Temporary accommodation refusal.

[Toomanybrokentarts]

I've been living in temporary accommodation for two years now with my two dcs, as the house I lived in before was privately let and the landlord wanted the property back.
Today I have been offered another temporary flat on the 19th floor of a tower block, as again the property I am in is private but let to the council to rent out for temporary accommodation as the flats are being demolished.
Now the council have a duty to house me so have no choice but to find me suitable accommodation, however is this place suitable & am I able to refuse it?

I know there are people who are worse off than me and I shouldn't really complain as I have a roof over my head
But I just can't live that high up, what's pissing me off the most is that my housing officer found a more suitable property two weeks ago, she secured it for me went on holiday and left instructions for a colleague to call me in to sign the tenancy, which she didn't do so I ended up losing out on that flat.
So does anyone know if I refuse it would they still have a duty of care towards me?

Need to get in touch with the agent who made the glaring mistake with your first property offer.

Or some people in this situation might ask their doctor to sign them off as having extreme Acrophobia (fear of heights) howsoever one might convince a doctor of that.

Can you look into relocating to another adjacent area for more housing options?

Or consider a life change and move up north. They were giving away 3 bedroom houses here (west Yorkshire) when I was a single parent with two young children. Sometimes a big life change is better than the top of a tower block, unless you're one of those Londoners that thinks any old slum will do as long as it's home turf. That sounds awful but it's not meant to be, I just can't phrase it right

I managed to avoid living in the most downtrodden areas on a part time wage, baby and toddler, absent father- no maintenance help, no childcare help, no family; make yourself well known to letting agents and individual landlords so that you can present yourself as Toomanybrokentarts the sensible, articulate, employed, financially viable, reliable and well presented potential tenant for private accommodation, not just another single mother serial number.

if you already know you'd hate tower block living up high, it won't improve once you're there and would be a bugger to exchange in future.
Speak to the agent who made the mistake first. She needs to fix it.
Good luck.

OP I sympathise, I suffer from anxiety and I think a lot of people don't understand how disabling it can be. DH is terrified of heights (even steep hillsides are a problem) he was put in temporary accommodation on the 8th floor whilst suffering acute psychosis and highly paranoid. He spent the entire time he was there terrified and convinced someone was going to break into the flat and throw him off the balcony at any minute. He couldn't open the curtains as couldn't cope with seeing how high he was and some of his windows didn't close so it was freezing as it was windy and the middle of winter. Luckily he wasn't there for long.

It might be worth contacting MIND or RETHINK for advice regarding mental health and housing. I know Rethink have some info on it on their website (to be honest I find them more useful than MIND)

A very long time ago I used to audit the housing claims on a couple of London Boroughs, and IIRC the policy then was not to house families with young children above the sixth floor where possible.

Can’t quite believe how horrible some people are being on this thread! Sympathy OP

People making stupid comments like “well why don’t you just improve your financial situation?” Oh yeah it’s that simple, if only OP had thought of that, problem solved.

What a lot of nasty comments there are on this thread. I do think you should try to get a note from the doctor about your fear of heights.

Some people on this thread are being vile. The old attitude of single parent claims benefits, scourge on society, should be grateful for any old crap you can get.

Yanbu op, if people think it's fine then I presume they wouldn't bat an eyelid living there themselves?

It's certainly not ideal and you are quite right to be frustrated particularly as the council made an error.

However, as I understand it, council houses don't become available very often so it might be that literally no other place becomes available before your current flat is demolished.

A very long time ago I used to audit the housing claims on a couple of London Boroughs, and IIRC the policy then was not to house families with young children above the sixth floor where possible.

Depending on exactly how long ago that 'very long time' was, such a policy may not be workable any longer. The shortage of affordable housing is far too serious.

I do have sympathy for the OP, I hate heights and I'd HATE to live in high up in a high rise. Absolutely hate it. But needs must and I do think you can learn some strategies to cope with things like that and they get less bad as you get more and more used to them.

It sounds as though there is a little more to the story of why she had to leave her private rental, why she couldn't just transfer from there to another private place, and why she ended up in reasonably serious rent arrears - I can't imagine it was solely due to an HB 'cock up' caused by the benefits office. It rarely is and if that could be easily proven it would also be easily resolved and cleared without a black mark against the tenant.

Unfortunately if you end up technically homeless because of arrears you can't really expect them to move mountains to find you exactly the place of your choosing. Just 'a place' is the best you can hope for. Especially in expensive London boroughs.

OP could you consider moving out of London? Are your children young enough that they could change schools without too much disruption and is your job the sort of thing you could do elsewhere? You would have so much pressure off you if you were out of London.

I know it isn't always simple but I agree that you could explore moving out of London depending on availability of work and your course- sometimes you can transfer credits elsewhere. Particularly if you probably won't be able to buy/rent privately in London. It is different if you have close family support but other than that I would be out of there!

The problem with having small children on the 19th floor (even with a lift) is that lifts normally do not work if there is a fire. The op would have to carry 2 children down the stairs. I have two 2 year old, I’m not sure I’d manage to carry them down 19 flights of smoke filled stairs.

Ask the housing officer, in writing, how you would get two small children out in the event of a fire.

OP people are being so unbelievably cruel on this thread makes me sick to my stomach. I'm in Scotland and my local council are pulling down ALL high rise flats and flats with more than 3 floors because of what happened in London and people are asking what's the difference between 2nd and 19th floor. Has anyone seen the news over the last 24 hours? There was a woman on the 19th floor in grenfell tower who died of her injurys yesterday and you wonder why op is reluctant to stay in a high rise?!

I think people need to get off their high horse! Just because someone lives in social housing does not mean you can look down on them like something stuck to your shoe! It's dìsgusting. The op has mentioned she pays everything herself so these comments about "the tax payer" are irrelevant. My DP and I were in social housing from March to July last year and it was awful where we were placed. OP I really feel for you. I do. I know private let would be difficult but some councils do a rent deposit scheme where the council will pay your deposit to the new landlord just to make it easier for you. Most of the council's in Scotland do it but I'm not sure about where you are but it's worth asking about.

I really hope everything works out ok for you op

Oh there are some nasty posters here. No I wouldn't be overwhelmingly happy either. I am sure you are happy to be housed just not somewhere that will make you anxious. Talk to the housing officer and I really hope you get a better solution.

I wouldn't be happy either
I am scared of not being able to get out of a place. I don't even like department stores
I could not feel at ease so high up

Of course council-run lifts never break down and take ten days to be fixed stranding people on the upper floors

Pretty sure there used to be housing regs that stipulated children couldn't be housed above a certain level. Now that social housing has been ideologically run into the ground for decades, people like OP are supposed to be grateful for being offered entirely unsuitable places to live and, according to most people on this thread, put up and shut up. Nice.

The trouble is, no-one (except perhaps childless, fit and healthy young people who enjoy the view) wants to be up in a high rise. But everyone has to be put somewhere and there isn't enough space in London for spacious low rise accommodation to be provided for everyone who has an argument for needing it, even if there was the budget for it.

If they have a duty to house you, why are you still in temporary accommodation 2 years later? In our team that would have been well nigh unacceptable.

Dinosaur, in a neightbouring authority to mine they have families in temp accommodation for 10 years or more, because they have such a shortage of property. They are mostly flats or houses leased from private landlords, but there is a former office block that was bought by a property developer and converted into tiny studio flats. They are leased to the council and used for temporary housing for single people.

The flats are £125 pw and there are around 60 of them, most of the time they are all occupied. Nice earner, eh?

I agree Gauche the gradual move to sell off council houses at huge discounts was a mistake, as has been the gradual move to encourage private LLs to take up the slack for people in need of social / low cost housing.

All the old, lovely, well cared for council estates of yore (especially those in or around London) with gardens and leafy streets have pretty much all fallen into the hands of private owner occupiers and private LLs now.

It's a shame. It was supposed to give the working classes the same opportunities to be home owners as the middle classes, which it did. It was supposed to give them social mobility which to an extent it did.

But by god, it was at a cost.

The problem is that too many private LLs have their hands tied over who they can rent to because of insurance and mortgage company restrictions, or laws that have become too far weighted in favour of tenants who don't pay the rent even when they are in receipt of HB.

So many LLs are reluctant or unable to go down that route that in some areas only the grottiest places are made available to people who are HB reliant. I don't know what the answer is but it's a bloody mess.

Ahh I see. Well I think that's something the council needs to change in cities. There's not enough housing association properties to go round and raising the housing benefit allowance seems sensible in there circumstances.

The method of setting the local housing allowance is the same all over the country, councils don't have discretion in the matter. It is based on the average of the bottom 30% of private rents in a given area (broad rental market area) and has been frozen for a couple of years, despite rents having risen.

The areas are massive, so there is huge variation of rents within them. People on benefits can only usually afford to live in the cheapest part of the area.

The whole system is flawed. It was intended to keep rents low, but when it started, rents in the cheaper parts of each area went up up to the maximum that councils would pay. It was intended to be a ceiling, but became a floor!

OP, if you have good evidence of your history of anxiety and can satisfy the council that this would be exacerbated if you had to accept this flat, you may stand a chance of convincing them that it would not be reasonable to expect you to take this flat.

Be quite clear that your anxiety is so severe that it is disabling, and cite specific anxiety around getting out in the event of a fire, falls etc.
Your medical evidence would have to be compelling though, ideally medication, input from MH professionals, CBT etc.

Also include any physical health issues that would make it difficult for you should there be a lift malfunction.

There is a website where you can check the crime rates in quite a small area, if it turns out that where they want you to move to is a high crime area, that's another thing that will exacerbate your anxiety.

Try and get advice from a housing specialist at a law or advice centre if you can.

Wow I feel like I've walked into the Daily Mail! Can't believe some of the mean spirited, nasty, cuntish, people on here!
It's like Grenfell never happened. It's like we didn't have a broken housing situation with sky high private rents and no tenant security, it's like small
children don't need access to an outside space. FFS! Wankers!

OP, you've also had loads of good advice. Just came on to emphathise with you.

It’s a fucked up situation. Because, as a PP said nobody wants to live in them but that’s what the council has so it could be that or homelessness.

Also, I had asked about finances and possibly improving them. I don’t think that was nasty! I was asking was there the possibility of working full time to make more money and possibly afford to rent privately.

There isn't enough housing yet a stop on second homes/holiday homes/investment properties is never looked at

Good morning, thank you all for the advice given, I have taken it all on board.
I've just got back from school run so will give shelter a call now.

madmags what you said comes across as very rude and condescending, obviously most people including myself would like to be in a better financial position, unfortunately while I would like to go back full time I would struggle more than I am now. I just wouldn't earn enough to cover all my outgoings ie childcare, rent, council tax plus other bills.

I’m so upset by the attitude of some people on here. Any one of us could find ourselves in this situation.
It just takes one redundancy, one bout of ill health, one relationship breakdown, one mental health problem, or any other misfortune and any one of us could be facing the same challenges.
If someone is struggling let’s show some compassion? I know I wouldn’t want to live on the 19th floor with two children. Sorry I don’t have any advice as I’m not sure of the system but hope you get something more suitable sorted out OP.

BeverlyHillsBillie
My rent arrears were 100% down to a housing benefit cockup, which I said has now been rectified with them all £900 of what they owed. The error happend when I first moved in here and they mistook the extra tax credits I was in reciept of over the summer holidays for childcare as extra income, even though I provided them with all the relevant paperwork.

There is also nothing more to the fact that I had to move out of my previous private rental other than the landlord having to sell up because he was in financial difficulties himself. Previous to that I had lived in the same property for 5 years with no rent arrears. I am also not being evicted from this property due to rent arrears, I am having to move yet again because it is a private rental, which is leased to the council for housing and the landlord has every right to want his property back and the reason he wants it back is to develop it, so absoulty not my fault at all.