Can anyone help me ... i need advice on housing ......

[Scoobydooooo]

Yes i am in the crapiest of situation & have spent the whole morning crying whats new hey!

Well we are in private rented & have been for the past 2 years in this house, we have a assured shorthold tenancy which ends on the 1st september 2006 the lanlord had served us with a "section 21" notice for eviction on the 18th september we are on the council housing list & i have been speaking to them on & off now since about april, i only have 25 points & we need 95 they have said.

I get on really well with the landlord & he has been very nice & understanding but he does want to move back into his property & is hoping to on the 18th BUT i have phoned the council again today & they have told me come the 18th i do not have to leave & he will have to take me to court la la la la i do NOT want to go to court, i am extremley down & really struggling with this how situation i dont know where to turn but i honestly have sat here today & thought i can not go through this anymore...

My HV still visits me at home because i have PND & i see my docotr about twice a month i can not take this stress its wearing me down & i feel like running away, it has put trmedous amount of stress on mine & dp's relationship.

I have tried everything i have even written to the MP he was very nice & he did try but the council just fobbed him off.

So what the hell can i do now? i just can't go on like this.....

no no date even when i call them and received first pack no date?? i dont understand . manager said it should of been sorted from 23rd but still nothing, just my luck

im just popping out to sainsburys
cant get use that site at all so so slow, il check back when i get home byeee

Hmm i have a date next to my banding in the eligable bit...

I have managed to look at one housen which has 3 bids from band D & 1 from band F blimmin thing has crashed again now...

The house in knaphill has 18 bids !!!

1 of them is band C so thats a no go...

i8bids nooooooooo

one of the ones im looking at 20bids lots of d band bids
bit worried oh well

wonder when wel see right band on the site, im not bidding again til its right im gonna call back up 2moro if i check in morning and its still f

i think the main thing is the date, but telephone bids arnt shown i think alot would be done by telephone
emma

Have any of you asked the council what your position is in the band you've been allocated????

If you knew that you were in the top 10, then you'd stand a better chance than those in the bottom 10!!!!

If you get what i mean.

It's worth asking, they should be able to tell you.

Also, make sure your rent is always paid on time, because council won't move you if you have any arrears.

GOOD LUCK to you all.

scooby!

I didn't read this the other day when I saw it. So sorry you are suffering like this. We were in a very similar situation a few months ago before we made the move to France.

We couldn't afford another private rental as we didn't have the deposit for one and secondly, with me needing to be in LOndon for work, I couldn't at the same time afford LOndon prices!

Anyhow, that's what brought us to France where we are now living very cheaply but it isn't for everybody,of course.

We were told the exact same thing by Bromley Housing Advice - that we had to sit and wait to be evicted before they would home us as being on the verge of homelessness. However, I contacted Shelter's helpline (if I recall correctly - I made about 10 000 phonecalls) who said that the council depts really shouldn't be spouting such rubbish and forcing people into legal situations and potentially debt if rent is to go unpaid during the eviction process, etc. etc. It might be worth ringing their number or another similar organisation.

I completely understand how you don't want to have to go through eviction. Who would? We particularly didn't want to do this to our landlord - who had been great with us and we didn't want to live under that kind of stress, waiting to be formally evicted.

Another similarity in your case and mine is that my OH has a mental health illness and was receiving treatment frim the CMHT at the time. That scored us many more points and virtually guaranteed a home for us should we be evicted - I am sure it would be the same for you, although you may need medical evidence by the truckload knowing the council.

Gosh, I wish I could say something helpful. Shall be thinking of you. Hope it works out for you guys. I can recommend France!!

Hi Nannyme - thanks for your post, not sure if you have read the whole thread but i have now been through eviction my eviction date was actually 18the sept, we were offered accomadation in a 3 bed flat on the 2nd floor on one of the busiest roads in the area so i have turned it down due to my son's safety issues the council actually know about these but obviously care to take no notice even when the doctor & health visitor have explained & written about this too, myself as a mother will not put my son in a place where he would probably end up dead within weeks.

We are now moving into my mothers this weekend & sleeping in the dining room because she all ready has a house full but we have no other option. (the council now know this)

It is an awful situation & i can see us having to live like this for months yet because the council are soo crap, they make the rules up as they go along & do what they like half the time.

Emma - Hows things going with you, i was up again at 4am & came & looked online again it's the only time that crap works, it is hardly working today, whats the point in all this?

I phoned up & spoke to a lady in the hometrak bit & said i was still in the wrong band, she was very short & rude & said what makes you think your in the wrong band i explained well i am homeless? & having to live on my mothers dining room floor if this is classed as band E low priority when your homeless then what is the point!
She said they could not change it today because the man who deals with the registrations & banding was not in today so old crap as usual.

She said before the banding gets changed she will have to look into it & speak with my case advisor from housing options & see what they say, i am just so cross & so upset how do we have any chance when they have not even got us in the right band, everything is about waiting, what they don't understand is i don't have time to wait, i have 2 young children who's lives are a mess & all they keep doing is messing me around.

I refuse to bid on anything until it is changed, i am sick of it & if it is not changed by monday i will be phoning the housing manager again.

Having a down day today & fed up & tired have so much to do & just can't be bothered

Hmm just logged in & my banding has now been changed, probably because they know they are in the wrong.....

See how they make it up as they go along though, she said to me the man who can change the bandings was not in today so it would not be changed today & then all of a sudden it's changed, makes you laugh...

I've read the whole thread and I'm horrified. I actually work for the council (not Woking) and can't believe how you are being treated.

My advice would be to contact your local councillor - details should be on the website. Better still, find out which of the councillors is the portfolio holder for housing and get complaining. Copy all letters, emails etc to the councillor - it's one way of guaranteeing a response from a council officer.

Good luck - I'm thinking of you.

Hi Philomena thanks for taking the time to read the thread, i am quite horrified myself to be honest. I don't worry about myself but the fact i have a 4 yr old who is a very challenging child & also have an 8 month old can not believe the way they are treating me, i have now come to accept it because i have been going at this since april.

When you say your local counciller i don't understand who you mean, where will i find them?

I have now dealt with everyone within the council & gone as high as i can go & i still am getting fobbed off

I actually have come to realise i don't have a hope in hell on the new scheme so we are actually officially homeless! I know exactly why they will not put us into B&B or a half way house because they know that because the fact i have 2 young children they would have to house me within 6 weeks & they don't want to do that, thats why they offered me a 3 bed flat through a private landlord because they could have kept me there for months & months even a year.

Now they have changed me into Band D on there system but they have put my priority date as 22nd septmeber which is wrong because i have a letter dated the 11th september from the housing manager saying i am in band D so i think i am going to write another letter explaining everything & all about the way i have eebn treated & all the lies they have throw at me & let them know i am going to take this further & further, i think the fact that me & my kids have to sleep on a dining room floor is discusting.

So where should i start any advice who to contact now? i have been to the doctors had docs letters health visitor letters/phoned/come with me to the offices I have written to the mp who has written to them twice, i have written & spoken to the housing manager 2-3 times a week so where now any ideas?

Oh i feel crap today, i think the fact my kids are having to go through this & the effect it is having on my son is getting me down alot, the strain on mine & dp's relationship is beginning to show & we are struggling because of the pressure

Philomena

My advice would be to contact your local councillor - details should be on the website. Better still, find out which of the councillors is the portfolio holder for housing and get complaining

How do i find this person? I have copoes of all letters from all people & letter i have sent from day 1 & emails..

OK

I've had a quick look at Woking District Council and this person would appear to be your best bet:

www.windowonwoking.org.uk/sites/cllr.suesmith

Not done a link before so not sure if it will work.

Bascially, councillors are responsible for making decisions for everything relating to the council - they are the people to whom officers are accountable. If you wanted a comparison then they are a bit like MPs but on a smaller scale obviously!

The person I have linked you to is the Leader of the Council and it states she has a special interest in housing. If things aren't happening efficiently then she will want to know! Her home number and email address is on there. Why not direct her to this thread?

If you don't want to contact her then you could try your local councillor - there is one for every "ward" or area. Some are better than others and my advice would be to go directly to the leader ie the person I've linked you to.

Forgot to say - good luck. If I can help in any way please let me know.

Philomena thank you so muc for the help, i am going to have a look now & contact her do you really think i should link her to this thread? not sure if that would be a good idea or bad because i have vented alot on here but then i suppose it could show had bad things have really been?

Scooby, when you're at your mums place, give the council a call and tell them that you want someone to come and visit you and to do a report on the conditions that your family have been forced to live in.

You should get a higher banding due to over crowding.

How big is your mums house???

How many adults will be living there??

How many children???

I remember when we moved and the council had to check our place was left in good condition.

The housing officer that came round said she didn't realise we had 3 children in a two bed property!!!!!

Said we should have been out ages before we were.

I asked her why she thought i'd been writing and phoning for so long?????

Obviously-no reply!!!

You've come this far, which has been so hard for you.

You need to be strong, as it'll get tough while you're staying with your family.

Hope you don't have too many arguements.

I remember when my sister and her husband had to stay with his parents.

They had two young children and she hated every single day of it.

Thanks fussymummy, well at the moment my mum lives there with my bro who is 22 & my sister who is 29, it is a 3 bedroom house. My brother stays at his girlfriends 3-4 times a week my mum works 3 nigths a week & my sister is looking at buying in spain but obviously not for a few more months yet. Then there is myself, dp, ds 4 years & dd who is 8.5 months. There will be 2 kids & 5 adults if we are all there & when they are not there we will be bed hoping, crap i know but better than the street huh?

I have just looked on the website & i am going to email sue when dd is in bed having a nap (soon)

I really appriciate all this help & advice at this very hard time

It's annoying me that my kids are suffering & no one cares

I suggested directing her to the thread because you mentioned earlier about preferring to express your feelings in writing to your GP than in person.

It's up to you - personally I think you have been remarkably restrained in your postings - you haven't used offensive languague about people, but have expressed the shortcomings in the system.

But if you have copies of letters, emails etc then maybe take those with you to a meeting with her. My father is a local councillor and he meets people all the time to help with situations like yours (again, he isn't in Woking) and he is always , always, happy to help in anyway.

Some councillors run drop in centres in places like libraries. Best thing is to contact her and give a brief history but outline all of the cock-ups, like conflicting advice, wrong banding etc and the fact that no-one really seems to care.

People become councillors for all sorts of reasons but most are motivated by a desire to change the way that things are done and to improve services in their area. There are some exceptions so please do not be put off if you end up talking to a councillor who does not seem interested - just contact a different one.

Ok have now emailed her & briefly explained the situation & have pointed out all the mistakes & crap woking borough council have put me through.

I will let you know my outcome from this.

thanks again x

Just packed & aorted all the clothes & now starting to feel very that this is what life has come too!

Have packed & sorted through so much but still feel there is just soooo much to do & only have tomorrow as our things are off into storage on saturday can not actually believe it.

Do you think dd will be ok sleeping in a travel cot & my mums? i will put a duvet on the bottom to make it more comfy or do you think i should take her cot & set it up? i can't decide what is best!

Last thing to pack will be the computer because i can not do without it, it is coming to my mums anyway as she said i can set it up there not sure when i will be back online after tomorrow though but sooner rather than later i hope because i need the support.

Hows things with you today Emma?

hiya scoobydoo
just checked the tread, sorry to haer you been having such a bad time but its so understandable when its all youv got to worry about, plus its the answer to all your problems,
i can see my band d on the website now Finally, called them up this morning as well,
told manager that if this doesnt work i dont know what im gonna do, that im betting all my hopes on this, she just said well wel see what happens with this and dicuss after, what is that suppose to mean they never give a straight answer,
still dont know my date very annoying,
asked ok can u tell me whereabout i am in priority in the band, wouldnt tell me eithet,
like you i am so fed up of this its been going on now for 5years and just feel like they dont give a damn,
next month i will start going into rent arrears cant afford it anymore was lucky because i had got a loan and paid alot up front so that was paying it of everymonth, but there is no way i can pay , not with everything else ive got to pay off as well, kind of scary when i think of all the bills, which are basically all on hold, hopping ill move?/
i dont know why i went into private, but when i think about it i had no other choice, the place i was living was way too dangerous. i couldnt handle living in places like that anymore, im a bit stressed but try to keep on top of it.
as least our bands are right now!!!!!!!!

i wonder who is the bands a, b, c then
being homeless should be a top priorty dont u think ESPECIALLY WITH A FAMILY
and there no way they can put you in tamp accomadation with a family of 4, theres no places for it.
try going down there again now your circumstances have changed
would your mum write you a letter saying you have until this date to be out/
that its is to cramped and she cant handle it etc any excuse really
i think you might be able to push for a higher band take everything you have down there and blast them again with it all
i think that they can still house people otside this scheme still, like they did before, for emergency situations etc.
i dont know why they fob us off all the time, i had such differebt variety of advice and info from them sometimes contradicting what they have said previusly.

question
oh i wonder why ur band got changed today?
answer
because they realised they should of done it a while ago,

i think writing to a counciller would be agood idea,

at the moment i looking into making a complaint against social services into the way i was treated, looked after, and housed in care, because this is where all my housing problems sten from, the day i turned 15 i was put in a horrible bed and breakfast( that what they called it but was far from that)
and since then ive been everywhere in really bad accomadation and i so dont want my lil one to experiance anything like what ive been through

well well i guess wel see but i would definetly advice to go down there again and stay on there case tell them that your ciercumstances have changed
hope to hear from u soon bye emma

Hi Emma, Glad your Band has been changed is well funny how we had to call back today again to get it sorted out though, they just don't do anything they say they are going to do you always have to push & push.

If you go where it says your Band it will have a date next to it that is your priority date.

It is defo crap being in band D when your actually homeless i thought homelessness would be more important than moving people out of a 2 bed to a 1 bed they are in band B i know its to free up bigger houses but at least they have a house to live in....

This is band D

BAND D - IDENTIFIED NEED
Applicants will be placed in this band if:-

The Council has accepted a duty to rehouse them and they are currently living in temporary accommodation facilitated by the Housing Needs and Enabling team, or are homeless at home or sleeping rough.

The household is at least one bedroom deficient and includes dependent children (for whom child benefit is being received).

They are living in accommodation which is in poor condition, which is prejudicial to their health and cannot be rectified at reasonable cost.

They, or a member of their household, needs to move for medical reasons which are aggravated by their housing conditions but are not likely to affect life expectancy

They do not have dependent children, are at least one bedroom deficient and are sharing facilities with others

It says that you can be in Band C if you are all of what is in band D i am all of those things when i move to my mums apart from one this one i am not "They are living in accommodation which is in poor condition, which is prejudicial to their health and cannot be rectified at reasonable cost" if i was i could be placed in band C

I have a major headache tonight & have been doing all my washing like a mad women ready to pack the rest of the clothes for moving saturday.

I have a totally packed day tomorrow & i really can not be bothered. I have just spoken to my brother who is heling us move our stuff to storage & he said he will be here 8am sat so thats sorted & my sister is ment to be having ds otherwise it would be a nightmare.

I will pop on tomorrow night & say goodbye till i can get back online hopefully a few days time. Do you have a mobile Emma? if so i will email you my number & we can text each other.

Take care & i hope it all works out i have my fingers crossed for you because i really feel sorry for you with your money troubles. Try not to panic it will be ok in the end

By the way forgot to add my mum lives in knaphill too so i will be where you are, if you wanna meet for coffee let me know

hiya

i think that they is no way you can be in band d anymore it doesnt say anything about homeless i think you will have to down there again with everything, kick up a fuss, they are so useless,take all the letters,that you have taken before, that the only way that they seem to do anything, you really have to work for it your self, i really dont get it
why they opperate like that

a letter from your mum stating what the situation is in the home
how many people live there,
that she has done it as an emergency
and it canot go on say more then 2weeks.
but maybe they will see now that your situation has changed i will have a look at the band again and see what i find and put it here.

i live right by sainsburys, and my mum lives on the broadway, there is a new place in knaphill just opened
have a look here
(better than i can describe it)

www.rainbowtots.com/

i havent been yet but was planning ongoing we could meet there if you want give looks great

the days its on is there if you want let me know what day you want to go

fingers crossed for you tooo

emma