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

Where I am when I got put to the highest band it took 3 months to get accepted somewhere, and we are in an area with a massive waiting list, here if you get into top 10 you start packing! Good luck and hope your not waiting to longs

@Snowpatrolling that sounds positive, what part of the country are you in? x

Near Bristol, I did move about 30 mins out of area, had I stayed in the area I was in I’d probably still be bidding!

@Snowpatrolling well i have come up No6 for two properties today where there was over 100 bids on each so fingers crossed it’s soon 🤞

That's amazing news OP, hang on in there it won't be long now! And when it happens it seems to happen very quickly! You'll be in before you know it x

It took my sister 1.5 years to get a council home, they are both disabled.

@Beautiful3 i think timescales vary greatly depending on where you are and how council band / allocate x

Ooooh exciting OP. Please let us know how everything goes and when you get a place. ❤

@Beautiful3 OP has got homelessness points, too.

I've registered with housing association in Calderdale currently homeless in the west Midlands.
I've gone to gold band and came 7th the first property I bid on, I cant believe they are going to help me quicker in another borough than my home town

@ThereIsNoTomorrow Ooh interesting, I wouldn'tve thought of doing that. Do you have a connection to that area?

@ThereIsNoTomorrow let me know how you get on x

Local connection no because they only class parents or siblings as a local connection but I do have family their so wouldn't be too unfamiliar for me

I've contacted my local MP this week as my housing officer doesn't seem to want to communicate with me! He emailed back pretty quickly and is helping push this along.

I'm just so tired of this now. I'm exhausted.

I hope everyone else is getting a better response than I am!

This seems like your answer OP. It seems a long wait for a 2 bed. Not sure if it would be shorter for a flat rather than a house with a garden?

If you are already getting placed 3-11 with bidding then I would guess you will be housed in weeks rather than months. There is no point in pestering the housing officer as they are legally obliged to follow their own rules and cannot prefer one applicant over another just to get them out of their hair,

TBH it sounds like they are doing their best to help you by arranging for you to stay at your cousins to keep you on a higher banding. when I worked in housing admittedly in a south eastern area we only had a few people on the highest banding so they were typically housed within a short timescale.

Just keep bidding, it will all be worth it when you get your own place.

@Xenis let me know how it goes x

@caringcarer maybe so but i’m not sure which association she could work for as in derby you can’t “apply” directly to any association. The council and around 8-9 associations are grouped together and all allocate there properties from the same list of applicants, which you can only access via council x

@crowsfeet57 hoping somethings gives soon 🙏 x

@Maymoo99 I got a call from the housing officer late yesterday afternoon. I've been given 500 extra points and my landlord is letting me stay an extra 6 months. So it's taken some stress off me. I'm still a priority as homeless and I get to keep my points for bidding, so thats good too.

I did bid on the most gorgeous house yesterday, right near the girls school. So I hope I get offered that. I wish I could see what bid I'm at on our council, but we can't! I just have to wait till next Wednesday to see if I get offered it.

How are things with you? Are you any further along? X

@Xenis thats great to hear that contacting your MP has had some effect, i may consider contacting my MP if my consistent high bids don’t materialise in a reasonable time frame. I hope you get settled soon as i feel there no greater worry than homelessness.

Im still bidding at the mo, and still positioning very high, i did email one of the housing officers to “gently nudge”, she replied and ensured me i have nothing to worry about and i will get an offer because of my banding and bid positions, but it’s just a case of bidding and waiting for a LL to make an offer. I guess i am just going to have to take her word for it and have faith in the situation. Its not going to be a very long wait and i have to come to terms with that x

@Maymoo99 Honestly, if you don't get anywhere, contact your local MP. He wasn't best pleased and he made sure I got a call that day, the extra point was unexpected though! They did mention me going into a hotel but what on earth do I do with my things? I have a dog too and I'll never let him go. It's just a scary situation! I told them I can't live like this, it's having a massive impact on my health.

How long have you been in this situation now? I'm really hoping you get somewhere before Christmas as that would be nice for you! It's awful living on edge each day, cause you never know what's coming that day. Think I'm going to have a glass of wine later!

@Xenis around 2 months, although i have only been in the highest banding around 6 weeks. I really hope it also happens before xmas, but i am also coming to terms with the fact it may be shortly after xmas. Yes i may start emailing local councillors and mp in the future if nothing materialises. Have a bottle not a glass

@Maymoo99 I've been on the council list for about 5 years but made homeless 2 months ago, so around the same time as you.

It's hards isn't it cause you know you're not the only one in this situation so you feel awful for complaining. But we do have to be selfish sometimes. Keep on and on at them. I hope you get a home soon and you can relax. I'll have more than a bottle, I've had enough of this crap now.

@Xenis I know it's easy to do but try not to use alcohol to cope too much/too often. It can become a habit, and also makes you feel worse really the next day, after that initial mellow feeling has gone. x