiting 8-10 years, but if you're somewhere like Norwich it could be 1 year.

You need to speak to the appropriate person at your local authority. The advice you will be given will be specific to the situation in your borough. Generally speaking there are huge shortages of social housing, but you need to ask them what they can do, what priority you will have and take the advice you are given. I would tell them about any medical conditions that you have, they do need to know about them.
( I was a homeless officer for many years)
And tell them about the disrepair too.

Foam insulation is pretty easy to sort if there are gaps, is look at plugging them yourselves so it is warmer.

The things that are likely to happen:
You will be put on the waiting list which will likely be may years long When you first apply, anyone can apply regardless of income.
When you are evicted you will be moved into temporary accomodation likely to be in a B&B and moved up the waiting list to a slightly shorter long waiting list.
You may eventually get offered a flat, possibly up lots of steps etc, possibly not in the area you want to live in. It may well have problems with mould and damp.

You are far better off in terms of your MH (if not financially) continuing to private rent so you can control where you live and not moving into temporary accomodation.

It used to be that anyone can join the list, but the rules changes a few years back. Not all areas have income rules, but many do have a cap now, and if you're above with you cannot join the list and the council have no duty to have to find you housing.

A lot of misinformation on this thread as usual.

Firstly, it depends what borough you’re in and whereabouts you are in the country as it’s different all around the UK. I’m in London and I can tell you that it’s practically impossible to get a council flat nowadays.

There have been many changes to the housing register come last April as there’s now more restrictions on who can join. It all depends on your circumstances which I don’t know inside out so I can’t comment on that.

What I can comment on is that if you get evicted and are made homeless, you have to inform the Local Authority that you’ve been made homeless. They’ll advise that you wait for the bailiffs to turn up before they place you in emergency accommodation. This can be a B&B, Hostel or anything else and it doesn’t have to be based within the borough. You’ll then be assigned a housing officer and they’ll assess whether they have a duty of care.

Here, you can either be placed in temporary accommodation where you join the housing register and bid on properties. In London, you’ll be waiting at least 8+ years in temporary accommodation and if you’re lucky enough to get a flat, then great. What a lot of LA’s have started doing now is pushing people into private renting. They’ll pay your deposit and may negotiate a lower rent amount with the Landlord.

Social housing is unfortunately becoming a thing of the past. The government has allowed this country to become a shit show and it’s practically impossible to receive help. People are stuck in temporary accommodation and poor housing for years. Good luck but your best bet is to continue private renting