to think i should get the housing points!

[emmymama]

disclaimer... i'm not saying they should give me a house, i got pregnant, thats not their fault, even tho i knew it would be a squeeze, i'm saying i should have the opourtunity to get a house

i live in a very small 2 bed council house (if i sit on the floor with my back against the sofa my feet touch the fire guard).. ds's room fits a single bed and nothing else in

i have a 13 month old and i'm 23 weeks pg, there are steps into my front garden (only access) with a wall and gate (then the steps)that will not fit a double buggy in and its not close to my door

heres what i've explained to the council (ive been on the list since pg with dd so 18 months)

i will be sharing a room with dd and the new baby as the other room isnt big enough for dd's cot (or for me to give dd and ds that room as i wont fit the new baby in with me in the small room either)

i will have to (on the way out) take the double and leave the children in the house, set the pram up on the street then come back for the children and then the opposite on the way into the house (shoudl be fun after ive had a baby!)

so there will be overcrowding and access problems.. i dont get any extra points until the baby comes and i am having these problems

aibu to thing i should get the points now so i can apply for the houses to try and move before the problems arise?

hope that makes sense??

HA housing is supposed to be for people who can't afford to rent privately.

There isn't enough HA/council housing yet the government still allow you to buy your council house if you're in aposition to do so, but don't build any more. The mind boggles.

Me, DP (now DH), DD and DS were sharing one bedroom in my parents house. Our room had damp problems so we couldn't have anything touching the walls. Private rent was out of the question as it was more than our income. We were on the list for nearly two years before we got a house.

I wonder if it is this: My parents lived in council housing. I grew up in a lovely three bedroom council house with a huge garden, on a block of council houses, not on an estate. My parents CHOSE public housing, but they are of that generation where i actually think it was a choice - the same for DPs parents, although they were less well off than my parents. My dad worked on the railways and my mum was a cleaner - it was just what the working classes did in those times. Of course i imagine they have kicked themselves because whilst their contempories who bought their houses were living mortgage free in really quite lovely big houses they were still paying rent for an albeit very nice council house and could have paid off a mortgage ten times over. Things are very different now.

Us buying our house was quite a novelty in our family tbh. But we didn't even consider council housing, i was a single parent living with my mum at one point and the housing officer, who was lovely, told me not to even bother with the council list as i was adequately housed and we accepted that. I was extremely fortunate i managed to get a privately rented two bed house - i then met DP and once he moved in with me, the rent that i was receiving houing benefit for was more than a mortgage, and we bought our house.

My mum still lives in her three bed council house and my main regret is that she never bought it when she had the opportunity, or that we didn't. Despite the fact that i don't feel selling off council housing is right - i know that one day another family will live in my family home and that will be weird - that is no more than emotional attachment though. I daresay i would feel differently if it were on some sink estate.

When i think about it, you know, i think that there should be more social housing and affordable housing for those of us on lower incomes (we could NEVER afford to buy a house now) Actually, despite what i said earlier, i do think that hardworking people are ENTITLED to a bit of help when tihe govermnent have allowed the housing market to spiral, only allowing the very well off or those already on the property ladder to own their own properties. Why should the alternative be pumping hard earned money into a land lords bank account - wouldnt those rents be better going to a public housing system where the money could be put into improvements for everyone??

Yep - completely changed my mind, i think social housing should be an entitlement to those on low incomes

Good point, LEM. That all makes sense.

different areas have different waiting times.....i was in a MOD hostel in London for a year in which time i was offered 4 different HA houses.....but as i wanted to relocate.....i was able to choose where i went,wasnt tied to one area

But, shouldn't the priority go to those who are escaping domestic violence or such situations or are disabled/caring for disabled or elderly?
Or, is this what already happens?

priority? thats what the points system is for....the more in need,then the more points allocated

also,local authority have to allocate a certain number of propertie to homeless people too

ok sorry. To be fair, I said I don't know how it works!

That sounds fair, then.

You are right of course Star, the problem comes from the fact that there is not enough houses to go round. If the social housing system was turned into something more commercial, then possibly there might be more money left over for provision of housing for those in need and unable to pay rents, like people with disabled children etc. There should be restrictions on housing for those who simply choose not to work and expect everything to be given to them.

there is housing stock out there.....you might have to move to have a higher chance tho...

i'm in milton keynes area...new city,new houses,and a proportion of new builds do have to be allocated for local authority (much to my brothers disgust that social housing is mixed in near his 4 bed,highly mortgaged new build!!)

there are also many.many houses boarded up,unfit for LA to let out....maybe some government help to get these houses habitable would be a good idea

i'm sure a few years ago there was an incentive for london families to move up north from inner city flats to family homes,where no northerners wanted to live!

I really feel for you as I know someone who had 3DC in a 2 bed flat and it was awful. I've always rented privately with XDP and were saving for a deposit on a house. We used almost all our savings on renting as it is so expensive where we live (£700 for 3 bed and some 2 bed flats on harbour £850). When we split up we used the last of our money on storage and removals and split what was left between us so we could get some stuff for our new places. He rented a room in a private house and I approached the local council for help and rented a bedsit from them. I'll try to keep this short! His place wasn't sensible for looking after DD while I worked so he approached the council and they gave him the keys to a large 2 bed flat! I was furious at not being offered it but there you go! 18 months later I was still in the bedsit until my HV wrote to the council who passed my details on to a housing association. They contacted me and I now rent a 2 bed flat from them in a lovely area although it is much more expensive than a council house. I would dearly love another child but I do not have the room for one or the money to rent a larger home.( or a partner!) I am grateful to the housing association for letting me rent from them and wouldn't expect them to find me somewhere bigger just because I'd like more children. You must live within your means and if you can't afford a bigger place then don't over-crowd yourself! I do hope they find you a bigger place but can't help feeling a bit annoyed with you .

I agree with that, LEM. I think you are very wise

I don't know, my tenants both earn minimum wage, one as a cleaner and one as a carer, and they rent privately. (My single lady flat.) Yes, the rent is market rate and not over-inflated but they can't earn much but manage well and the flat is looked after beautifully. They live there with their 4 yr old, she works nights as he can only work days. They are an interesting mix of cultures actually, Polish and North African.

Anyway, that was a drift but I just meant that private rent isn't always out of the reach of low earners.

Also, my freind I mentioned with 3 kids was told she was not enititled to a bigger place as her 2 bed could house 3 adults. Each adult was 1 point and each child under 5 was half a point! So she had 'used' 2.5 points out of 3 so could of had another kid living in there! Could you imagine living in a 2 bed with 4 kids and being told you're not overcrowded?.

Everyone IS entitled to apply for social housing. Social housing is a better option for most renters, not just because the rents aren't so high, but because your tenancy is secure and you can't be evicted at the whim of the landlord. Decent, secure, affordable housing should be a right for everyone.

As there's a shortage of social housing in this country, not everyone who applies will actually get a house. People are assessed according to need - if you are fleeing from DV, disabled etc you get top priority. If you are already adequately housed in private rented, enough bedrooms etc, then you'll be waiting for years and probably never get anywhere at all.

"Anyway, that was a drift but I just meant that private rent isn't always out of the reach of low earners. "

Still, better for low earners to be able to rent somewhere at a reasonable rate, and be secure there for life.

MrsC, it's entirely possible they are in receipt of housing benefit. They're supposed to tell you about it, but some don't. If the Polish lady has been here for over a year working, she's entitled to claim. If her partner/husband has indefinity leave to remain he can, too.

They can also claim tax credits and child benefit, as a child born to an EU national in the UK is British.

expat, they could also just be able to afford it, too! DP and I don't a make minimum wage each; we rent privately and though we don't have children we still have enough money (just) to run a car and pay off parts of DP's student loan each month (don't know how that all compares to having a child, but it would surely depend on age of child too).

Plenty of people can afford to rent on minimum wage, though it depends where you are in the country.

LittleRedDragon - What is minimum wage, then? Not ph, but per month - what would a full time, minimum wage earner make in a month? And is it the same nationally? Just trying to figure out if it is actually affordable or not.

quick calculation I worked out that 40hr week at £5.70hr is £988 (before tax)

that's per month - and would be the same no matter where you are in the country

'expat, they could also just be able to afford it, too!'

Depends entirely on where they are living, LittleRed, 'tis true.

More than likely, too, they are in receipt of child benefit and child tax credit, quite rightly, again, as the child is British.

Not a very comfortable Salary - especially if only one partner is working.

Star, I just looked it up and it's 5.80 per hour.

DP actually gets a bit more, he got a payrise recently (yay!), but when you factor everything in, the two of us don't quite make a min. wage each because I'm on a student grant, which is meant to be roughly equal to minimum wage allowing for the fact that students don't have to pay taxes. But it assumes you don't pay council tax, and because I live with a non-student, we do. Complicated, huh?

I am a bit of a bystander on the council housing issue anyway, because DP is a foreign national and not entitled to state help.

Where I used to live (v. poor area of the country), you could rent a 2-up, 2-down terraced house for 400pcm (or less, if you tried hard). I should imagine that's the cheapest you'd get for that amount of space, but don't quite know. You could rent a 1 bed flat for 200pcm, possibly less if you searched around. But then you do have council tax and bills to sort out.

ahh must have gone up then so £1005 before tax a month.......still not great if ou live somewhere where even a 1 bedroom flat is going to cost 4,5,6 hundred+ a month

I'm in Surrey. If both partners were working, it could be affordable... but no kids in childcare, then.