AIBU to call my local council housing department a bunch of fucking wankers - housing related!

[FeckingFrustrated]

Yes, I know they are just doing their jobs - tis the rules etc and I would never say it to their faces but wish I could I am so bloody angry and yes, this is a rant just to see if I am BU?

Council housed us in a 2nd floor flat far away from the area we lived in 2 years ago. Before that we were in temp accommodation for another 2 years due to being made homeless by private landlord wanting house back (nothing we did wrong). Private rent here (southeast) is between £1000-£1300 pcm for a 3 bed and most of the rentals that come up are ex-council houses that have been bought up. Council rent on a 3 bed is £450pcm . This is a 'new' town and the vast majority of housing is social just for a bit of background.

Due to me being made redundant just before the landlord shafted us, we went to the council for help (so 4 years ago now). Council housed us in a flat too small for us so we are overcrowded but said we had to take it and could then apply for a transfer. After we moved in they said we had to wait a year to apply for a transfer as they could not move us while we were on an introductory tenancy. So we wait out the year in a really hard living situation (4 DC, no outside space, complaints and swearing from neighbours about DC noise which is not excessive, nowhere outside to dry washing, 2 flights of steep concrete step to carry stuff up and down etc).

After the year, we apply to move and promptly told that we will have to wait between 3/4 years to for a transfer as we are 'adequately' housed, even though the council deliberately put us in an overcrowded situation!

Last month we were informed that because the council have changed it's allocation policy, we have been moved down a band and are not a 'priority' as we are only short of one bedroom and children in above ground flats are no longer an issue any more, so we will be waiting forever basically [anger]. I have a DS with SN who has been badly impacted by the lack of outside space and we cannot cope living like this any longer.

Our only option is to go back into private renting (and claiming housing benefit as it is too expensive) after wasting 4 years in an extremely stressful situation waiting for a suitable, affordable, secure home from the council, which the vast majority of people in this town have the luxury of. We have been holding on waiting and waiting for a house and have now been told that we are at the bottom of the queue again. I am so pissed off that I have wasted all these years for nothing and my DC have witnessed anti social behaviour and been cooped up like bloody chickens!

I have never so been depressed in my life as I have been for the last few years but we were holding out for a house we would not have to keep moving from, all for bloody nothing

simlondon what has benefits got to do with this thread?

Sim, 80% of those who need to claim HB/LHA are in work.

Fecking,Expat is right though.

No good will come of you being bitter about what other people have.

I hope you can find a solution.

SIM just wanted a little benefit bash I think.

Best ignored.

There's always one!

I know, I know to both of you.

I am rather bitter and twisted! Therapist is working on it with me but I have a lot more work to do so it seems!

usual she said in her post that she can claim housing BENEFIT up to the tune if £1200 per month if she takes the house so yes she would be claiming benefits if she took it.

OP why are you complaining that someone is paying £500 per month to rent the same house from the council when you can rent the same house
virtually for free by claiming most of the rent in housing benefit.

Of course its pretty bad that a Landlord can charge that amount for the house but it wont be you losing out will it, its the tax payer who pays for your HB who loses out.

'OP why are you complaining that someone is paying £500 per month to rent the same house from the council when you can rent the same house
virtually for free by claiming most of the rent in housing benefit.'

She doesn't have to claim HB in a council home. The husband's wage pays the rent. But in moving to private let, they have to use HB as the rent is so much more.

SimLondon hasn't put it well, but has a valid point. It seems unfair to families who are not eligible for SH -or HB - who can only afford something small and crap, to see their taxes used to provide homes they could never afford to others.

And when I go back to work in the next year or so or when I am able to trust myself in public that I won't fall to pieces with a panic attack, we won't be eligible for HB so will be paying the lot of course.

It would not be for free . We would be paying around £800 a month ourselves.

Too right , the tax payer (of which I was one for 16 years and DH has been one for 25) shouldn't have to top up the rent on the average family home because it's impossible to afford on one average wage and with two wages there are childcare fees which means it comes out roughly the same . I would rather pay rent in to the council than take HB out.

Balistapus

If they're that hard up themselves, then they'll have exactly the same entitlement to housing benefit as the OP.

Housing benefit is calculated on income- using the same criteria for everyone. They don't just pull names randomly out of a hat to decide who gets it.

It's interesting that you went on to have your fourth DC, after you had been made redundant, and after you were housed in a flat which was alreadys too small for you and your then family of 5. Or have I misead?

If dh is working you can apply for shared ownership ?

Or help to buy on a new build.

THEY HAD THE CHILDREN BEFORE HER HUSBAND, WHO IS BACK IN FT EMPLOYMENT, WAS MADE REDUNDANT!

The took the flat becuase they they had to. They pay rent o. It, now, to move to a property suitable, they will need to private rent and claim HB.

That is reality! Rents have shot up so much that EIGHTY PERCENT of people who need HB are WORKING!

arethereanyleftatall
'It was the council's policy not to put families with children under 5 in flats above ground floor level (DS was 18 months when we were put here)'. There. I was literally 2 months pregnant and knew I would not be able to get another job while pregnant. Landlord gave us notice as he wanted to sell about 2 weeks later (he was not aware that I had been made redundant). Rent of £1150 continued to be paid from DH's wages and a top up of HB and I was 6 months pregnant when we were accepted as 'homeless' by the council. Council put us in a damp, mouldy 'temporary private rented property' which was not FREE. We had to pay market rent on it which was £900 a month while we bid on a council property. Took us almost 2 years to get to 3rd on the list even as a 'priority' case then the council hit us with an 'offer' of a 2nd floor flat which we had to take or they would take us off the housing list. The council immediately assessed us as overcrowded as soon as we were able to bid for a transfer after a year. Family dynamic had not changed.

OK lovie? Anything else you wish to judge on or are interested in?

Fecking don't give up yet - speak to Shelter and your MP first and see a solicitor - honestly - the council were about to throw me and my 2 dd's out on the street - reckoned they had done their duty - thankfully the Judge disagreed!

There is a band of families on low incomes who earn too much to be eligible for HB and pay enormous open market housing costs ( private rent/ mortgage). The accommodation they have is what they can afford, not what they need.

Those in SH pay subsidised rents so they can live in the accommodation they need, which is better than they could otherwise afford.

As housing costs have increased the number of people in the first band has increased. It's not difficult to understand why they would be resentful.

Are you "officially" over crowded? If I remember correctly the policy is 2 children under 10 can share a room? This age may be higher if they are of the same gender?

When you and your family became homeless, is it not possible your urgent needs may have put someone else who had been waiting, lower on the list? Only saying that because it sounds like this has happened to you now.

I dont mean these questions to undermine your feelings on the situation, you are not being unreasonable to want better.

Balistapus well the income can't be that low if they are ineligible for HB. Depending on family size which dictates how much LHA is applicable.

I have not been expecting the council to hand me a council house with a garden on a 'silver platter'. Nor have I been demanding one RIGHT NOW! My issue with the council has been that the council put us in this 'overcrowded position' as we did not bid on this property, they did it for us without our knowledge. With that being the case and as after our introductory period ended we got a new priority date of 2013 (for over crowding in the 2nd highest band with a 'high need to move') for a transfer, I asked them to reinstate our priority date of 2010 as the council went against it's own policy which states that 'applicants can CHOOSE to bid on a smaller property than needed as long as they do not make themselves statutorily overcrowded' therefore we lost out on 3 years on the housing list and were back to square 1 and we would not have needed a transfer if they had not done that. The council refused as it was 'against policy'. The one they ignored in the first place. I don't think this was an unreasonable request. Then last month I find they've moved us down a band putting us in a position where we could have had a total wait of 6/7 years to move rather than 3/4 which is usual. People with a later priority date than our original one have placed successful bids on 4 beds recently and yes, they do come up most weeks! They are there, it's just that we are so far down the list it is impossible to wait any longer.

They are aware of Ds's SN but the fact that he has recently been prescribed melatonin to get him to sleep (and stop him jumping around all evening) means that he doesn't need a bedroom of his own any more according to them. They are also aware of the anti-social behaviour (which had police involvement because of threats made to me) from my downstairs neighbour. We have been told not to talk to each other .

Aaaarrrggghhhh why am I wasting my time on here. Look at the bloody time!

OP I really do feel for you and like I said earlier have been waiting nine years myself.

It is beyond heartbreaking to pay more in rent than a neighbour for the same property just because it is owned privately now rather than council.

In the area I live in those that help themselves by preventing homelessness by going into private rented are the ones who are penalised as you are no longer a problem for the council.

And I firmly believe that the council housing stock should be available to all mot just those in desperate need. It was originally developed to replace the slum housing that many families found themselves in despite working on the docks or in factories etc. It was never meant to be a solution for those who can't or don't work. That solution was housing associations at a later date.

OP certainly in our area those who make the most noise are the ones that get the priority status. Contact environmental health and ask them to do an assessment for overcrowding. Then also speak to shelter who are pretty good.

You also need to get your hv involved and if possible your gp. You need to get someone senior at the council to pull your file and go through what happened again and point out any and every policy they have ignored. At an absolute minimum make it clear you expect your original date of 2010 reinstated regardless.

Once you have done all that you need to make a decision as to whether you can stay where you are for as long as it takes or if you need to rent privately for a while. Not all private ll are bad. Some are lovely. Mine is and for that I am grateful.

Also contact every ha and register on the homeswap scheme. You might just get lucky.

Finally take a big deep breath and ignore some of the replies on here. You are entitled to rage against a system that penalises those that try and help themselves but who can't get on the housing ladder. We are depending on a combination of private lls and local councils to keep a roof over our heads. Neither lls or councils have our best interests at heart sometimes and it is a helpless feeling trying to fight for your family sometimes.

But keep fighting and you will eventually get there I promise.

It would not be for free. We would be paying around £800 a month ourselves

But you said you woulx get £1200 per month HB on a £1300 per month rent. This is why posters are saying you would get it for free.
You would be paying £100 per month on a 5 bed house and if you are getting no HB at the moment you would be making a good saving on what you are currently paying.

I guess you made a mistake in your post as the sums don't add up. This may be what is confusing people.

Anyway, good luck. I hope things start looking up for you soon.

There are around 710,000 empty homes in Britain (not just SH, but unfinished new build estates that have been abandoned etc.). There are several projects like this one which are thinking outside of the box to get people who need houses into them. There are projects all around the country - well worth looking into.

I thought you'd previously posted that you had wanted to remain in the temp home and couldn't understand why you were being moved to a permanent one!

I was harsh on you, I'm sorry. You did come across aggressively but I can see you that you are indeed fecking frustrated. As I said, I do agree that YANBU but as others said, remaining bitter about what you don't have won't change the situation.

and and then breathe......!