AIBU to not understand why we don’t meet social housing criteria?

[Lulubon]

Does anyone have any experience with social housing?
We have been on the register for a year, band C and 13 points

Our situation:
My partner was made redundant during the pandemic and found it hard to find a job, he now works a low paid nhs job, full time.

He has a previous ccj which prevents us being accepted for rental properties. We’ve been turned down more times then I can count.

We live in one of the most expensive areas of the country. (Just happened to be where we grew up and we previously were relatively high earners)

We have a 7 month old son. I am currently receiving statuary maternity pay which ends this month.

I am a nursing student and will be returning to my studies in September full time.

We currently rent a small flat which is £1000pm. We originally lived her a few years ago when both in full time work, well paid jobs.

Rent is almost all of my partners earning and we are left with just enough to cover bills and food. Although I often have to put at least one food shop on the credit card.

Our flat has been sold and we have been served notice.

We have nowhere to go as we have been frantically applying to rent through letting agents and haven’t been accepted for low income and the ccj.

We contacted the council to ask if we have gained priority and they said no!?

I am completely at a loss and so heartbroken to be in this situation, we were living a care free lifestyle with quite a bit of disposable income pre pandemic.
I want our son to have a secure home but the woman we spoke to today from the counsel said we would need minimum 25 point (we have 13) to even be considered for a housing association house.

Can this be correct? If so what can we do in this situation?

Thanks in advance

Op have you phoned shelter? They give absolutely brilliant advice. Been there and all my sympathies to you, you’ll get there!!

I don't know how the system works where you are OP, but in my local authority, there is a bidding system. Basically, you submit an application and you are categorised according to 'need'. The categorisation is into bands: Gold, Silver and Bronze. Then you bid for properties.

Our region is quite vast, so remote rural areas have few people bidding for them, whereas property in urban areas, close to amenities, tends to be very popular.

The housing department at the council can also put people in touch with private landlords (not housing associations which are also classed as private providers), some of which will probably consider applicants with CCJs.

It may be worth having a conversation with the council. about various options.

And work and contribute to the economy

just to echo the advice you have been given already really . this happened to me and my dd . under the advice from the council i had to stay till the bitter end , landlady had to got to court to force me out , once the date to leave came near the housing office who had been assigned to me arranged for us to be put in temp accomadation , it was very stressfull , i was living surrounded by boxes , we were put in 3 different travel lodges before moving to a hotel which we stayed at before we were finally offered a house .

all in all it took 9 months of being in temp accomadation ,but to be honest i look back on it all and think it was worth it , my useless grasping bitch of a landlady who put the rent up each year, but refused to do any repairs to a house that was built in the early 1900s ,plus forced me to pay towards the garden gate when it fell off actually did me the biggest favour ever .

make sure you keep paying the rent in full , it takes a while until you are evicted . visit the council , speal to a housing officer , they will advise you fully , once the eviction date comes through . thats when you have to visit them and show them it .

@Macncheeseballs I’ve no problem with ppl who come and contribute to society. But we have a housing problem because of the mass immigration that happened under Labour.

@Lapsidasicle

I haven’t read the full thread but can’t see that anyone has picked up on the conflation between council and housing association housing

They are different things. The council is only one option. Get on the phone to all your local housing association. Get on their allocation lists. It’s easier to get a housing association property. You may even be allowed to buy a shared ownership using local authority mortgage- I’m not too sure about that, but definitely call them individually to discuss.

It may be different in other areas, but in this county nearly all HA allocations are by nomination from the local councils.

@LIZS

Some HA allocate a proportion of properties to or prioritise NHS employees/key workers, so it might be worth asking hospital hr or your uni if they know of any such properties.

This is a possibility in my area - not sure about others but do check this out. And sorry if you e already said this but do use university welfare and accommodation services, that’s what they are there for. They might be able to find housing or suggest a grant you can apply for to bridge the gap for a couple of months until your loan arrives.

[quote Lulubon]@BrieAndChilli

Wow. Thanks 😂😂😂

But rude tbh. I didn’t say should knock everyone off the list. There’s a list I was hoping to join to be with a chance to not have to be homeless with my infant child?!

The council IS there to turn to in times of crisis, otherwise I’d happily pay for anywhere to live but like I’ve explained it isn’t possible for us. We’ve tried.

Re a different area… we’ve looked into it but my uni needs to be travelling distance and the further we go the more expensive travel is and it worked out that we would be WORSE off even in a much cheaper area.

Re income… I’m not sure if you’re aware about the current situation with jobs but there aren’t any! you can’t simply increase earnings or everyone would do it 😂
My partner it taking an online course to try and get back into the IT industry but that’s all he can do for now.

I can’t get a job because my son is 7 months old and childcare is more expensive then a part time job- leaving us worse off.
Once I return to uni, I will be working for the nhs for free on placement which are 12 hour shifts plus essay and a dissertation…[/quote]
Nothing Brie said was rude, just reality.
You can’t moan about not having the points to qualify for social housing when you’re at uni and your partner works.
You say you can’t afford childcare so who pays while you’re on placement?

She doesn’t need a grant. She needs to get a part time evening job. Care work. Hospitality. Something like that. She should get care work easy enough as a nursing student.

And I say that as someone who went to uni full time, worked part time in a petrol station lates, and was a single parent too.

Hi OP,

sorry you have found yourselves in this situation, especially with a young baby.

I have some experience with this. when I was still living with my mum and step dad, our landlord got divorced and he needed his house back (of course fair enough). we went to the council as private rent had substantially gone up where we lived and our previous landlord was a friend of a friend who was charging us less. Anyway, long story short my step dad was ill and couldnt work at that point, I was only 17 and still in education not working and my mum was on a low income. my sister was only 1.

unfortunately, we did have to sit it out. the landlord had to get an eviction notice and all sorts before the council helped us. we were in a hotel for a week and then was in a barn thing in the next town for a few months. then we were offered a house.

so you will probably like others have said need to wait it out and be put in temporary accommodation at first. its shit but it is due to a shortage of homes.

wish you well x

If you're a student nurse and your OH works for the NHS, could you look at student accommodation on site?

@Spanielstail

I can't believe how many people are suggesting she overstays get notice and waits to be evicted. That costs the landlord money!! (s)he owns that property and has a right to sell it without someone squatting in it refusing to leave.

if the tenent is literally unable to find anywhere to rent ,as in cant afford the prices or theres a reason the agencies /landlords wont rent to them , the advice from coucils is to stay put until the landlord had to go to court to evict , that way tenent plus any dependents are then made homeless which then makes them a priorty for the council to house . it is shit for the tenent and the landlord , but thats the sytem for you , if the tenent leaves then the council says they left their home voluntariy and can deny them assistance , so everybodys hands are tied .

Any relatives you can stay with and push re 'overcrowding' in the mean time?

If you choose to move into accommodation that’s overcrowded, that won’t make you a higher priority. Otherwise everyone would be doing it.

Sorry to hear about your situation OP ,its really shit for you ATM .I just wondered if you had tried a church housing association? There are various ones up and down the country .They are worth a try and can be very helpful

My good friend experienced this some years ago. She had rented the same lovely house for nearly 20 years and saw it as a home for life , then was given notice to quit. Being a conservative, rule following citizen she did just that and her and her DH, both over 60, ended up homeless, sofa surfing on family settees. It was only then she took legal advice and told she should have stayed put until she was evicted and then the council would have put them in emergency accommodation and eventually found them somewhere more permanent.

We talk about this often. She still isn't sure what would have been the lesser of two evils. It was humiliating for them to be dependent on relations goodwill and living rooms but at least she knew the people she was living with and felt safe. A hostel or emergency B&B could have been a lot worse. And she had an element of control and choice over where she rented next which she wouldn't have done if she had waited to be allocated social housing. OTOH she is now back in private rented accommodation and so has no security.

And Europeans wonder why Brits are so obsessed with home ownership!

I agree with the advice about staying in the property.

In honesty, it doesn't sound like you can afford to continue with your studies right now.

Have you and your partner tried looking for jobs in care? My experience is that there are still jobs in that area.

Yes - contact housing associations .They are obliged to let to nominees from la but some will also be able to let a small nos of properties to direct applicants .

If you're a student could you look at student rentals? Where I went to university many letting agencies had 2 bedroom flats aimed at postgraduates/mature students who didn't want to live in halls or shared student houses. Those agencies will know about funding rentals using student loans/grants.

@Spanielstail

I can't believe how many people are suggesting she overstays get notice and waits to be evicted. That costs the landlord money!! (s)he owns that property and has a right to sell it without someone squatting in it refusing to leave.

People are saying it because the alternative is potential homelessness if nobody will accept them as private let. Homeless with a baby. The la says you are intentionally homeless IE your fault if you leave before the court directs you to and they say they don't have to help you. So. What to do? Private let won't take you. Council won't help you. No family/friends can house you. Sleep on the streets with a baby so you don't cost the landlord money?

If you are receiving uc you can get a child care element which pays towards childminders or nursery. You could look into that. Ring shelter they will give you advice on what to do with housing they might know something.

Have you looked into switching to a university in a cheaper area? When I was at uni one of my friends was homesick so he switched to a uni closer to home and he didn’t have to start the course again, he just joined for the second year of the equivalent course.

Op sorry you are unnecessarily getting such a tough time.

When you are evicted, you will be a higher priority for social housing: it's best to get advice from Shelter regarding this. You may still be waiting in a temporary accommodation for some time though.

Can the university offer family accomodation? Or some hospitals have accomodation that they offer to healthcare students as well.

Talk to the students union as well. They will have a housing officer who may be able to advise. Also they will sometimes give out money/grants to students in extreme need to help with food, etc.

If your landlord sells then the new owners become your landlords. They have the same legal obligations and these don’t stop on the sale of the house.
You have to stay put and wait for eviction which is stressful but it’s the only thing you can do as the council will not rehome you if leave before this. That’s the system.