For my Mum to put herself in a woman's hostel/refuge.

[sarah8484]

My Mum lives in Manchester on her own (no family and only 1 friend over there) and me and my other siblings live in Birmingham. My Mum initially lived in Birmingham but moved to Manchester 8 years ago. She now wants to return to Birmingham to be closer to me and my siblings has her mental health is really deteriorating. She suffers really bad with anxiety also. There is no space at either mine or my siblings houses for her to stay and she doesn't have the means to go into private property rental for several reasons so her only option is to some how get on the council. She's been bidding for a year now on there but getting no where. Even with her health issues she's on the lowest band. She mentioned trying to go in a hostel over here and getting a property on the council thst way, but will they let her do that? As she is not homeless but desperately needs to be closer to me and siblings because of her health. Thanks in advance for any advice given

What's her current situation?
No she is very unlikely to be housed due to wanting to move.

If it's that desperate surely you or your siblings can make room for her?

You cant just book your self into a refuge, you have to be referred, eg by Victime Support or a hospital advocate.

She lives in a one bed flat on the third floor so is struggling to get up and down the stairs (no lift) she has chronic arthritis, she is losing her hearing, anxiety, she is starting to struggle to communicate because of her mental health (she thinks people are laughing at her so is shy, their not but she thinks they are) ive tried to have her at mine, we trialed it for 2 weeks and we where just on top of each other, no room at all. And my sinlings homes are even smaller that mine. Id love to have her at mine but its just not possible.

I don't know how this works outside London, but would a council house exchange be possible? I've seen advertisements in my local newsagents arranging this, and some of the exchanges seem to be with properties in Kent ie not London counties. This could be a red herring, in which case I apologize.

Does she live in a council flat at present? Or privately rented?

@twoshedsjackson She is on the council exchange but had no luck so far.

It's council @bibbitybobbityyhat

Can she not sleep on your couch till she is sorted?

She could make a homeless application to Birmingham council.
Even though she has a roof over her head, she can be considered homeless on the grounds that her current property is unreasonable to occupy because of her health conditions.

She wont automatically qualify for emergency housing as she is not automatically priority need due to having no dependent children that need housing with her.

The council (under homelessness) can look at her vulnerabilities and if they deem her "more vulnerable than the next ordinary person on th e street" then she may qualify for emergency housing (hostel etc) whilst the council investigate the rest of her application.

If she doesn't qualify for emergency housing - the council will still have a duty to "relieve her homelessness" This duty lasts for 56 days and they may help with a deposit on a privately rented property during this time. Or they could offer a private rent as long as it is available for at 6 months.

If she is owed the main housing duty it is VERY unlikely that she will be offered a council property in Birmingham as there isn't any. ( I deal with this council regularly) She will more than likely be offered a room in a privately rented property.

If she is currently in a council property where she is, I would strongly recommend that she does not give this up lightly as she is unlikely to achieve the that security of tenure again(especially B'ham)She would be better waiting for a mutual exchange although I appreciate this can take time.

I am surprised that she is allowed to bid on the Birmingham waiting list as Birmingham allocations policy states that to join the waiting list the applicant must have lived in the borough for at least the 12 months.
It's not going to be easy op -sorry to say.

Just another thought...Might it be worth her(or you on her behalf) writing directly to the birmingham housing associations,ie Bournville Village trust,Anchor,Trident etc?

As SargassO has written, it's not going to be easy, but any try is better than no try at all.all the best.

Making herself intentionally homeless would be a disaster.

If she could be transferred to a more suitable dwelling (eg bungalow, flat with lift, sheltered/ supported accommodation) in Manchester, wouldn't that at least help? Not the solution she and you are hoping for but if it was more feasible at least she wouldn't be suffering quite so much? (sorry i don't know about the practicalities and relative availability, but don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good as they say )

Making herself intentionally homeless would be a disaster.

I agree. I would not let her give up her flat till she has something else.

I’ve heard of people doing this, even single parents of young dcs and not being offered a property. It’s shitty b&bs etc, which I imagine would be hellish for someone with your mum’s health issues.

Are you in a private property op? Could you move closer to her? Somewhere like stoke which is between the two? It’s not ideal, but maybe worth considering if it’s possible.

Please don't let her give up her flat in Manchester.

Council waiting lists in Birmingham are horrendous. Friend of family has been waiting 5 years and have been told that there are over 6,000 families on the waiting lists. She is very very unlikely to be considered a priority as she already has a home.

Can she not look into renting a room in a shared house in Birmingham? Not ideal but it's her best bet.

Maybe look into making her life in Manchester more livable in the interim? Books, games, hobby groups, whatever interests her? Try her on the Sims or some other sandbox game. Could she volunteer somewhere or take up knitting or similar? Would she be allowed a small pet in her current place? She might be where she is now for a long while, and I'm not sure that relying on you and your siblings for her mental health is a good thing for anyone long term. Could she take steps to address that now?

Has she got letters from her GP or mental health team etc? To support her transfer application?

Is it worth her applying for council run sheltered housing in Bham. I think they're for over 55s. Councils try to encourage you to moved to smaller accommodation to free up houses for families, that could go in her favour My mum moved from a 2 bed council house to a one bed sheltered housing flat and got a incentive payment.

Sorry, I didn't read that your mum is in a one bed flat ignore the bit about freeing up houses. But my advice is to push the health and mental health angle - when got my mum moved into sheltered housing I contacted anyone I could think might help - housing officials, local councillors, her MP, her GP. I wrote to them and phoned them up to til I got her moved - probably to get me off their back

If the council decide that it is unreasonable for her to continue living in the property then she wont be found intentionally homeless.

If she was to upsticks and leave the property today for instance and she hasn't had a homelessness application accepted first- then she would. Just to clear that up for OP.

@Sargass0

Yes exactly. Which is why she must not just up sticks and leave her flat. It would be a disaster for her, especially with her health issues.

That's not what refuges are for.

Some hostels have their own referral process though and it's often based on support needs. Could you find out where the hostels are and see if there is a form she could fill out or somebody she could speak to there?

I would explore if she could be housed within Manchester to a flat with better disability access as this would help her immediate practical needs and then if she wanted to move to Birmingham she would have similar to swop. However I expect there is not much availability and she would need to be on s band higher due to health to be in with a chance.

No she’s unlikely to be housed. She’s lived out of the area for more than 5 years and Birmingham council will refer her back to Manchester council if her property is unsuitable. She’ll need to find a private rental herself and in 2 years apply to go on the housing waiting list.
I’d suggest she looks into a house share.

Has your mum registered with www.homeswapper.co.uk

You need to find what the rules are around 'local connection' in Birmingham. Basically it's what Birmingham council use to determine whether they have any obligation to house her at all (hostel or any other accomodation.... Usually you have a local connection if any of the following family members have lived in a council area for at least 5 years:
parents
adult children
brothers and sisters
BUT if she makes herself "intentionally homeless" ie gives up her tenancy or is evicted because she broke a contract then they don't have to house her. So if she just leaves Manchester then they ain't find her any housing, not even in a hostel or BnB