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.

Someone I know was on a very similar position to you and wasnt getting anywhere.

She went to her GP (who knew she had been a victim of domestic violence and had PTSD as she was undergoing treatment ) who wrote a letter to the council.

My friend was housed within 3 months

I just don’t even think I have it in me anymore. I’m so so sick of phoning agencies, charities, counselling because I’m stressed, everything.

I know it sounds like I’m a whiny bitch but I genuinely can’t cope anymore. My mum has DS overnight (she’s in a 2 bed with my sisters so we can’t live there) because of the cold and wind and I just feel like taking myself to hospital and begging to be sectioned. I can’t take anymore stress, I’m constantly worried about my fucking heating bills in winter, as last year I paid £173 a month cos of those little heaters.

Honestly it's an awful situation and it's unacceptable that shit landlords get away with providing substandard accommodation

@RandomMess I know I said this to my mum today, the amount of checks to go through to get a private tenancy yet they don’t seem to check the landlords who let them

Please reach out to student services I think they may be your quickest route to better accommodation. They are very very keen to get/keep/have students studying at the moment!

The only advice I have would be to bid on a property further away and the do an exchange or rent a cheaper place further away and the apply to go back on the housing register to be closer to your support system.
I am in a similar situation and finally got a place 3/4 years later but it is an hour and a half away from my family and work but I am trying to exchange.

Both options would take a long time but probably less time than being on the housing register. It would also mean getting a new job etc but considering everything you’ve been through then a fresh start might be what’s needed.

Be very careful about making yourself homeless or purposely putting yourself in a worse situation as they put you to the bottom of the register. Else I would have suggested moving in with your mum so you’ll be classed as overcrowded.

If your mum has your DS overnight anyway then another option could be to move into uni accommodation/house share and then once your course has finished you will be able to go higher on the list.

I asked about moving with my mum but they’ve said that would be deliberately making myself overcrowded. I won’t get a private rented because of my debt relief order regardless of how many bedrooms it is.

I’ve applied to Leeds homes, the thought of being alone there with no friends or family is making me feel physically sick but I don’t really enjoy life (except ds) so I predict it will just carry on being completely shit anyway so might as well. Sorry for the doom and gloom, I don’t get upset or agitated in front of baby so when he’s away for a bit it just all comes out, the tears and the feelings.

My mum doesn’t have DS overnight all the time. She has him once every few weeks, maybe more if the weather is bad. I’m not going into shared accommodation and leaving my son with my mum. I want him with me.

@bellver888

I asked about moving with my mum but they’ve said that would be deliberately making myself overcrowded. I won’t get a private rented because of my debt relief order regardless of how many bedrooms it is.

I’ve applied to Leeds homes, the thought of being alone there with no friends or family is making me feel physically sick but I don’t really enjoy life (except ds) so I predict it will just carry on being completely shit anyway so might as well. Sorry for the doom and gloom, I don’t get upset or agitated in front of baby so when he’s away for a bit it just all comes out, the tears and the feelings.

They will say that as they don’t want you to do it. The truth is they probably know that they woukd still have a duty to house you just make sure you get photos etc of the awful conditions of your current home and medical letters saying you can’t stay there safely and I think they would have no choice I honestly would see if you can just squeeze into your mums place x

You sound at the end of your tether OP. Please go back to your GP to get more help for your mental health and to get more support for your improving your housing situation.

I really feel for you. Have you got pictures of the state of your house? If not, take loads of pictures of everything that is wrong with it, including the small heaters you're using.
Would your health visitor come round (when lockdown is lifted) & maybe write up a report for you to give to the council & whoever else needs to see it? It doesn't sound good at all, especially with a child living there.
Dehumidifiers are great if you're able to get one, it'll take away that horrible damp feeling and hopefully stop any more mould from growing.

I do have a dehumidifier I got one for my birthday last year lol, it takes away the thick damp feeling but I have to use a maiden for washing and always keep a window open to ventilate it so it’s a vicious circle of damp and cold and raining in

Is there anyone you could move in together with eg a friend or sibling? Who would have more chance of getting a private rent place.

Then if they were to move out in the future and you couldn’t afford the rent alone the council would put you on a high band as you would be at risk of homelessness.

Could you get anyone to put a board up at your window? Surely that's a (safeguarding??? Someone correct me) issue alone, as you've got a child living there, so a broken window which is letting rain in too is massively unsafe.

It just puts me down so much, my mum is WFA for our local HA and even she can’t do anything to help. I visited her last week for a few days as it was -4° and it broke my heart all these people saying they had just signed their new tenancys and it’s the reality of it never being me that hurts. Like I’ve not had the best life but I’ve never been “enough” for help if that makes sense

I’m a victim of DV, but not “enough”
I’m facing homeless, but not “enough”
Mentally ill, but not “enough”

@Notapheasantplucker well I thought that myself! But no it’s the landlords responsibility according to the council

The council should be ordering the landlord to do the repairs.
If they're not (I'm not sure if you said how long the repairs have needed doing) then I'd complain to your local councillors or MP.

I’ve had no heating since January 2020
Council keep asking landlord to do it, he says he’s sending someone round (he doesn’t)
He then tells the council they work fine and they’ve shown me how to use them? They don’t work anymore but it’s just one big merry go round which results in me hating my life even more.

I know a girl who has lied about DV and got a house within 5 months as well which doesn’t help, as everything seems to fall into place for people who’ve been in my situation, nothing is falling into place for me, it’s falling out.

I often wonder why I bothered speaking out to the local DV service, as they’ve offered me fuck all except the freedom programme.

The only thing they actually said was to get a solicitor for a claim for illegal disrepair. Like I’ve got the fucking money, time, mental capacity to do that

Ask the council to insist the landlord shows them evidence of these visits and tell them that he is outright lying and if he has evidence he is falsifying it.

I wonder if rip off Britain or one of the other consumer programmes would help you?

I would be very tempted to serve your notice and move in with your Mum for "mental health" support and then when you are feeling better after a few weeks apply from her property as over crowded.

You don't sound like a whiney bitch! You sound like someone needs to help fight the system for you because you're ill and not coping with it, but you haven't got anyone. . It's one of the reasons why I thought you might be better off in another area even though it means moving away from your support, because it doesn't sound like you have enough. Another area might be easier to get a HA property just if there's a lower population in the area means less people bidding for each home, and the MH support might be better too. It also might not, but you're sounding like you perhaps haven't got much to lose by trying. If you do move out of your current area, don't come off the housing list there, just update your circumstances and keep bidding until one day you can come back.

They still say it’s my own fault as I’ve made myself intentionally homeless. It’s utter bullshit honestly
I have asked that they do this and they’re unable to at the moment “cos of covid”
I had no hob for 8 months and I tried to argue reasonable time but couldn’t “cos of covid”

Shelter gave me so many good references to point to and my council have basically wiped their arses with every single one. I’m so bitter and fed up, like is this ever gonna get any better or am I gonna be stuck in this fucking dump until I die.
Why does everyone else get help yet I don’t, did my exP not hurt me enough, am I not financially in the shit enough, or is it that I’m not mentally unwell enough.

My mum is amazing support she honestly is, however she can’t delve into my application or even put any info on there because of data protection. Also she doesn’t work in the Lettings department and when she enquired about my application she was told by an ex colleague I shouldn’t even be on the waiting list as I’m in a private rented property

They can't prove that you didn't move in with your Mum for childcare and MH support as you were unwell and not able to live alone and had to for up flat.

They are saying that to try and put you off - speak to shelter about that specific scenario and ask for their take on it.

If there is a gap between you moving in and then applying for housing I don't think they have a leg to stand on.