Homeless application - need advice.

[PrickWhittington]

Posting her for traffic, really need some advice as my head is whirring with it all:

Me and my 4 DC (DD1 is 19, other are children) were made homeless last May due to my LL selling, and us being unable to secure another private rental.

We have been in temporary accommodation since then, which yes, is a roof over our heads but also too small (2 bedrooms and 3 beds for all of us), it's is damp, the boiler never works, has mice and just not a nice place to live to put it mildly. For this, a 2 bed terrace in a really dodgy area I pay £259 a week, £60 a month to park near it, £140 a month to store our stuff and £95 for our cat to be looked after.

I am on home choice that allows me to bid for social housing, and was in band B, and after a year of bidding we were just starting to have some chance of securing something long term. However, when I became ill earlier in the year, I applied for housing benefit, and it took them 14 weeks to process. During that time, I knew I would have to pay some of the rent but not how much. I rang and was advised to put a certain bit of money by each week so I could pay the proportion I actually owed when the claim was processed, which I did - paid the amount in full as soon as I was asked to.

In June, I became ill and was in hospital, so couldn't pay it online, but every time I rang to try and pay it, I was either unable to hold for the amount of time needed (up to an hour and I have a PAYG phone). They then rang me and asked for payment, I said I would pay it by the paypoint card they had issued, then discovered I couldn't find it. I spoke to the call centre and told them this and they said another card would be issued, I waited for it but it never arrived. In early July, I went abroad for my eldest son's wedding. I had an email asking to pay the arrears. I emailed back to say I was waiting for my payment card to arrive so I could. They then said it is not possible to issue another card. I explained I was abroad and unable to make a call lasting over an hour. I then got an email threatening to move our banding down a grade to band C if the arrears weren't paid immediately, so I ended up having to borrow over £50 for credit for my phone so I could phone and pay it (was on hold/ the phone for over an hour to do this). I emailed thento say it was paid.

A week letter I get home to a letter saying our banding has been downgraded to Band C due to arrears, the letter being sent and my payment crossed. I then sent several messages explaining that I had paid, and the reasons I had not been able to do it earlier, which I had made them aware of.

I asked, as the letter said I could, for the decision to be reviewed in light of the fact t that I had already paid when my banding was downgraded, and always paid it in full and on time before I came ill. The only person who would reply to me was a temporary accommodation officer, who said may be if "I asked very nicely, they'd do that for me' (wtf?)

Fast forward to now, they have eventually moved me back to band B from the date I cleared the arrears (which coincides with the day they downgraded it). I got a sort of 'there you go, all is now sorted' reply from them.

However - it really isn't Ok, as yes I am back in band B, but my priority date has now been changed from last May (the date we were made homeless and accepted into band B) to the end of July this year (when they 'put it back' into Band `B). This means that now instead of being somewhere at least in the top 10 of securing a property because we had been waiting for over a year, we are back at the start. So in effect, anyone who became homeless in the 14 months after we did will now me housed before us (hoping that makes sense?).

I emailed them to try to convey this to them but got a curt reply saying that no I was not in fact 'back to the beginning, but in a higher band so MORE likely to be housed. Which missed the point completely.

I think what I am asking is - is their any way I can ask them to reconsider their decision to move my band in light of the fact that I was TRYING to pay it and conveying all this too them, it was a tiny amount and had already been cleared in full by me by the time they changed my band. My history of paying was good (excluding during the time my HB was being assessed, but at their advice) both to them and my previous LL. I was only ever 3 weeks in arrears and twice when I called the contact centre they double checked this was the case as they were surprised that that action was being taken for that small an amount. I there a way I can ask them to consider reversing the decision to change my banding so my original priority date of last May os reinstated?

This is an awful way to live, and after a year of hell we were just starting to see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel (the possibility of a home at last) and now we are back to the start because I have been penalised for something that I think was not my fault, and I had already rectified. I can't describe how hopeless this has made me feel, and if it wasn't for my DC's, I think that this would be the point of my life that I would actually give up completely. And that Is something that I thought I would never think or say, I've been through a lot and got through it but I just can't take the thought of living like we are for another few years. I've had enough.

Can anyone help me with this? I do have some savings I could maybe use for a solicitor if I needed to but would obviously rather not, plus I wouldn't' know where to start with it all. But my God, I feel hopeless.

our ex is still legally obligated to pay towards the support of all his kids

He's is prison. Not up for parole until 2020.

None of us have anything to do with him.

Thanks for sharing what you’re going through, I wish more people felt able to and weren’t (understandably) put off by the bafflingly uncompassionate and judgmental people on here

I wish more people felt able to share things too, not shouted down and accused. Because only then is there a chance this situation will improve. The statistics are shocking and getting rapidly worse. Every child it happens to will be damaged too, you just can't protect them from it all, can't prevent it because my God, I fucking well tried. But now instead I have two previously happy enough children - a 9 year old with an eating disorder; and a teenager (previously very easygoing and happy) with depression and anxiety so bad CAHM's assessed him as a suicide risk, and advised me not to keep any sharp objects or potential ligatures/ medication in the house. What do you think that feels like, to see your previously happy children go through that? This is why the school have been so great - they too see the catastrophic effects all this has had on those children, on our little family, and they too are appalled. But also sadly very limited in how they can help.

media.shelter.org.uk/press_releases/articles/more_than_300,000_people_in_britain_homeless_today

The thing is though, when you do go through all this crap and it doesn't actually quite break you, an upside is you stop giving too much of a shit about what ignorant people say and think. Well, the ones who don't decide your future that it.

Thanks again to all the who have given advice or support. I'm just bloody exhausted with it all. Am back t work Monday though, so am going to try and draft letter/ email to them, and hopefully try and make contact with a councillor or mp who could maybe try and help.

Sorry I couldn't read the whole thread but here's a link to the complaints procedure for Medway Council. Write your first stage complaint as you've put in your OP. It must have at the top in big bold letters, 'First Stage Official Complaint'. Make all correspondence in writing, list every contact/conversation/ message and attach copies/screenshots of all the emails you sent. If the initial complaint is done via webform then make sure you screen shot the message telling you that form has been submitted. Make sure they follow the timescales that are stated in the complaint guidance. When they don't then email a reminder, I cannot stress enough that you must keep a record of everything. When you have been through all the stages of complaint then go to the Ombudsman. It's not acceptable that you were put back to the beginning of the queue as you couldn't pay without a payment card. Also investigate if the illness that you refer to might give you more points/higher priority? Do your current living conditions make your illness worse in some way or would you require some kind of adjustment to a home to make it safe for you to live in? For example do you need some kind of medical alarm because of your epilepsy? Should you live in a level access property so you can't fall down stairs during an episode?
Ok. I've written a lot! PM me if you like, I'm familiar with the process and the complete fuckery that the council will put you through. Good luck x

www.medway.gov.uk/info/200138/your_council/470/complaints_compliments_or_comments/5

OP - Your situation is shit and some people love to add to that but please do not lose your fight and your spirit.

You have been through so much but you are still going, trying to get you and your kids a home.

Many people would have just given up long before now.

Your kids will remember the way that you fought to get them a home (in a good way)

Some people are arseholes with no empathy.

OP, please go speak with a councillor if your MP is a bit of a dick. You can find out who your councillors are here. They should be able to help you and push your case.

So you were offered a suitably sized house but turned it down because it was further than you wanted from schools???

Domino20. Thank you so much. That is so helpful, it really is. I try not to need advice, or empathy and support come that, but you know what - I've come to notice when I do get support and help, the shift in my mood and mental state has become really apparent to me.

The health situation - mine anyway is another can of worms - that I don't know where to start with, although I do have an outpatients appointment coming up and am hoping to clarify a few things with him when there.

I will start the complaints procedure I think, yes, thank you.

Also, thank you to the others offering help and support . Still outnumbering the unpleasant ones

So you were offered a suitably sized house but turned it down because it was further than you wanted from schools???

That's a lot of question marks.

No, I wasn't. Although I may not have been clear. I came to the top of the list on the one house I didn't bid for that week, because for some reason the council have decided to bid on everything for me even if they don't do the same to others. Which is really fair. (I bidded for all the others and trust me, you wouldn't want to live in any of them, don't worry. I wasn't getting the chance of getting something nice or in a good area if that helps reassure you?). I realise that would be a complete travesty for people like us ). Top of the list because no one else bidded for it either (because they get the luxury of a slight element of choice, I don't) due to the location as well as the fucking state of the place not to mention the high rent compared to similar accommodation. And because I knew it was 2 small. Yes, it was 3 bed but 2 of the rooms are singles that wouldn't fit bunk beds, and the living area is all open plan so can't be used as a bedroom. It also had a shit load of steps to get into and 2 flight of stairs inside that are incompatible with my medical needs (documented to them from the start and verified by my GP). And yes, it would have been difficult re schools: one of my DS's has SN and would not have been able to cope with that journey on packed buses. And that's without how much the cost of transport for the 3 of them which would have been considerable.

I came to the top of the list so queried it's suitability with the council. They basically said tough shit - take it or you'll be kicked out of even your temp accommodation and on the streets. Despite the fact that the size of it was contrary to their own housing policy. So I would have had no choice but accept it, although I could possibly have challenged it's suitability in relation to size and medical need after I was there, involving more time and effort for everyone and even more moving expenses for us as well as disruption to the DC's.

Anyway, as it turned out, when the actually HA got round to ringing me and potentially offer it (the council act as a 3rd party to many of the HA's who have their own suitability rules and agendas), as soon as I said there were 5 of us said, nope - sorry - we can't offer it to you as you Would be overcrowding it and we can't allow that'. Which was the main reason I hadn't applied in the first place, and tried to explain to the council) I used common sense, but unfortunately the council didn't and bidded for it for me anyway, creating a lot of unnecessary time being wasted despite how busy they are.Which they are still doing, as well as now saying I can no longer apply for ANY 3 bed even though many ARE big enough.

If there's a logic to that, I'm not sure what it is.

Hi Op,

I used to work in housing for my local authority and can tell you the consequences of poor communication (amongst staff) can be dire for the tenant sadly. I’ve always said, if I made the mistakes in any other job, that I saw there, I’d be dismissed.

It has already been stated but your first action should be to write a formal complaint, and (because you can guarantee they won’t be able to find the previous emails/calls) attach anything you have in writing from them to the email. (Can you get your DD to type it as I know you said earlier you struggle)

The key here is to keep the email as concise as possible, so that upon their reply you can quickly see what they have answered.
Give a brief overall reason for the complain but bulletpoint the events in order of them occurring. Then finish with focusing on why they have reduced your banding, when you couldn’t pay on several occasions, despite trying (pose this as a question they need to answer, when they reply not giving you an answer you can keep batting it back with an email referring to the same question, if that makes sense).

I’m not sure if I have missed this, but are the health issues on file in relation to your banding (as it affects which properties are suitable). I’m not sure if it differs with LAs, but with mine, you can just phone and request a medical assessment to go with your application.

I did it for my nan recently (don’t work there anymore) and it was just essentially a form filling exercise and they take photocopies of any supporting docs.

I hope POP doesn't mind if I also add that when you write an e-mail save it in a separate folder along with any automatic e-mails from them that confirm that they have received your e-mail.

If you write a letter, send it recorded delivery and never give them genuine documents if you can give them photocopies.

Good luck

I don't think YABU, I thought the council could get in touch with SH and get you to be classed as the highest band?

Emailing your MP is another option, I don't know if that has been mentioned to you. Write a list of problems you're having they should be able to intervene.

No one wants to be homeless. It's a horrid place to find yourself I'm sure.

I would definitely advocate your council to see if you're still classed as homeless, plus a quick email to your MP. Wishing you all the best.

My advice is to look for a private let, ideally somewhere cheaper - that way when you are well enough to work you will pay less in rent. Council housing is also easier to come by in some places, actually council houses cost more here than private let's! I know a bit about bidding and unless you are homeless at the time with young kids and illness/disabilities it seems unlikely to get anywhere in many parts of the country, someone always is in greater need - there's good private landlords out there, perhaps not in London but ours were great before we bought this house. Most accept benefits here too because so many people rely on them but housing is cheaper anyway

Thank you all again, so much helpful advice there that I will follow.

Can I just ask though - with the councillor or MP thing, is one generally better to approach than the other, or can they both achieve the same purpose IYSWIM?

I can tell you the consequences of poor communication (amongst staff) can be dire for the tenant sadly. I’ve always said, if I made the mistakes in any other job, that I saw there, I’d be dismissed

Yes, exactly! I would probably kill people daily if I made the same sort of mistakes in my job! It also wastes so much time, which is madness when resources are so low in the first place. Both the issues I've got are taking a silly amount of time in calls, emails, letters for both sides, yet all that needed or needs doing are or were checking the notes and that it had been paid before changing the banding, and checking the household composition and medical need before making any proxy bids on my behalf.

I think the other problem is that it's not highly regulated enough and there's too much room for abuse of power, eg going the extra mile for people whose face fits, and being able to penalise people if it doesn't.

So - unsure if anyone will still be listening as obviously a while since I last posted, but thought I would add to this anyway as it gives me a chance to vent as well as make a record of it all. Although, any advice most welcome if anyone has any (as long as it's not of the get a job/ life/ self respect variety - had enough of that already thanks).

So - I still haven't made a proper complaint, the reason being - I've been desperately trying to clarify a few questions via email with the housing department to make sure that I DO have a valid complaint, especially with regard to be treated fairly, otherwise I feel I will just be wasting my time as well as theirs.

I've decided that the person dealing with the queries is either a bit thick, and missing any questions I'm asking/ points raising, or very clever and being deliberately obtuse.

I was told in one that the reason the auto bid kept putting me forward for unsuitable properties was because my details had not been updated. But now they have, yet it is still bidding for properties that the H/A's deem 'too small'. This means even if I come near the top of the list with a suitable house, it will show as 'under offer' for the one the auto bid bidded for, meaning someone else would get the suitable one. It is so disheartening, it was bad enough before they changed the priority date and effectively put me back to the start after a year of bidding, but now it just feels totally hopeless and that there will never be an end in sight.

They have said in their email that the auto bid is set up for everyone in temporary accommodation, but this isn't true, I have spoken to others in the same circumstances and they are able to choose their bids, in the same way I used to be able to. Even a housing officer told me the auto bid facility was only set up for those who aren't bidding very much, but I have always bid for almost every property on there. Again, I really feel like I am being punished, and it seems so unfair that others are given a choice on what to bid for yet I am not.

They are also not budging on changing my priority date, and it is horrible seeing people in the same band who were made homeless way after us being offered a place, and us being way down the list again.

I hate living like this, and I hate constantly having to fight like this yet getting nowhere. All of it is definitely having a very negative effect on my health, my mental health especially. My head hurts all the time and I just feel so tired and emotionally drained constantly, just so hopeless. Everything seems so pointless, they seem to have all the control and I have none, so what is the point?

I feel like it's pointless even asking for them to review my our case on medical grounds, as their policy says any health problems have to be 'life threatening' in order to be considered for priority, so that isn't an option either.

Just so very down about it all. I hate having to live like this.