Council/housing association wait time for homeless?

[Maymoo99]

Can anyone around the derby/east midlands share there experiences or offer any advice on council housing waiting time?

I have become homeless in the last 6-7 weeks with my 21 months old toddler, currently sofa surfing in my disabled cousins which has been classified as severely overcrowded. The council has also set up a temporary pay-to-stay arrangement with my cousin to help with the costs of keeping me here. They have placed me in the highest band with a homeless need, severe overcrowding need and a minor medical need.

I have been bidding for the past 5-6 weeks and my bids have been positioning between 3-11 consistently. (Most properties have around 100 bids)

I cannot afford the upfront or ongoing costs of private rent as the average two bed around here is at least £800 per month and LHA only covers circa £450, and even if i could afford the demand for private rentals is very high with around 10-15 attending block viewings. I don’t stand a chance.

I suppose i’m just asking if anyone can share their experience and how long they’ve waited? I suppose at the least i’m just looking for some positive words.

Tia

What you need to find is the published figures on how many families have been housed in each particular band over the past few years. If you can't find them, contact your council and ask how you can view the number of people housed in each band over the past few years, because there is probably already a document they've made which details it.

Unfortunately it is a terrible time for this because even at "greatest need not classed as emergency" councils spend about half their budget on housing and they still haven't got anywhere near enough money to house everyone. We are all in the same horrible never ending boat.

If I were you I'd be trying to get a private rental of a one bedroom place. Or even a studio, and moving away from the centre if that makes it cheaper. Somewhere just to call yours, to give you and your cousin back your own spaces. Since you'd still be overcrowded you'd most likely be able to stay on the waiting list for somewhere bigger.

The thing here is that you have turned down suitable, temporary accommodation to stay in unsuitable accommodation with the hope of securing permanent accommodation.

OP still counts as homeless as she isn't in a home of her own, so that makes no difference in terms of the points/priority she's awarded.

@AfterWeights not true. OP is already in the highest band so getting a job or not doesn't come into it at the moment.

@QueenOfCarrotFlowers i understand your point, but the council actively advised me to stay here and mediated with my cousin and set up a payment arrangement to her. In derby if you are placed in TA you are dropped to a lower band which receives hardly any allocations and are in for a v v long wait. They have awarded highest band with a lot of needs by staying here

@porridgeisbae not true... She's already explained that this does impact her banding.

OP always best to get advice from Shelter or CAB not randomers on the internet. I work in this area and lots of the advice you're being given is wrong... Plus you obviously can't trust I work in this area either!

@QueenOfCarrotFlowers She is still classed as homeless so will still be high band. I had a friend who was living with her mum in a large house but it still wasn't classed as her own home, she wasn't considered to have one, so she got a place really quickly. And it sounds like the council have virtualy chosen where OP is right now as they're paying for her to stay there. It won't count against her. Homeless is homeless and that's what she's classed as on the system.

@Maymoo99 Yes I get what has happened. I think I was more trying to dispute some of the housing advice others were giving.

You're basically bidding against others who are also in a similarly high level of need. But by the sounds of it you are nearing the top of the list, which is really really good.

Honestly all you can do is stay attentive to bidding and keep on doing what you're doing... It's shit now but there does seem to be an end in sight. And secure housing is obviously preferable to TA, if you can stand the situation you are in for those weeks/months of bidding.

The only way I could think to get housed quicker would be to reduce bedroom size, personal choice but could be an option if it would work for you.

I hope you get somewhere soon. You're in a strong position and it's just a wait for somewhere to become available, or someone ahead of you to turn one down...

@QueenOfCarrotFlowers thank you. It’s all shit and stress but i just don’t know what else to do. It’s really really hard to access anything so i’m just going to have to wait.

@Maymoo99 Yes, just stick with it and remember to breathe. x If you can, be sure to go out and do stuff to take your mind off things.

@porridgeisbae

I wasn't saying it would count against her. I was saying that the quickest way to be housed in suitable accommodation (Council definition) would be to go into TA, but then obviously she would no longer be in the severe overcrowding situation and therefore would not be in the highest priority band to bid for secure accommodation (council house). As she is not in TA she is in a high band but is bidding against people in similarly very difficult housing situations and high needs. The fact that OP is placing so high on the list, however, is a good thing - there are not many people with the same size property need etc waiting above OP. All that it would depend on now would be when the next few properties become available, and whether those ahead of OP accept or refuse any that do come up.

I know, it's ridiculous, I haven't got £1k a month for rent and even if I did I wouldn't have a chance, there's so many people applying for the same house, a single mum with a cat is at the bottom of the pile.

The only thing going for me right now is the fact my landlord is shit, apart from never repairing anything (leaking roof, damp etc) he's also never carried out legal requirements like a EPC etc, so his section 21 is invalid.

Are you registered with property pool? If you're a 'minority status' it might help bump you up the list...

...like maybe you're 'non binary' and feel threatened, it might just help you ❤️

She is still classed as homeless because her cousin's home is not her home. So she's still effectively in temporary accomodation. She's said that she is considered homeless by them so it is the same difference. They don't count homeless but in one form of temporary accomodation, as different to homeless but in another form of temporary accomodation.

If OP had moved in with her cousin permanently as her permanent family home it'd be different, but she hasn't. She's just staying there temporarily. She still has the homelessness rating.

@Maymoo99 Don't change the number of bedrooms or anything to less than you're entitled to, as then you'd only have to try and move again later. All you have to do is survive, eat, breathe and soon you'll be out the other end in a suitably sized home for you.

@porridgeisbae I wasn't talking about whether OP has a part 7 housing duty agreed or not or whether it has been discharged... I was literally just talking about how she could get housed most quickly via different routes, and generally sharing some of my knowledge about housing allocations.

I wasn't advising either way. Just sharing what I know about how this works.

What I'd do personally is to stay doing exactly what OP is doing, if it is bearable which only OP can say.

I get what you mean but they don't have different tiers of homeless. She is still classed as one and has the same level of priority as if she was in another form of temporary accom.

@porridgeisbae it isn't true that she will be in the same banding if she was in TA, OP did already explain that.

If you want to know how quickly things typically move where you are, you could ask your local councillor or Foi request asking

1. How many 2 bed properties were allocated to applicants in your band per year for the past 5 years
2. How many new build 2 beds are due to come online in the next year, and which month they are due

This won't tell you exactly what will happen but it might give you a general idea of the supply in your area.

I've got around 3 weeks to find somewhere after a section 21. I work and I've not been able to secure a private rental!

It's good you're housing officer speaks to you, mine doesn't even respond so I have no idea what's going on. We don't have a bidding number system here (NW) you just register interest and that's it. So you can't see where you come on the list. Honestly, it's the shittest thing that's ever happened to me and I am so stressed. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I hope you find somewhere soon!

@Xenis its an immense stress that shadows everything you do. i hope you get sorted x

I was in some sort of wild BDSM FWB LDR situation for a couple of months while I was waiting, which was probably ill advised and ended badly but took my mind off it at the time. Probably wouldn't recommend that, but maybe some visits to friends etc?

Stay put, let your landlord take you to court (it will take at least 12months, due to backlog)

Your landlord can't physically force you out, you're actually advised to stay by the council too.

In the meantime have a look at the legal requirements for a section 21 to be valid, loads of landlords fuck up with this, but even if yours is valid you still don't have to go once the 2 months is up, you have a LONG time until they can actually get a hearing in court.

I know it's stressful as fuck, I've had my LL and the estate agent lying to my face about it being sold as 'tenant in situ', I don't know how they fuckin sleep at night.

Stay put, and don't let them intimidate you ❤️

Thankfully, I know my rights with this but I honestly didn't want it to get to this point.

I've known my landlord 13 years and he issued me a section 21 at 2am. Didn't even have the decency to speak to me when we have always been on good terms. I've just payed over a thousand for new flooring and I'll be taking it with me. I very much doubt he sells this house, he's done something similar before.

I'm just hoping the hosuing offering at least responds to me at some point!!

Are you ok now or are you still in the property? It's fucking aging me I will tell you that one!!!

2am, honest to fuck, just why. They can't have a heart, doing that to someone.

It's the way they go about it which really sickens/angers me. Mine came round to do a evaluation, I asked him if he was selling and he laughed "no, don't worry it's just for insurance reasons", I even said to him please tell me if you are I'm about to get new carpet/decorate living room so I don't want to waste money if you are. He promised me he wasn't.

Months later there's a for sale sign on the front, when I finally get hold of him he says he's selling only to investors and I won't notice anything.

Estate agent says the same when she comes round to take photos.

First couple of viewings, none of them are aware I'm the tenant, it's not being sold to investors at all and he is trying to evict me now.

So they can all fuck off now, I won't be complying with a thing. My main priority is to try and act like everything is fine for my little boy, my upset has turned to rage now for how they've gone about this. Cunts.

That's terrible. I understand they have a right to sell their property, and that's fine. But it's the shitty way they go about doing it. So sneaky. I'd rather just have an honest conversation about it but now I don't communicate with him at all. I was going to decorate too but I'm not doing that now, I'm doing nothing more in this house for him.

Now I'm just left with the stress of whether I'm going to have nowhere to live in 3 weeks. I'm literally on edge everyday, constantly checking my emails and the council register. My only other option is to move 500 miles away back to my father's but my daughter has extra needs, and all her support is here at school. It would just cause a huge upheaval for her and more stress. You'll have to let me know if you get anywhere, I hope it's not to long for you!!

@Maymoo99 you will have to let me know how you get on. I hope you hear pretty soon! Good luck 🙂