Refusal of a council house

[TitcHt48]

The housing association refused us a house 🏡. We pay all our own rent/council tax never been in arrears. Want a house due to my health problems the main one insomnia. I "feel we are the butt of someone who works in the local office" to much to put on here but at our pension age they are treating us very unfairly. Anyone can anyone help please

Have you tried applying for sheltered accommodation?
Sheltered accommodation would be one bedroom too and even smaller living space.

6 of you in a 2 bed??
Have you had the place measured by council?
If the 4 children are single sex then the council will usually say they can share a bedroom regardless of how small it is.

Next door are owner occupiers but have 4 children of mixed gender between 4 and 11 in a two bedroom house. I don't know how they'll manage when the kids get bigger I know they can't afford to upsize.

If you are currently adequately housed according to your local authority criteria, then you won't be accepted onto the housing register.

"Give me housing I have insomnia" --this is one of the craziest things I have ever read.

Lots of sheltered/ over 55s housing are houses rather than flats (usually bungalows) but it does depend somewhat on your area

And lots are one-bedroom. The OP wants a 2-bed house. A lot of people still have many outdated ideas that they can rock up and get a council house if things go wrong in life. Sadly in many areas this is far from the case and hasn't been in a while.

It'snot unknown (at least with the council) that if the person can demonstrate they have a medical need for a 2nd bedroom, they can get one.

Obviously it might be hard to do that, though.

@TitcHt48

I am sorry for your troubles, but the posters here are right that you will not be housed very easily. It doesn't sound like your needs are very high sorry, and as you're in private let, you are suitably housed.

It also depends largely on your area. Eg, I know a few people who live in the middle of Birmingham who are a 40-something couple with 3 to 4 kids , and they are on 2 and 3 bedroom 5th and 10th floor flats. They are classed as 'suitably housed.'

Then I know someone in North Worcestershire who were also in private let (for 4 years,) and got housed in a lovely little semi detached bungalow in a cul-de sac of only 16 houses - half semis and half bungalows. It was only the 10th or 11th property they went for, and they got it.

The couple got the bungalow because it was in a fairly hard to let area, because it's rural, there's no shops for 3 miles, (or doctor or dentist etc,) and no public transport. Not many people want that. But as they said, they had to drive most places anyway, (where they lived in their private let,) and they're only late 50s and have a car, so they're not housebound.

So it really is a bit of a lottery. But if you try going for hard-to-let areas, at least you will be on he social housing ladder IYSWIM.

OP doesn’t seem particularly bothered tbf

The people in Birmingham I know are IN 2 and 3 bedroom, 5th and 10th floor flats.... (Not ON the 2 and 3 bedroom flats!)

@MrsDragonLady where were housed when you conceived the 1 year old? And the one before that?

2 of my children share a bedroom, but it’s a choice we made when we decided to have a third. If I had a 2 bedroom I would have had to make the same choice, no one would care how many kids I had in my house, it’s up to me to decide how many I can comfortably fit in my house.

You are going to have to explain Flower did you mean my bold fail?

I work for a housing association and I can honestly say that the system is fair but there is a massive shortage of housing in every area. Most areas have changed over to a bidding system now so that you can bid for properties that you are interested and eligible for rather than being matched to properties in areas you don’t want.

The bedrooms are automatically calculated so that you aren’t putting any families in financial stress by giving them bedrooms they don’t currently need.

If an applicant wants more bedrooms than what they are entitled for they will need to provide supporting evidence to support the reasons why so for example a family with two children who could share a room would need to provide supporting evidence in order for the bedroom entitlement to be increased. The rules around bedrooms in our area are that two children of the opposite gender can share till the eldest child turns 10 and if they are the same gender they can share until the oldest child turns 21. Like previously advised there would need to be medical supporting evidence to change that.

If a couple need more than one bedroom we ask for supporting evidence from a medical professional (we don’t accept GP letters though as they aren’t accurate and they charge for it too be written!

Hope that helps

if they are the same gender they can share until the oldest child turns 21.
16 year olds are normally entitled to own room. Thats really unusual.

Are you already in council accommodation?

My dad lives in a 2 bed flat with my two brothers, and the rules for the flat say that up to 5 people can occupy it. 5 people in a 2 bed would be stifling, but even that's not considered overcrowded.

If there's only 2 of you in your property, of course you're not going to get a house, I can't think why you'd expect to? You'd probably be advised to use the living room as a bedroom if you're disturbing your partner so much.

You’ve just said- you can pay your own rent and council tax
Social housing is for those that can’t afford that

I wish uneducated people would stop trotting out this harmful myth.

@TheQueef No mine, I was just saying what you said isn’t true, anyone can apply for social housing in this country.

@TheQueef I was mistaken in quoting you though! Forgive me I’m going back to my hole!

I know Flower that's what I said (not helped by my own bold fail) it is a myth that social housing is for poor people.

Assuming your in a council flat with 1 bedroom. Why can't you put a sofa bed in the sitting room for one of you to sleep on?

It'snot unknown (at least with the council) that if the person can demonstrate they have a medical need for a 2nd bedroom, they can get one.

Obviously it might be hard to do that, though.

You need to demonstrate that the extra bedroom is essential to your medical treatment, such as you need medical equipment or you have a child who has mobility issues or learning difficulties and cannot share a room.

Insomnia ain't gonna cut it. Sadly, most mental health issues don't.

Hi we have 6 of us jn a 2 bedroom flat also there is me and my partner my 3 year old twins my 10 year old daughter autistic spectrum and started her period and on medication for that too and my 8 year old son. It is driving me crazy as they say we are entitled to a 3 bedroom house but all of the 3 bedroom houses are 5 people maximum. My partner works and we lost our house due to landlords not paying the mortgage! Called them to send a welfare officer around to asses living situation and did not recieve a response!? X

Could you look at a different private rental? Estate rentals tend to be great value for money and very secure.

Velveteen* not sure if that was a response to what i put or the origonal post as im new on here! But if it was to me the council have advised us not to private rent? X

Mars you are the kind of people social housing is for. Your circumstances changed, you had adequate housing then experienced a change in circumstance and now need help. You weren’t housed in a 2 bedroom flat and then continued having kids and complaining that your house isn’t big enough.