Council housing

[Princessgee]

Hey there,

I am currently 29 weeks pregnant and I live in a HMO. I approached the council since I can’t live here once baby is born. They placed me on relief duty and I’m due to be transferred over to main housing duty if nowhere suitable can be found in the meantime.

it will just be me and the baby living there, so I know I’m entitled to a one bedroom. I just am scared because there’s only 10 weeks until he is due and I still have no update. The council said there is 30 days left of relief duty but I don’t know what happens once these 30 days are over and also what do I do about leaving the HMO I am currently in.

any advice would help!

I don't want to upset you, but being entitled to a one-bedroom in London means nothing if your local authority doesn't have the housing stock. A friend of mine shared her one-room studio flat with her daughter until the daughter was 10 - that's the point they got a flat with a separate bedroom. (One of my cousins was in a b&b with her newborn for only six months before she got a permanent place, but that was not in London so not comparable at all.)

I hope your housing situation is resolved as soon as it can be for you and your baby, but do be prepared for it to take time.

You could be waiting years. There’s a massive shortage

There’s every chance you’ll be put in temporary accommodation which will be much the same as an HMO, ie just a room. Lots of people are in temp accommodation for years- yes, even with newborns and more than one child.
It’s shit, OP and I’m sorry, but the reality of it is that unless you or your child have a significant need based on disability you’ll be waiting a while for a one bed in most authorities.
You can apply for things like discretionary housing payments which are there for help with rent in advance or deposits if you can stay in the private rental sector, they are normally in place to help people get out of council housing into private, but might be worth a call to your council to ask.