Adoption- spare room issue

[sickofturkey]

I am a single parent to a ) year old girl, work full time and also live in social housing .

I have for some time had a strong desire to adopt and decided to speak with my local council this week and make enquiries as to the process etc.

My local council Have confirmed that once I am approved they will place me in to band 2 for a bigger house to accommodate the extra bedroom required ... However, I have also spoken with two agencies (one being my local council both of who will not even allow me to apply until I actually have a spare bedroom . I have explained fully my predicament however they are unwilling to budge .

The housing association have said that they will accept confirmation from social services that I will be approved subject to being housed in a 3 bed once all checks are done etc however the agencies don't want to know ...

Can anyone offer any advice ... my initial reaction is that I want to send an e mail of complaint to the head of the council and housing association.

I can't rent private as the cost of rent would be £450 per month more which would basically mean I could not afford to take care of a another child or take 12 months adoption leave

[twinklestarmum]

i was in a very similar position, theres no way around it really. i had to move privately as council wouldnt rehouse me to a 3 bedroom until after approval, couldnt start adoption process without the 3rd bedroom.

Yes i pay much more in rent but im so much happier now and well on my way to adopting, my panel is December and i moved house in March.

I did actually send off an email complaint to a number of people but it did absolutely no good at all and probably burned a few bridges along the way.

[Ted27]

I suppose the bottom line is that the HA can't give you a house because firstly there is no guarantee that you would be approved and there is no set timescale for you to go through the process and be matched. So you could be sitting in a house with a spare room that you arent using for over a year, whilst there could be a family that needs that room now.
And the need to have a spare room applies to everyone.
Adoption presents many challenges that you need to overcome. This is your first challenge. I don't say that to unduly harsh, when I first looked into adoption I was a home owner with plenty of room but my job really wouldn't have worked as a single mum -it took me two years to find the right job.

[ButtonMoonLoon]

This happened to a friend of mine. Her social worker wrote to the Housing department asking for confirmation that, once approved, she would be allocated a property with an extra bedroom prior to matching.
The housing department responded in agreement and although she ended up waiting quite a few months for a property it all worked out in the end.

[LemonSqueezy0]

I empathise but its not really a workable request. If they did that for adopters they would have to do it for people that said they planned to get pregnant in a year or so. With the best will in the world, There just isn't the housing stock. It could be years before you finish the process and are matched, or you might change your mind.
If your agency won't accept as above pp suggested, would it be possible for you to move area to somewhere more affordable? Or save for a bit so you can cover the difference. You are stuck between a rock and a hard place, I hope you can resolve it

[OhMyDarling]

I’d love to long term foster or adopt, but have faced the same issue with social housing.
Do let us know if you find a way around this.

[Italiangreyhound]

sickofturkey it's up to you about complaining but if you are hoping for assistance from any of these departments then a complaint won't help at all, IMHO.

Also, I am sure you are aware, you will need a two or more year difference in age between your birth and adopted child so you won't be able to start the process yet. I do know some areas will start the process quite early but I would be surprised if any authority would start the process with your own child being so young.

So that's frustrating if you want to get started but that does give you some time for saving up money etc.

It looks like what ButtonMoonLoon suggests would be a good route to try.

Good luck.

[Tommie45]

Hi. Just made an acc so I could post on this thread. My situation was exactly like yours and I’ve just been placed with a ds a few weeks ago so it can be done.
I’m in a 2 bed HA home with an older AS. When I approached LA about adopting again they said exactly what yours said and council also told me I’d have to be approved first. I asked to speak to council housing manager (it took months and perseverance to actually be able to speak with him). I pointed out the government’s guidelines re: prioritising prospective adopters for social housing and also pointed out the cost of keeping a child in care versus the cost of rehousing me. He was understanding of this but also pointed out the pressure on housing stock etc. I agreed a compromise with him, if he could speak to social services and assure them that my priority would be higher once approved and put that in writing then it might help get a child a home and save the council a lot of money.
Next step was to speak to social services managers and point out the same thing, they then contacted housing and assurances were given on both sides.
Fast forward to where I am today. I’ve been placed with a 13month old who is currently in my bedroom whilst older son has his bedroom. Council has indeed raised my priority rating but even on the higher band, they tell me it could be 11months before I get offered anything. I don’t mind this for now as our situation is doable due to little one’s age. My oldest moved into his own room at 3 and that worked well for his attachment and I’m hoping for the same with this little one. Even if I was to be moved today, he’d still be sleeping with me until he’s more settled and secure.
My plan is to get in touch with my MP if after a year I still haven’t been offered anything and ask for help.
Maybe try that?