Home swapping is ridiculous

[Aaliyah1990]

I’m more than frustrated with the fact that you could bid for years and not get anywhere. Then you think to yourself oh maybe house swap might help? Nope not at all!!! the housing system is a big joke if you ain’t got a garden you can forget it,the demands people are asking for just makes you feel worse and all your hopes are thrown out the window. It’s almost like doing the lottery and hoping you get lucky. I don’t know if somehow these so called serious swappers are getting a power buzz out of it cause that’s what it’s seem to me. In all reality we should all stop compiling to these ridiculous set ups, you waste so many of years being unhappy then you feel as you have to beg in a way to get a property you want. I think it’s all wrong and the council should be responsible if your over crowded etc and the bidding set up is more of a joke you’ll be on there for centuries 🙄. Until the day everyone stops compiling then that’s the day you’ll be able to get what you want but everyone seems to conform to things that are unrealistic,draining and upsetting. From today I’m not doing any of the guideline rules forget it!!! It doesn’t work out and it just makes their jobs easier while we suffer nope not anymore. So on that note I’ll get back to you guys. I’ll update to see that my situation will have improved. And I’ll let you what I did to get out of the flat/cage I’m in.

OP, has anyone done a risk assessment following the assault and harrassment? They should have completed something called a DASH form. The police will often do them, especially if the incidents are motivated because you have a protected characteristic (eg race, sex, disability etc). This could raise your priority banding with the council.

If you're being abused in this way, the council need to do something about it, either move you or deal with the perpetrators.

I think it would help you to get some specialist housing advice from someone outside the council. If you have a local advice centre, law centre or similar that would be ideal, if not, try Shelter or CAB.

If you have a good MP, they can often be very helpful, although they may be just a bit preoccupied with Brexit just now.

Mummy AFAIK the councils werent allowed to build properties with the money, that changed slightly in 2005 but they were capped as to how many properties they could build

That's terrible you are being harassed. Have they seen any police reports? I'm surprised they haven't tried to help. Where was your son living before?

LakieLady
Depending on where she lives even that might not help. My sister was refused any council housing where she kicked out her abusive husband. The police just installed panic alarms and said to ring if he turned up. The threat of physical assault won’t get you help when there are just no houses available. We even went to her MP he just said save up and move (like that’s not something she might have already thought of )

We even went to her MP he just said save up and move

If it was a Tory MP that said that to me they'd have had to pull me off him

Fwiw I haven’t lived in social housing in the last 23 years but I know from friends and family who are either struggling to be housed in the first place or struggling with unsuitable housing that it’s impossible to get housed in some areas. It wasn’t like that 25 + years ago when my parents lost everything when my dad got ill and my mum has to be his carer. We were housed within the week. A few years later we experienced a violent assault in the property and they moved us to a new one the next day. That simply doesn’t happen now and it’s awful.

If it was a Tory MP that said that to me they'd have had to pull me off him
It was, he was useless but he did tell us how lucky she was because the Tories are really committed to helping DV victims. Like fuck they are!

The problem is ha will only house you for your need at that moment.
I had ds1 and dd when I first went into a ha 2 bedroom flat. Despite the fact my children were different sexes and they knew ide need a 3 bed in a few years when ds1 reached 7.
Completely pointless as I didn't really give a shit about my flat.
I was on the swap list the day I got the keys to the day I moved out and I had not 1 serious enquiry about swapping.
I was lucky in getting rehoused I absolutely love my 3 bed house. Unless I get offered the perfect house in the perfect location and I can just move in I'm not interested in moving again until my and dh can get a ha bungalow when we are 65 (as current rules stand) but even then I will be picky.

Imo the biggest issue is they build flats not houses. No-one wants to be stuck in an upstairs flat so they are just not desirable.

gamerwidow I'm not sure if this was a Wales only policy but all the council houses have been sold off to all the different HA's and its just compounded the problem, it was apparently going to make an improvement

DV is treated differently, gamer, on the basis that there are other remedies available, eg non-mols, injunctions, bail conditions, all of which can carry a power of arrest if breached, and going to a refuge.

Harrassment cases, especially where it could qualify as a hate crime, don't have those options.

I'm not saying that's right or that I agree with it, but that's the thinking behind the different approaches.

Thank god some other posters have turned up who aren’t sneery and unkind.

I have honestly never read such a bunch of ill informed, hateful bilge on MN before.

I am not sure any of us can help OP. What about approaching your son’s school and see if they can write a letter of support to the housing officer. I did this about 7 years ago for a parent and child living in a one bed. The council were using a disability as a reason for keeping them in that house. My letter suggested they seek reassessment for that as things had moved on. I copied it to social work and their GP.

At the end of the day the council cannot magic houses but there may be circumstances which need looking at.

Imo the biggest issue is they build flats not houses.

That's because of the lack of available land and because flats are cheaper, per unit, than houses in terms of build costs.

This country needs massive investment in social housing, and not so-called affordable housing. Here, "affordable" housing isn't that much cheaper than private rents.

I’ve been in contact with the local mp nothing came of it. Yes I’m still being harassed he smashed my intercom door not to long ago the council are aware of this. I’m in no type of relationship with this person and because of that he threatens me on so many accusations it’s horrible cause he can just get away with it. I’ve giving cad numbers etc they’ve got it all on the system and about a month ago my son was attacked by a group of boys I gave them the cad number all the information they need. My social worker is trying to help but there still giving us the run around. We’ve asked for an anti behaviour referral as that’s what the local mp said to do plus there’s always crack heads needles outside the block people drinking you name it. Its really terrible my neighbors have complained but no help whatsoever. This is why I’m so frustrated with the way things are set up.

OP - I wasn't having a dig! I have no idea what size the bedroom it is, it was only a suggestion as a way to try and mean you both get a bit of privacy and some proper rest as it sounds like you are not going to get a swap for a larger property.

I know the stress of overcrowding. To get on the housing ladder after my mum and dad died my sister and I had to do exactly what you are having to do but in the private sector. My sister had the living room as her bedroom and I had the 1 bedroom. Luckily for us my brother managed to build a temporary narrow walkway through a bit of the living room so if I needed a wee in the night I didn't disturb my sis. (It was just big enough for me to squeeze my fat arse through but it worked for 10 years until she passed away suddenly)

Fleshmarket - This is the reason there is a problem. You have a lovely place to live and now have a spare room. The thing is the house is NOT yours, it belongs to the Council.

LakieLady that will need a change of government, the Tories are happy to have the current transfer of wealth from the government into sometimes their own pockets because quite a few of them are landlords, what I found disgusting was the tory party voted down the legislation that tried ensure that landlords who accepted housing benefit had properties that were fit for human inhabitation

Good luck with getting moved for harassment. Think some
people are very naive on here. My council
told the police I was making up the harassment I was receiving to “get a move” 🤷‍♀️ Despite them having been arrested for it but nfa as no witnesses.

Do you have a points system in England? In Scotland we have a points allocation. Do you know when you were last awarded points? What they are currently at?

My parents were at risk of homelessness having both worked since they were 14 and 16. They worked minimum wage/zero hours contract work and had three children so saving for a house deposit was not because they were no lt working hard enough or being clever enough. When my dad retired the house they lived in as part of the job was removed and they were made homeless officially. Only then would the council house them despite knowing about the situation for many years before hand. The local MP was aware and faked being horrified and made lots of promises which didn’t amount to anything. I called various housing officers. One made the statement “oh my god! That’s terrible. I would hate that to happen to my mum and dad”

So for those posters who believe that this is a symptom of laziness or learned helplessness or a lack of determination you are wrong.

And I am now projecting!

Councils should do more checks to make sure the housing is adequate for the tenants (neither too large nor too small), and that the tenants are legitimate.

I know a couple in London who moved back to Europe and now rent out their council flat privately to other European friends!

Another lady I knew was living in a 3-bed apartment on her own; her children had grown up and left home ten years earlier.

Until councils make it worthwhile to downsize nobody is going to do so.

The most effective approach would be “ok, you now have spare space. Do you want to downsize or have people on the waiting list allocated to your spare rooms?”

(Personally I’d prefer more high quality, secure tenure social housing in the first place.)

The bedroom tax was meant to address this but there were no properties for people to downsize into so became another tax that impacts poor and disabled families more

I swapped my 2 bed gf council flat (no garden) in east London for a 4 bed house about 10 miles out of Cambridge. I still commute to London for work but the move was worth the hour on the train tbh, I used homeswapper as I had 3 children under 5 when I got the flat, housed due to dv situation, as they got older the council expected me to sleep in the lounge and give my eldest ds my room and 2 youngest dds share, so I widened my search to 70 mile radius, there are swaps out there you just have to be willing to budge on area or condition, hope you find something soon op

I agree it’s sickening that they have still got me here with my son. I’ve given all the proof they need medical notes cad numbers doctors letter social workers phoning the council but nope nothing. And yes I wish they never bulit flats I’m grateful that mine is a thrid story block of flats but I have always been fearful of them. I was currently in a house but it’s was private and landlords wanting there property back and no I did not go private intentionally social services got me it with out letting me knows it was private. So I just took this property so I could have somewhere to live not knowing that they would try to keep me here forever

I’m sure downsizing it’s one of the main issues.
One of DDs friends lives in social housing. Her elder 2 siblings have moved out and now it’s DDs friend and her mum in a large 3 bedroom semi.
Her mum constantly complains about the bedroom tax and how she can’t afford it but there is no way she will move to something smaller.

Fleshmarket - This is the reason there is a problem. You have a lovely place to live and now have a spare room. The thing is the house is NOT yours, it belongs to the Council.

Fleshmarket could probably also buy her home as she's under an old tenancy that still permits that and with the discount written into the agreement. My sister is and went ahead and bought it. My ILs also bought under Right to Buy. A house that sold for £225k in 2003 and they'd bought it for £17k.

Yh I’ve try’d not many want a one bedroom third floor flat but congrats on you success it’s good to see that it at least help some people