Council house banding

[sickofturkey]

Looking for some opinions / advice from
Anyone who has been in a similar situation.

My council operate a choice based letting system to advertise properties and have a banding system for priority . When I registered I completed the form honestly and I even telephoned them to ensure I had selected the correct options to reflect my situation.

In order to verify the banding I was allocated (band a) I sent in proof to confirm my health problems. I e mailed a week later and asked if the proof I had provided was sufficient to verify my banding and I was told yes .

This was before lockdown and now that the council have started to advertise properties again I am coming up in the top 3 . I spoke with a manager there this week who checked my application and they said that my condition did not warrant such a High banding and that the proof was not adequate .

Aibu to expect them to stand by the email they sent to me a few months ago confirming that the proof I provided was adequate ?

Have they removed your priority banding?

They are considering doing this yes . I have sent in the e mail that they sent to me confirming my banding and confirming that my evidence was sufficient and they are looking in to it.

I'm just very worried that they will remove my priority banding and I won't be rehoused as soon as I had expected.

In that case, yes they should keep your banding unless something has changed. if they remove it then you can ask for a review of the decision.

What is the nature of your disability OP, if you don’t mind me asking? I work in this sector & might be able to offer advice.

I had mine taken away totally - have just had to take a bank loan out so we aren’t homeless. It’s shocking.

It's mental health issues caused by my current property ... I have provided a report from my psychotherapist to verify this and my need is to move nearer to my support network, childs school, place of work etc .

I was homeless last year and they forced me to take a property 10 miles away which had caused me anxiety depression and inability to sleep.

@Boomclaps that's awful! Surely they should prioritise homeless!

Is there actually anything wrong with your property other than location? Overcrowding etc?

There’s no way you would get an A in my council for that, I don’t even think you would get a b. You would be a c here which is no priority so I can see where they are coming from.

Have you got a back up plan for improving your mental health?

@sickofturkey unfortunately not if it’s due to financial issues.
So I go on my mat leave in 3 weeks & cant pay the rent.
I don’t know what to do

I'm sorry but it does sound like a mistake that you got band A. Its normally reserved for homeless or very over crowded families.There will be others with medical grounds but I wouldn't expect your condition to attract band A.

However, that said it's a long time since I was involved in social housing so hopefully someone with more up to date knowledge will advise.I hope something comes up for you.

In my area band A is for people in crisis eg fleeing domestic violence, child with serious physical disabilities requiring a specific property type/adaptations, and those people rarely get to be choosy about the location within the housing area (I don't agree with this due to support networks etc but it's how it works ime). This does sound like an incorrect allocation based on what you've said. You would have the right to appeal the new decision but it doesn't mean it will go the way you want it to.

I was already in band b anyway and when I called and spoke to them about my mental
Health and the effect my housing was having .. i was advised to update a certain section of the application form (this then prompted my banding to change from b to a)

The onus is then on me to prove my situation which is why I sent in my psychotherapist report as evidence and they confirmed this was sufficient proof.

They are now saying that the person who confirmed that was wrong!

Sounds like you were incorrectly awarded Band A. Can't think of any councils where that's awarded except for disability involving extreme mobility compromise or needing to be near hospital for life-threatening illness, fleeing domestic violence or victim of crime or the like. They have literally tens of thousands of mental health claims and unfortunately don't have the stock to meet demand.

Band A in my area is really hard to get. It’s strictly for those under occupying and wishing to downsize, people whose properties are about to be demolished. People who are in hospital whose home is no longer suitable to return to. So yes I don’t think you qualify for an A but look up Your own councils priority banding to confirm.

@DisobedientHamster when I explained to them my mental health problems (I told the honest truth and didn't have exaggerate) they advised me that the form does not have a section relating to mental health and that I should tick the box that relates to disability and enter comments in the box ... in doing so this awards a band a . Therefore I only did what I was told

I get that they have probably made a mistake , however I feel they should stand by their initial decision and learn from the mistake !

I get that they have probably made a mistake , however I feel they should stand by their initial decision and learn from the mistake

What, and not house a family who will otherwise be homeless, or have been in B&B accommodation for god knows how long?

@gobbynorthernbird

I get that they have probably made a mistake , however I feel they should stand by their initial decision and learn from the mistake

What, and not house a family who will otherwise be homeless, or have been in B&B accommodation for god knows how long?

This!

OP You need to try and read the policy for your area, it is irrelevant what other areas do and how they would band, however Band A for mental health does generally have a very high threshold so it depends as well on what the letter from the doctor said.

The policy should be somewhere on the lettings page, and then you might need to dig through it to find what you need.

@gobbynorthernbird

Don't forget I am also releasing a property (perfect for a family in a B and B)
I'm not taking a house that would leave someone else without as I would be handing back my house!

What, and not house a family who will otherwise be homeless, or have been in B&B accommodation for god knows how long?

To be fair we don't know what the pressure is like on housing stock in the area that the OP is in.

OP this is why it is never particularly helpful posting this type of question on AIBU, especially when there is no context of the area that you are applying in.

They obviously made an error and need to correct that op.

Any mistake has no effect on them, instead a family that's in a B&B even farther out for years or in some converted office building for years and years, or whose child or self have lost mobility and cannot physically access their former property. I knew a family who were top priority because their child had to have a bone marrow transplant and they lived over an hour away from the hospital where he'd have to be within minutes if he fell ill following the procedure. Stuff like this.