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’ve been waiting 7 years to move house I’m in a upper flat but need lower due to medical problems and I’m in Edinburgh it’s a complete joke.

Local newspaper?
A friend was having similar issues a few years ago. Every single turn was met by a brickwall. It was horrendous to see and wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Even SS were involved who were turning everything back on my mate. Told to keep topping up the meters despite everything being DD. Pushed around various departments within the council.

Phoned up the local paper and asked if anyone was doing anything on the local council and their ineptitude. Weeks went by and a reporter got in touch. Within days of that call, various people were tripping over themselves doing their job.

I know you are concerned about him getting to you. The paper didn't print any identifying details. It was photos, some of the letters and from direct quotes. It was the agency that the paper where gunning for btw originally not the council.

Same with going for maintenance, they shouldn't give him your details and you can specifically tell them not to. However, I totally understand your reservations and not trusting the system.

Also don't discount the legal side and engaging with a solicitor. The good thing about them is they take away some of the stress when dealing with this stuff. Phone around some, you never know what they are working on already. You said you lived in a block, if your neighbours are having the same shit with the agent/LL a group action might get you somewhere. I'm no legal bod though so don't know how this would work.

Oh and email people instead of calling so you evidence of them fobbing you off. The first one I suggest would be requesting evidence of those visits to do repairs/inspect the property.

I really empathise with you and it sounds like you're in an absolutely shit situation and it sounds like you've been in circles - unfortunately I've got no suggestions with the housing. I think the advice to write to your local councillor/MP and send pictures might be the best and keep a log of every contact you have with everyone.

However what screams out at me is that you're obviously very capable and part way through your university course - housing sounds shit but that has been bumbling along for quite a while and not changing. Can you concentrate on getting back to uni because a career is your way out of this situation!! You sound like you've (understandably) spiralled downwards into learned helpless so I wonder if some counselling to help you sort things in your own mind and motivate you to get the education sorted. This will help when you come across lots of families in social work facing adversity - you'll be able to understand, empathise and support them!

Also uni should help with counselling, housing, finance. Please don't give up!

I also found out today my support worker who I was referred to won’t help as I’m going back to uni. This can’t be fucking real at all.

Oh no they’ve offered to contact my landlord about my heating, might as well just leave it. I’m fully at the end of my tether. I’d rather be dead than live this, it’s a fucking joke.

Hi Op
Sorry for your situation
Some unis offer family accommodation which might suit you?
In terms of your mental health that is a consideration but the medical points awarded are usually low as they are in competition with people who can’t manage stairs etc.
If your housing is below standard contact environmental health as this is a separate matter to housing/banding.. in the vast majority of cases the responsibility is your landlords to sort this out as opposed to on the council to rehouse you.
Also look at checking you have the correct benefits in place

I’ve contacted environmental health several times
They tell me it’s landlord responsibility. But he won’t do fuck all. All benefits are correct.

Please speak to the uni accommodation see if they have anything suitable one their books even if it's via a private student landlord. I suspect many properties are empty!! Certainly you can have something lined up for August that way.

When I first moved to Manchester it was as a mature student with 2 small children, our first home here was found via www.manchesterstudenthomes.com/. I'm not sure whether they could still find affordable, family suited accommodation but they may be able at least to offer you some advice and support?

Depending on where you live sometimes badgering then actually works. By that I mean calling them 3 or 4 times a day

Oh god, do not do this! Not only will it absolutely not work, you run the risk of being classed as harassing council staff, and if that happens the sanctions can range from refusing to take any of your calls to actually removing you from the list altogether.

Not to mention its not fair on the poor people trying to do their jobs.

Student let's will be used to you providing a guarantor, would your Mum be one?

My mum doesn’t earn enough really to guarantor me

What do you get out of going to uni? Do you get free childcare? Could you complete the rest of uni mostly online? At the moment it sounds like finishing off Uni is a luxury that you can't afford. When your DS is two, I think that he'll be entitled to childcare if you meet the criteria. Re the mold, there is a fantastic foam spray on Amazon. A little goes a long way and it is amazing stuff. It also helps stop it from coming back, or at least not nearly as quickly.

Mold remover is made by company called HG.
Also see if you can get(ask council/landlord or Freecycle) an oil filled plug in electric radiator. Much much cheaper to run than hot air heaters and more effective.

In reality I probably won’t get anything out of finishing my degree, I’m gonna give them a call on Monday and see where I go about completely dropping out.
Tried mold remover, but it’s that bad now it doesn’t do the job, there’s no heating and washing being dried in the property so it’s a catch 22. Also no bathroom window. Will look for an oil radiator though I think they sell them in Argos.

In reality I probably won’t get anything out of finishing my degree,

You cannot possibly be serious. Education is the thing that will get you out of this poverty trap. If you’re feeling so down you can’t even see that, maybe you’re clinically depressed & it’s worth seeing the doctor.

Don’t ever listen to any fool who calls education a luxury. You have a boy to bring up and you need to secure the best income you can. Everything you are going through at the moment is short term pain, unless you cut off your escape route. You can do this.

Oh OP, education is a way out of poverty and your degree will lead you to a professional job.

Like you, I became a single mum after my abusive relationship ended. I lived in a very small, rented house.

I worked hard for five years to go to college and then got accepted into university on a social work degree. I did not want to depend on the state anymore, I wanted to raise my daughter independently without worrying about my benefits getting cut etc. I am now a social worker, I met a new partner who is an amazing man and we have brought a house together, I am pregnant.

You can do this.

I actually was financially better off at university as you get lot financial help as a single parent. Don't give up.

OP please continue with your studies. As others have said it is the way out of your current situation. It’s not just an opportunity, it’s a lifeline. Also, on a personal note my elderly parents are in a situation because of health issues where they have been allocated a social worker and honestly, it’s changed their lives. The support they have had has been incredible. Social workers do work which is so important and has a profound impact on people’s lives. We need to keep recruiting and you will be fantastic.

Have you got in touch with student services support yet? That is your first step. There job is to enable students to complete their courses. They will do everything they can to support from getting you some counselling to trying to help with new accommodation.

Be brutally honest with them that you are in a very dark place.

You need to stop making massive life changing decisions while you're feeling like this. It leads to poor decisions and poor outcomes.

Dropping out of your course would be an act of self sabotage that will prevent your life from improving.

Do you want things to get better?

Or do you want to hurt yourself to vent your frustration and punish yourself because of your self-hatred?

I probably won’t get anything out of finishing my degree

That's an opinion coming from a place of despair. The facts do not support it.

Call them and ask for support, ask about housing.

Stop lashing out at yourself.

Please post for support, support in contacting student services, support in contacting the free legal services to force your landlord to do his job etc.

You are not unreasonable to feel as you do after all you have been through and that dangerous shithole you live in.

Baby steps to try new avenues.

OP please think again about dropping out of uni. Your life experiences as well as your academic knowledge would help you be a good social worker. It would also give you a professional career and a way out of the struggles you currently have. You could build a lovely future for yourself and your DS. Please seek support from your GP and student services to help you find ways to continue your studies.
Threaten to contact the Manchester Evening News and Andy Burnham's office about the state of your housing. Hopefully that may shame them into making your current home warm and liveable until you start uni again.

@bellver888

I’ve contacted environmental health several times They tell me it’s landlord responsibility. But he won’t do fuck all. All benefits are correct.

The council have enforcement powers if a private landlord is not keeping the property fit for human habitation. (See Homes Fit For Human Habitation). Ask the council why they are not pursuing the LL. And if the LL lies to them, make sure you have proof that he hasn't done what he's supposed to do.

Have you contacted Shelter? If they say they can't help, say that's not good enough. Their advertising and marketing paints a picture of them fighting for tenants. Ask them to do that for you.

There are hundreds of pieces of legislation regulating landlords, the problem here is not only that you have a shit landlord but also that the systems in place to help you and enforce that legislation are not doing so.

I know it's easy for me to say all this when I'm not in your shoes. You do have to dig deep and find the energy this needs, but in the long run it will be worth it for you and your son.

Could you complete the rest of uni mostly online? At the moment it sounds like finishing off Uni is a luxury that you can't afford

What sort of utter bullshit is this? A degree is her best route out of poverty, not a bloody "luxury".

There are solicitors who will undertake housing disrepair cases on a no-win, no-fee basis (of course, you used to be able to get legal aid for this, but it's another victim of austerity). If you google, you'll get plenty of names.

In the meantime, make a formal complaint to the council about the failure of their environmental health/housing standards team to act promptly in taking steps to make your LL provide functioning heating etc. Copy your complaint to your local MP and local councillor. If they're any good, they'll get on the council's case with regard to your landlord. The council will take more notice of them than they do of you. Stress the impact this is having on your MH and ability to complete your studies.

If nothing has happened after a few weeks, then make a complaint to the local government ombudsman. Council's hate that, and even if it's resolved, people often get compensation. Again, stress how this is affecting you.

Realistically, your chances of getting a council place probably aren't great. I don't know how bad it is in Manchester, but in my part of the SE the only people who get council accommodation are those who are housed under homelessness or whose housing cannot be adapted to meet mobility needs.

Also have a look at "Places for People" rent.placesforpeople.co.uk/properties.aspx?loc=Manchester&lat=53.4807593&lon=-2.2426305&mil=50&max=9999&bed=2&typ=0&pag=1

You can rent direct from some HAs through them.