In thinking that living in a B&B with two kids is going to be a nightmare?

[CharlieUniformNovemberTango]

I know I'm being unreasonable. I know there are people is worse situations but I need to get all of this out in the hope I'll sleep tonight if I offload and maybe even hear something positive from people who have done it before.

I have posted before under a different name (AllShiney) but this name better matches my mood :)

The gist is that I was served notice. I now have 18 days left and I still have not found anywhere to go. It's a combination of private rents being too high, no one taking people who recieve housing benefit, not having a UK based gaurentaur.

I have rung over 100 agencies. I have been in touch with shelter and a local housing charity. It's hopeless :(

I'm on the council list and bidding but I am low band only in need of an extra bedroom as per their assessment at the moment. They have advised that if I leave when my notice is over I am making myself intentionally homeless and they will not prioritise our needs. I basically have to stay and be evicted through the court before I am a priority.

Then I will 'most definately' be put into temporary accommodation which would be a B&B. They 'might' be able to offer me storage for my belongings at a reduced rate. However, they won't know this for certain until the day I approach them with my homeless application. That is the day that the bailiffs will evict me so I would have to leave the furniture behind as opposed to selling it if I had some notice.

Please don't get me wrong, I am gratefull we won't be on the streets but the whole situation is so stressful :(

I have an 11 yo and a 3 yo. The thought of staying in one room for months is daunting. I'm just visualising me sat in the dark from 8pm. Not even sure I'll have MN as I won't have my WiFi.

Also, the council women today said they will try to pu me in a food friendly b&b. When I asked what that meant she said some of the places they use don't allow any hit food in the room. You have to eat out for every meal. I was hoping I could pickup a cheap microwave and use that :(

It's going to be hell isn't it?

Perhaps you could sue for messing you about and causing you lots of stress? Dont know if thats a silly idea though.

I k ow you're right.

It will be ok and the timing is better for the wedding at least.

But now we will be expecting the possession order right at the time DD starts high school. Which is something she is very stressed about because she was allocated away from all of her friends.

How awful!

What a fucked up system we have. I'm really pissed off on your behalf.

Oh Charlie :(. Can't offer any advice, but just wanted to give you , as the way you have coped is inspirational.

It is horrible that you have been messed about like this.

Hello Charlie, I am so sorry about all this.

I've lived with housing issues which darn near killed me, but one thing that helped was a housing support worker from InTouch/Hyde/Mosaic (company kept changing).

For instance, when the council were saying (after we'd been fobbed off for 7 years that we were band C, an MP taking one look, sending an officer round and we went to Band A) that we'd have to wait up to two weeks for our paperwork to officially move us to Band A (so bidding was futile), one phone call to our housing support officer who rang the council, and PING! it was updated within minutes. We bid on the home we now live in that very day.
These housing support people are a good organisation to have in your corner, and often cut through fobby-offy-council-bullshit.

Also, maybe try speaking to someone in the private housing sector. They got Things Done within days, after being ignored by the other department for years.
Can your health visitor give you any help by writing to the council? Anything, anything at all helps.

Good luck.

not nice to be messed around like that, it's not just practicalities is it? emotions...

hoping one way or another you'll get some relief, but I suppose at least you now know nothing will happen til at least that date so you can maybe relax a little?

Right, I've calmed down a bit now! Thanks guys :)

I walked round to the school to meet DD. She is off camping with friends so I had to drop off her bag. On the way I realised that this will make her summer. She was so worried about being far away, getting the bus to school for the last few weeks and then missing out on the local park which is where her friends go everyday after school and during the holidays.

All of her friends are within 5 minutes of the park and they have dens built and she spent pretty much the entire 6 weeks there last year.

I am so sp glad she will get that again. Especially as this is her last summer of juniors and come next year it'll probably be replaced with hanging around the shops or something.

This is a good thing.

It's damn annoying and an emotional roller coaster but it is A Good Thing.

Im slowly starting to believe that

Luna - I will look into that thank you. I have been in touch with the local charity here but they can't really do much it seems. But I'll look around :)

glad you are feeling a bit more positive now charlie