to think i will never get a council house?

[bellver888]

been on the waiting list 2 years - showing 30 in bidding systems
DV occurred up to September 2020 when i forced my exp out the house.
rent is 600 and i cannot afford it now there’s just me and DS.
Landlord is shit, I have no heating, riddled with damp and window hanging out of pane. It’s a 3rd floor flat. HSA (housing standards authority) keep saying they’re contacting my landlord and he’s sending someone round, they never come.
PTSD is kicking in and i can’t go in my bedroom without vomiting and panicking as that’s where the abuse occurred
poor credit and no guarantor and no way i can afford private rent as average is 600-700 in my area and i need support
severe depression, OCD and anxiety
im getting 1140 in UC and im in arrears with everything, DHP was rejected and can’t appeal

Every single time when I phone up I get “keep bidding you’re moving up the list” yet I’m really not. I can’t take anymore of this, I hate my life and I don’t think I have a future at all.

"I’m already on the homeless register but could be on it years."

I don't think there's any such thing as a "homeless register", there's a housing register which you are clearly on, but a homeless application is a separate thing, and being classed as homeless gives you higher priority on the housing register.

That’s what it’s called here sorry, it’s because the HA’s reserve so many void properties for that register, but I’m not sure if it bumps you up on the general bidding systems

Oh ok sorry
It seems your local system works quite differently to mine, or the terminology is different at the very least!

Our local system is fucking weird I have to say, it seems even shelter were confused by it

Don’t give up on university OP. Its a waste of a brain if you don’t go. Education certificate a your best route out of this cycle and your life experience would be a great asset in social work.

Do your degree part time if necessary, but don’t quit.

Sorry my autocorrect has gone bananas. Hopefully you get the gist.

Your local citizens advice should know it better than the national shelter helpline. Shelter are very good but citizens advice have local knowledge which can be invaluable in situations like this.

Sounds like you are only entitled to a 1 bedroom as your child is under 2 and they class that as 1 room also you lose benefits when you start college, I have been on the housing list for 12 years so good luck

If you are thinking you may have to give up on university I would definitely speak to them first. They my be able to help you. It would be terrible if you gave up this chance.

I am not sure if it is the same in your housing association, but ours actively encourages to move to somewhere where they have more houses.

While I get you don't want to be away from your support network, its something to consider to get yourself on the housing register and then do a swap in a years time

@Dddccc

Sounds like you are only entitled to a 1 bedroom as your child is under 2 and they class that as 1 room also you lose benefits when you start college, I have been on the housing list for 12 years so good luck

This is incorrect - please ignore.

OP will remain entitled to UC even as a student as she is responsible for a child.
She is entitled to 2 bedrooms - 1 for herself and 1 for her child.

I'm really sorry not meaning to offend saying "can you stomach it" just you said "aibu to think I will never get a council" and I'm sorry to be honest but I think these days it takes years and years even when living in shit shit conditions. So all anyone can do is suggest realistic solutions that make your shit situation more livable.

In the immediate situation just to protect your own health can you a) share a room with DS to avoid the room that's triggering for you b) get a humidifier to try and just reduce the impact of the damp on your health a bit?
C) look for anywhere else to live, even if it's a studio, if its nicer/safer/better for your health that your current accomodation?
d) check all the benefit calculators and definitely do CMS. It does not mean you have to have contact with your abuser, contact the police if you are worried about him finding you. The money could be the difference between a better property for you & staying put.
E) is there anyone at all you can beg to be a guarantor?

OP will be expected to take out a student loan for maintenance and this will be offset against the UC she is entitled to.

I’m not entitled to a one bed, I did think this last year and I placed a bid on one and it didn’t go through. I have a case worker from Shelter Manchester and even she was confused haha.

I’ll phone Manchester Met in the morning and just see what they say. If nothing then I’ll have to start looking on indeed for admin work etc cos I can’t cope in this house anymore and uni work stress on top of living in this hell hole isn’t something I think my mind can take

The issue with the CMS is that if I do that, he knows where I live, if he comes round here he can easily take my door off and attack me or god knows what else. I don’t want his money and I don’t want him coming here and attacking me.

Hi! Im also a man met student and had a housing issue before I started and they have their own charity’s and housing help so I’d give the uni a call they are super accommodating

If you decide working is a more viable path than Uni, look at degree apprenticeships. Your uni does one in Social Work.

Coming from someone who works for a HA in your neck of the woods I can confirm that the waiting lists for social housing are HUGE!

Place on a waiting list means nothing as you could be 40 today, and then 20 people apply with a higher need than you so you'll drop down.

My advice, get medical evidence to back up your PTSD. You may get points for a medical condition/Mental health issue.

If you have been a victim of DV and the Police have it on record or a DV charity you can apply to live in any LA. Most just require a supporting letter from the Police or your IDVA.

However the issues with your flat being uninhabitable need sorting. You need to be on at your environmental health department constantly. Go to Shelter at get assistance with this, or CAB.

Our HA has a waiting time of approx 5 years for a studio-2 bed home. A 3+ bed is in excess of 8 years, that's only getting worse with the fall out from covid.

I don't know if it's still the same because this was a few years ago. But I knew someone who had a chaotic life and was regularly homeless. He said all the different local authorities had different criteria. The first thing was if they had an open or closed register. If they had an open register, you could join the bidding list for that local authority even without a local connection. He'd moved all over the UK that way, going wherever the first available property came up.

For the other criteria my experience is the length of time you're on the bidding list has an impact. In my area there's priority bands, then points within that band. So if you had 10 points in band B you could take longer to get housed than someone with 30 points in band C. The points are awarded based in your circumstances. You go into the highest band where you've got any eligibity points.

The property is allocated to a band, so the bidding list shows a selection of properties in various bands. Then they're allocated to tenants on the basis of #1 is the bidders application in the same band as the property #2 how many points the bidder has #3 what's the start date the bidder joined the overall bidding list (not the date of bidding on the particular property, that's irrelevant).

So a property could be band A but if nobody in band A bids then then look at who has bid and who has the highest band most points etc. Also here the housing associations are allowed to list properties that aren't ready yet! This is crazy, but that's how it is. Obviously they prioritize repairs to tenants not void properties. So you could get a property if you're 27 on the list, like someone I know did. Because by the time it was ready to rent out (which could be months) the previous 26 people had either been allocated a different HA property or found private rent or whatever.

See if you can get on the list for some other areas of the UK. Also see about getting the broken window boarded up somehow so it's secure and the rain doesn't come in, then you can have the living room as a bedroom. If you have electricity you can get electric heating to plug in, but I'm guessing you maybe can't afford to run it.

If there is a history of DV, and he knows where you live, can you not be rehoused immediately for your safety? Either a shelter or temporary accommodation?

@hibbledibble I’m not classed as at risk as were no longer together and he’s not living there, according to the local DV housing side of it “locks should be changed immediately”

For anyone confused with banding with gold silver etc. I’m band 2 :)

Would a one bed be an option, I know it is hard going but more affordable and you would still get the two bed housing benefit rate.
I shared a room with my dd until she was 14 and now she is older I sleep in the lounge. I work full time but its all I could afford.

Think a one bed is the only option tbh, what a fucking life eh

do you have a gas fire or boiler in your living room?

No gas in the house, it’s just electric, none of the radiators work anyway so we’re on them little plug in things