To put in a complaint about this housing officer?

[NetflixMom21]

On the housing register. Owed a complete homelessness relief duty and have an urgent need to move because of violence within the home and high medical needs for both me and children. Just been put forward for a property the other side of the county to be closer to family who can provide support for all of this.

Every time I have been nominated for a property the rules change, for example, this time round was proving residency for where my family members live. A few weeks ago they accepted bank statements, now they are saying they do not. I have provided every bit of evidence they need but it seems like the goal posts move dramatically every few weeks whenever a property comes up, so I questioned this on my portal and expressed my frustration at the rules seemingly changing whenever I get offered a property. (In my past experience of them, they are just an extremely challenging and rude team of people anyway).

This morning I got quite a confrontational phone call from one of the workers saying they didn’t appreciate turning up to work and seeing my message first thing this morning (I literally just questioned why bank statements were accepted a few weeks ago but not now). They then went onto say that I am ‘leapfrogging’ people who live in the area and have been waiting for years and so on. Well I doubt many of those people have experienced trauma and violence in their home and have high medical needs which is why they are still waiting and not on a higher band…

She was rude, confrontational and insensitive - almost making it seem like I should be thankful that I have taken a house that other people in the area should be entitled to instead… without taking into consideration all the shit circumstances we have which is why we have to leave our lives behind and move to a different part of the county…

I’m so tempted to put in a complaint… but is it worth it?!

@NetflixMom21 Google it - I can think of at least two incidences of housing officers getting shot.

Being held captive isn’t unusual either (though this is more “I’m not letting you out of the house until you sort x”

[quote NetflixMom21]@Sluj really? Shot? Help captive? I would love to know when this has happened. You seem to know for certain this happens quite a bit, can you point me in the direction of some news outlets etc? Because surely something this dramatic wouldn’t happen without someone getting whiff of it 🙄[/quote]
www.google.com/amp/s/www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/5860179/scots-housing-officer-tenant-stabbed-murder-bid/amp/

www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/housing-officers-suffered-more-than-200-physical-attacks-last-year-51012

www.google.com/amp/s/www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/brixton-shooting-two-housing-officers-2021482.amp

Just because it has happened to some housing officers doesn’t give the rest of them the right to treat people however they want. Police officers, hospital staff are assaulted probably on a daily basis but they have to remain professional - they can’t start treating other innocent people who haven’t done that - badly just because of the actions of others. So I’m sorry but I don’t see that as an excuse, one of my parents works with prisoners - had bones broken, been hospitalised through injuries - but he has to go back in and act professional with the people that have done that to him and he would never lower himself to the point of treating them like shit because of it.

No ones disagreeing - but it’s not “some” it’s a lot.

www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/assaults-survey-full-findings-reveal-rising-abuse-of-frontline-housing-staff-61933

@2022booklover it still doesn’t excuse - as I said - I’m sure a lot of other professions have more risk than this - for example police officers that have to protect themselves against gangs of people with knives and they’ve only got batons and so on - BUT you still can’t treat people like shit when that person hasn’t done anything to them - if they can’t do that then they shouldn’t do the job.

We had people come to the offices and refuse to leave, barricaded themselves in the loo, we had panic alarms and screens for a reason. Police would be called but they are stretched so sometimes these people would be there well into the night until police arrived

NetflixMom21 Do you think that the police act professionally? I’d beg to differ having seen the way they treat these people

[quote NetflixMom21]@2022booklover it still doesn’t excuse - as I said - I’m sure a lot of other professions have more risk than this - for example police officers that have to protect themselves against gangs of people with knives and they’ve only got batons and so on - BUT you still can’t treat people like shit when that person hasn’t done anything to them - if they can’t do that then they shouldn’t do the job.[/quote]
As Suraj and myself said, it’s not an excuse for someone to be rude to you.
But eye rolling and saying “it doesn’t happen because I’ve not heard about it” does give a bit of an indication of your attitude to be honest.

I’ve never been a HO - you couldn’t pay me enough to do it. But it is a difficult and sometimes dangerous role and “what about police officers” really isn’t relevant.

Yes, she cites dv, but that's also a very easy get out that many are advised to use.

appalling comment. Have a word with yourself

@NeverDropYourMooncup whos Paying £750 pcm for a 2 bed flat ha , not many if any
I know lots in ha / council associations and more like £600 a month
But we only have kitchens done every 20 years , bathrooms 30 and they aren't expensive lasting ones
My current kitchen has been patched and repaired Several times a d has to last another 12 years
Because they haven't got money to do them as regularly as they may like
Im still grateful for my Ha home but some people really are not and will scream and shout and demand what they think they should have , obviously living in a ha estate I hear some of these people and they can be so entitled .

@Hospedia well thats simply not true I live in a 12 year old property
Our ha has built lots of new homes and building still

I sympathise with your situation OP and she definitely does sound patronising but having worked in social services and with family still working in the industry I can understand why. You meet an incredible amount of entitled, lazy scumbags that after a while your defenses are raised and frustration spills over. I was young and very much an idealist who wanted to "help" everyone but I left at the end of a short term contract as there was no way I could stay any longer - I would have lost all faith in humanity! The lies, manipulation and abuse were extreme. It's awful as it means those in genuine need often get overlooked.

If I were you I would keep your complaints until after you have executed housing. I also met enough petty, bitter staff members to know that complaining will not work in your favour!

I hope you get sorted soon.

@Hospedia many are Ha now and they aren't allowed to make a profit

*Secured - not executed! Let's hope it doesn't get to that stage

I am on the housing register.
I had to prove I am who I say I am and why I need a particular property etc when I applied - so now I am able to apply for certain properties.

If I get offered a property then I have to bring these documents and maybe a couple others but it’s only to confirm really.

I’ve never heard of being offered a property that you are eligible for but then them saying you can’t have it - surely if they don’t accept bank statements they’ll give you some time to get your payslips or whatever they need, they don’t just stop you getting the property.

When they said bank statements were provided did they give an alternative?

If this is stopping you from getting a property then I absolutely would complain.

Also I would be very careful about applying for properties and not accepting them.
I am classed as homeless, a single parent, no bedroom and live 100 miles away from my work and closest family member - I’m very high on the list but I’ve not been offered anything for 4 years.

Your best bet is to get somewhere that is better than your situation now (which is anywhere if there is violence) and then exchange or go back on the housing register.

[quote NetflixMom21]@ChoiceMummy it’s for both - we are at constant risk of perp turning up and causing serious injuries - have several injunctions and target hardening in home that has been breached AND have all the stuff going on with health.

So it’s not as black and white as you make it seem - we have very complex issues going on.[/quote]
Then, as I asked before, surely going back closer to your family is the worst place to go? The most obvious place to seek you out?

It seems odd that you can't provide anything but a bank statement to prove your family lives there. Surely your relatives have council tax bills etc. As a PP said, it's very easy to change the address on a bank statement

@EndaDay and it’s not about having to provide documents it’s the fact that they were the only documents I had and they were fine a few weeks ago and now they aren’t which could mean me not being allowed to move.

OP unfortunately policies change, they aren’t unmovable, as they should be.

Yes I’d complaint however you really need to change your way of thinking, you aren’t the only one in this situation, millions are and is the reason why those who are vulnerable or disabled are unable to access suitable housing.

Work with them not against them.

well thats simply not true I live in a 12 year old property. Our ha has built lots of new homes and building still

We have new build HA homes here too but the vast majority of social housing was built pre-1971. The figures are all on Google and it shows how many were built each year.

many are Ha now and they aren't allowed to make a profit

The figures I posted earlier were from my councils website, they publish their accounts and their housing account shows that they make more money from social housing than what they spend on providing social housing. The profits get reinvested, the same with housing associations - they can make a profit but it has to be reinvested rather than paid to shareholders like a private business would.

I’ve never heard of being offered a property that you are eligible for but then them saying you can’t have it

Eligibility and suitability are very different, it’s not uncommon for a property to be unsuitable for the individuals needs even if they meet the criteria for the property.

Housing officers are, in my experience, lying corrupt scum. Report and only deal with the Head of the housing Department.

@UsernameInTheTown what all several thousand of them
I have dealt with many some are lovely some not so much , but if you are going to generalise everyone you have your. Back up already
My dh used to work in social housing and why most tenants are lovely some are very rude and abusive and he was sometimes in unsafe conditions , some also scream and shout that they are entitled to a new kitchen as they want it
Its not an easy sector to work in due to a minority

@UsernameInTheTown the head if the dept doesn't have to speak to you either , people can't demand they only speak to one person that isn't how it works
What if all tenants did that

@worriedatthistime unfortunately sometimes it's the only way to deal with the incompetent HOs. We had to go to the head of the department to report out concerns about the HOs decision making (and I quote from my letter to him):

"I am concerned that this decision is being made:
a) Outside of X Council’s Allocation Policy / Homechoice Assessment Framework Or

b) Based on incorrect information provided to decision makers about what constitutes a qualifying person for properties with specific preference labels Or

c) With a lack of understanding of Friend's already proven needs in conjunction with a lack of understanding that receipt of (as opposed to eligibility for) specific benefits does not validate someone’s eligibility for a home."

Now, I was working in a regulatory role at that time and was able to read, understand and explain to this team what we were worried about and advocate for my friend on her behalf. Many many vulnerable people have no-one to support them through this, let alone act for them. We won, the HO was disciplined, but we'll never know how many people were denied homes by her based on her personal criteria and personality preferences. She had a real problem with disabled women under retirement age, but loved little old retired men.