To make a complaint to housing…waiting four months

[MaryJanif]

I live with my son and my parents. My son and I are desperate for our own place and are finding it impossible living with my parents. They’re overall quite toxic and we need to leave (won’t go into it on this thread). We also need to leave as I am married and my husband is an international doctor. He cannot move to or start work in the U.K. until we have appropriate accommodation. So for now we’re separated and it’s very upsetting for both of us. On the 22nd June I applied for an ‘intermediate rental property’. The property is run by a local housing association.
Basically a council flat but for working people and you have to have a minimum income of 35k a year for this particular property.

The advert closed a few days later and I was asked to submit documentation which I did.
On July 1st I was unsure as to why I hadn’t been contacted so chased up.
Was approved for the flat the next week but no setting up of me seeing the flat.

I guess at this point something was wrong.
I then got contacted by a lettings assistant saying there had been a delay and the flat might not be reading until end of august. I was shocked. They offered me another property which I accepted. For some reason she then said she needs to check that’s allowed.
I noticed the next day the properties had gone out for advert so I was confused.
I then got a message saying the builders had promised the work would be done no later than first week of September.

I was a bit annoyed as this was a long wait but I felt helpless.
Before the first week of September I was told the work was not done after all and on two weeks it should be completed but that they would be in touch to keep me updated.
Two weeks went and gone so I chased up to be told they were expecting an update from the builder on Monday (this was two weeks ago) and they would be in touch. I’ve heard nothing.
I’ve managed to stay strong for months now but I don’t know what to do.
I’m so stressed and just feel helpless.
I have no idea when the tenancy will be offered to me, what’s going on.

The property should never have been advertised as ready to let in mid July if it wasn’t. It shouldn’t have been advertised at all when it was months from being habitable.
I have a named worker with the housing association but she is an admin assistant so I don’t think she really knows what’s going on either.
I don’t know what to do. AIBU to complain?
I am really anxious if I complain they will somehow take the property off us but surely we can’t be kept in limbo.
As my husband works abroad in a very poor country and I work just three days a week we have really considered the option of private renting but I have a poor credit rating, couldn’t afford it and even when we did apply we’re never chosen as I currently get universal credit to help with rent payments. The private renting options are horrendous in my local area with huge demand I stand no chance.
i honestly hate complaining but feel I have no choice at this point.

This is.true unfortunately, I bought my new build 3 years ago and it was about 8 months late to schedule, I ended up moving on xmas eve. Complaining literally made no difference

Think you're jumping the gun here.

No one is displaying any hatred of those in social housing or displaying racism.

The fact that you've alluded to it yourself says much about you tbh.

People are just trying to work out the logistics of this scenario.

We are waiting to move into a social housing new build, the whole estate is finished and fenced off, has been since end of june - we was told probably beginning of July but here we are in October with no moving in date in sight. Basically its all red tape now waiting on the Council , we are feeling impatient too but nothing you can do!

I’m not sure I would complain but I would definitely be asking when it is going to be ready as you need to sort things out.

Have you tried emailing them so you have a paper trail?

Is your husband your son’s dad?

How come you live with your parents and not your husband or on your own?

I can only give you advice about social housing which is pretty shocking and you basically have to just wait until it’s ready which can take months.

I would be chasing this up once a week and asking if there’s any update.

As the PP above said if it’s a new build they are known for this sort of thing.

Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do.

My friend gave notice on her house she was renting and new tennants moved in the day after she left and she has bought a new build, shared ownership house which was meant to be ready in august - she was told it would be 4 weeks but she's she's still staying with family with her stuff in storage. There have been hold ups with the builders getting materials, which have no doubt all gone up in price and labour shortages.

She's complained and they said if she doesn't still want the house they will refund her deposit and they said that there is a huge que of people waiting for properties like this and I'm guessing this is the same for any social or part social housing so complaining is counter- productive really.
If you don't want to wait there is plenty of people who will and although this is annoying it's certainly not that admin assistants fault!

Why don't you move in with your husband in his home country? I wonder which country is it and can he not travel over and do the exams before the big move?

Why should she leave her job?

Wanting appropriate housing at a reasonable price shouldn't be an outrageous expectation.

Add in that it's social housing/a housing association where the money is guaranteed, whenever it's finished and you can double it, divide it by the year you were born, add the square root of the 7th vertice of a duodecahedron in zero gravity, create a function of the first number you thought of and you might get in the front door (or the space where there should be a front door) by Christmas.

bloody hell. Some people are giving you a hard time! There’s many many countries around the world that the general medical council does not recognise their medical degree meaning that they can’t work in the UK. These doctors need to sit additional exams to prove they can work at the standard required as well as English language requirements.

the idea that NHS jobs comes with accommodation is sadly outdated - most hospitals sold off their housing stock and the accommodation that is available is through outside companies which charge market rent or above.

why on Earth would the OP uproot herself and their child to a poor country and all the attendant risks/downsides just so what?? She doesn’t go into social housing?! Ducking piss poor attitude.

Wow, loads of posters are being rude to you OP. I'm guessing it's the "immigrant husband" mixed with "housing association", despite you clearly earning money and not taking a council house... people suck. I'm sorry you're being treated like this by so many posters.

As an immigrant myself, I can absolutely agree that there are loads of hoops to jump to use qualifications gained in other countries. The extra exams your husband will need to take are time consuming and definitely limiting income-wise. It must be so stressful for both of you.

In your situation, I would put in a complaint to the HA and ask for a move-in date in writing. I would also contact my MP for advice and a chase-up, though it would likely lead to nothing. If it's toxic with your parents, do you have any friends you could ask to stay with a few nights per week just to get out of the tense atmosphere? Not ideal, I know.

Good luck to you!

Do people really think that Doctors just rock up from other countries and start to work in the NHS without any further requirements? If English isn't the chaps first language that alone puts him in line for some very expensive examinations, plus he will have to have his certificates registered and translated (even though the UK authorities will have seen similar many times before) and not just by any random translator, by a very expensive authorised one yada yada. Takes bloody ages even for the most straight forward case.

Yes, yes they do and are very shocked to realise they actually cannot

Sounds a bit dodgy to me, like your getting the house before he comes because housing wouldnt provide a home for two decent incomes.... before anyone starts, I wasnt born in England and home i live is HA accommodation.

Nonetheless you are ignorant in this case. To bring a spouse from abroad one of things that is required is to have housing that the home office deems adequate. They can - and do - decide what "adequate" means and it's likely to mean a home that she can afford without his income and that she lives in without wider family. Given that he is likely to - one day - be able to work in a skilled job, they might be exempt from the minimum income that is normally required to bring a spouse into the UK.
(I have a cousin who is currently trying to move back to the UK with their spouse of 15 years who is not a UK citizen and it is really not easy).