Overcrowding within social housing

[MumandNan50]

Hi everyone,
Could someone shed some light on this for me please.

Two identical one bed flats, in the same block in the same road etc, containing parents in one a two girls and parents and two boys in the other.

Now the flat with the girls, both girls were born whilst currently living there, this family were giving band C. The flat with the boys came about as the mother moved into the property with her sons to live with her boyfriend, they were given priority housing needs in band A, straight away.
Step-parents are classed as parents, and there were zero health needs, so I question is this legal? How can one family, both in a the exact situation be treated so differently?

Disabilities perhaps?

Section 21 notice given to the parents of boys?

If you're desperate to move and you're the parent of the girls some LL will issue a section 21 on request.

Hi, no there are no disabilities or health issues, it was giving purely on the fact they were overcrowded

I shall google section 21, thank you 😊

Age difference?

It depends on the age of the children if they are classed as needing their own room. Also disabilities can be hidden... or someone in the council got it wrong, or one of the properties has other issues, repairs, notice served etc. Is it you? Do you have all facts on both families? How are you affected or are you curious?

Okay I just checked and no I don’t think section 21 was given, as the same council would not rehouse after issuing a section 21

If a child is over the age of 12 months they are then considered as a person who needs space, 2x adults 2x children over the age of 12 months should equal a two bed property Any subsequent children/child then = 3 bed property. All children involved are under the age of 10 ....

Well, in my area everyone who applies is automatically given the lowest priority banding. You then have to make an appointment with the housing department to make your case for a higher banding.
The mother with the girls needs to get proactive.

It’s my daughter who’s affected by this, and the other family are friends of hers.... my daughters second daughter was born Dec 2014, so if the same rules had been applied to her then my daughter should have been put in band A for ‘overcrowding’ .... she now has been awarded band A on medical grounds for herself... yet the local council have said they cannot discuss their other tenants, ( which was obvious to me ) But have said both tenants have been treated correctly... 😡

I am proactive on my daughters behalf, I cannot express what lengths we have gone through to try and get her and her family reallocated to a home that suits her needs. This little bombshell was only told to me yesterday but I won’t drop this...

Firstly -s21 notices are only issued in social housing (HA -not council) for starter tenancies. If it is council housing then s21 notices are not used at all as the council have to have grounds to evict tenants. That may be why no s21 was given.

Secondly- if you ask a LL to issue a s21 it likely you will be seen as intentionally homeless so it is not something that should be recommended. (although this wouldn't be possible in social housing anyway)

Thirdly-There are different "rules" for overcrowding.

Your bedrooms and any living rooms are counted as rooms you can sleep in. It doesn't matter which rooms you actually sleep in.
Children under 10 years old are not counted under the room standard.

2 children of the same sex under 16 can share a room.
2 children of either sex under 10 can share a room.

Also natural growth of a family does not automatically mean that you are legally overcrowded (and as there are 2 girls who could share a room and your daughter use the living room she was not legally overcrowded by this standard. The other standard is the space standard so unless she was not considered overcrowded by this standard, this is probably why your daughter was put in Band C at that time.
There are many reasons why the other couple may have been given higher priority and you may not be privy to those reasons- quite rightly.

I'm sure it feels unfair but housing law can be complex so unless the council have acted unlawfully or gone against their own allocations policy there may be little you can do.

To take things further you will have to exhaust the council's internal complaints procedure before going to the Housing Ombudsman who can then open an investigation.

Thank you nightfall :) ... I have been in contact with the care and need housing officer today. I now realise how the boys parents played the system to receive a band A ... she had been living with the boyfriend for sometime. Now a family member of theirs works for a council on another part of the county, so they were coached in the proceedings. ‘Apparently’ her LL gave her notice, as he was to sell the property, so a s21 very well could have been issued, in a dodgy way. So this family were offered band A for overcrowding and Homelessness. ( homeless from home ) she and her Sons were ‘staying’ not ‘living’ at the flat as she would have intentionally put herself in an overcrowded property. So yeah ... My daughter loses out as someone else has learned how to beat the system. I’m not sure if I will take this further as people have needs, yet I’d be highly interested to find out how much her LL sold his property for ! Lol

MumandNan50
I do understand how you feel it is unfair. And you have every right to make a complaint if your daughter was not dealt with correctly.

Thank you nightfall xx