Some advice, anyone in council/social housing?

[Sunflower2019]

I’m currently living in a two bed house, it is actually only designed for three people as my daughters bedroom is so small she can only fit a single bed in it not even a wardrobe or chest of drawers. My daughter is almost 13 and my little boy is six months, he is currently sharing with me. We are currently banned be on the housing list due to overcrowding and I am coming in at around 40 on most of my local properties, some of them further afield I am over the 100 mark. Does anyone know how it works?? I was 38 on a house locally and it was the first want to come up next to my village in the last six months unfortunately it wasn’t local connection only so I’m not holding my breath but how did they choose a suitable person? Would I ever get a house being 38th in line?

And is anyone waiting because I feel like I could be sitting waiting for years?

Any advice would be great. I did think about going to the doctors as my anxiety has been really bad as my baby keeps getting woken up by my daughter as we are in such a small house and the walls are so thin and she’s trying to study. We would really like to be able to put our little boy in a coat but I cannot fit one in my bedroom 😩

Baby can share your room for awhile op. You must have known it would have been tight for space before though. Even so I hope you get somewhere more suitable eventually.

A family member of mine was in your position - 3 children in a property too small. They qualified to be moved into a bigger house due to overcrowding, but they waited 6 years, nothing happened. Their eldest then moved out, so no longer overcrowded! It’s possible you may not make the top of the list, but I guess you need something to hope for.

It all depends on your councils housing allocation policy, I've been in temporary accommodation for 5 years and have been bidding for most of that time, Some weeks I come in at 4 some weeks I'm 100. With my council the first 3 bidders get to view the property going in descending order if the first bidder doesn't take it, however they also work on a star system, so as I have two stars and I bid on a property and finish being number 3 and the person who bid and got number 2 only has one star or is in less need then I will automatically get bumped up to number 2.

I'm also only entitled to a 2 bed but it has to be two doubles as they said that as an adult you are entitled to a double room. You just have to keep bidding and hope for the best or keep trying with your exchange. Good luck

I was coming in at 'over 50' on the lists for every place I bid on for at least two years. Then I got offered a place that when I looked again at the listing had been offered to 11 people before me who had all turned it down. And between my bidding on it and then offering it to me they'd changed the advert description from a ground floor flat to a 2nd floor with no outside space (definitely changed it, I somewhat over efficiently kept a screenshot record of every place I bid on to keep track in case of offers!) So in the end I decided not to even view that one because I knew that I wouldn't take it, I wouldn't have bid on a 2nd floor flat due to my son's special needs and dreaded to think what state the place was in if 11 people had refused it before it got to me!

Finally after four years on the system I got a keyworker property. I was actually second on the list for this one but it wasn't due to be unoccupied for a long time and the original people who won the bid decided not to wait anymore so it got offered to me. And I love it, I really do and my children and I are really happy here but yes, four years to get here. I was second to lowest priority thanks to being a single parent, sharing with family and shared kitchen but we all had sufficient bedrooms etc and my sons special needs weren't deemed severe enough to place us higher on the priority list.

I'm sorry I don't have more encouraging news OP, I think regardless of where you are it is a long long wait. There just aren't enough properties to go around. Keep bidding though. I had literally just started looking and private rents and decided to swallow the extra rent on top of whatever housing benefit I received (it would have been extremely financially tight but we would have had our own desperately needed space). Literally had decided on a place and the letting agent was waiting to hear if the landlord would accept me with a guarantor due to my receiving universal credit when I got the call about my housing association place. It can happen. It just takes a horribly long time

Wow, was feeling a bit of sympathy but super disingenuous OP. You actively tried for a baby with a partner while in unsuitable accommodation you were apparently desperate to leave. It’s trivial to find your threads.

I’m sorry it’s turned out this way and I hope you do find more suitable accommodation but fgs own your decisions.

Friend of mine is married, 2 kids G 13 B 10 and also disabled mum lives with them. They are still in a 3 bed 1 bath and have been waiting for years! Kids have to share which isn't ideal as they are 13 and 10. Parents in box room and granny in a hospital bed in her room, stair lift etc.
Obviously depends on circumstances and each different HA but I wouldn't hold your breath for a quick move unfortunately

@BuggersMuddle

Wow, was feeling a bit of sympathy but super disingenuous OP. You actively tried for a baby with a partner while in unsuitable accommodation you were apparently desperate to leave. It’s trivial to find your threads.

I’m sorry it’s turned out this way and I hope you do find more suitable accommodation but fgs own your decisions.

Surprise, surprise! That's why every other post was shooting down ideas on how to make where she is work (because that's reality), or about how it's not possible to have her baby in her room with her, the daughter constantly wakes the baby, the doctor letter, must stay in the area, etc etc. Hello? Everyone's tried all that already.

No idea why people still do this and think they're going to get a larger council/social housing property in most areas. Those days are long gone.

I'm sorry but a 6m old really doesn't need their own room.

Why does he keep getting woken? Surely it's only you going to bed, just keep the noise down when you get ready for bed

A relative who experienced
Traumatic events in their council house was able to swap with a housing association property. Same number of bedrooms but crucially safer as the abuser no longer knew where they lived.

@wsereab

A relative who experienced Traumatic events in their council house was able to swap with a housing association property. Same number of bedrooms but crucially safer as the abuser no longer knew where they lived.

But she wants more bedrooms. And the same area. Probably a house with a garden. The moon on a stick.