How long to wait for a council house/DV

[ChristmasHound]

Posting in AIBU as I wasn’t sure where else to put it. I’m currently on the waiting list for a council house after declaring myself unintentionally homeless due to DV/DA. Has anyone got any experience on how long I will have to wait please? I have two children and I’m on the waiting list for a 3 bedroom house. Really hoping I’m not waiting too long for an offer. Thanks ☺️

I'm afraid nobody can say it all depends on the availability of houses in your area and this can vary massively throughout the UK
You need to speak to the housing provider
Also do you have any priority?

It entirely depends on the housing stock.

How old are the kids? Could they share? Lots of people want 3 bed houses, so it might be more likely (depending on stock and area) to request a 2 bedroom, then either the kids share, or you have a sofa bed in the lounge and the kids have the bedrooms. You could then always look at a house swap to try and get a 3 bed.

Are there any private rentals available? What sort of accommodation are you currently in?

Where are you in the country? Could you have a 2 bed instead? Or a flat instead of a house? These will probably make it a bit quicker.

I'm in the north west, it's months and months wait for a three bed here, they are the hardest to find as have lowest availability. That's even in the circumstances you describe.

That’s an impossible question to answer sadly. I waited 10.5years with two children one of whom is disabled.
I finally got my first offer the day I signed long term lease on private rental.
Its pretty grim

Depends entirely on where you live, noone can answer that unfortunately

Oh gosh, I’m sorry you had to wait for so long. That’s awful. Did you manage to get out of your long term lease or did you have to go through with it? Private rent where I am is so expensive too.

It doesn't work that way. You get assessed on your needs and are assigned the wait list that is suitable for your circumstances. If you're on the three bed just you can't have a 1 or 2 or 4 bed, you can only have a 3 bed.

I’m in Wales, 1 disabled child who couldn’t share a bedroom with his sibling. I’ve filled in the paperwork with area preferences and should have an assessment soon hopefully.

You can fill in another form for disabilities and you'll get extra points/priority too. I had to do it for my wee one. Ask your homeless team about it. I waited 3 weeks but was very fortunate and also took a house too small and sleep in living room.

Private rent is unfortunately way out of my budget as a single parent.

I haven’t been told anything about points or what sort of priory I will get yet but I think I’ll get more priority due to my child being disabled. Kinda in the dark at the moment, will try ringing them soon.

Did you end up staying in your house (sleeping in the living room) or did you manage to get a bigger place in the end?

Unfortunately that's not necessarily true ,I also have a disabled child and wasent given any kind of priority, as it happens we didn't have to wait thst long about six months but that was about ten years ago
You might be better getting an OT assessment that can outline your child's needs ,and may give you some priority.

We waited 12 years. Its totally down to availability in the area. If you ask them they can give you an average but it really does depend on the homes availability. If your child is disabled you may face a longer wait if you need a specific type of home, ground floor for example or with no steps.

Still in the too small home but been on the list for a while 4 beds are rare around here. I don't mind too much. Eldest says she's moving out soon so we'll see

Your council might tell you the average wait time. A friend applied recently and the council website said the average wait time was 700 days or something.

But here you can bid on any properties you're assessed as suitable for. If you have priority points because of being homeless or disability needs or whatever then you would be more likely to get the house over someone else who doesn't have the priority points.

I lived in temp housing for nearly 2 years before getting my house.

I was 5 years in temporary so it all just depends on the area you live in and availability of houses, tends to be flats in a lot of places. We did get a lovely little house eventually though. Wouldn’t wish years in temp on anyone also have a disabled child so it wasn’t a fun time, hope it doesn’t take too long for you op

What was your accommodation like in temporary? Was it a bed and breakfast? Thanks. That’s brilliant that you now have a lovely house x

Depends on where you live. In my area not this decade, well into the next. The housing crisis is horrendous

I went through with private rent as it was in a much better area for my kids and in the end it was the right choice. My area is particularly bad for wait times so hopefully it is much faster for you but they may put you into temp acc first