can anyone give some advice on housing?

[chocymonsta]

this is my first time posting, have been lurking for a while but are having some problems with our housing situation and need some general advice. at the moment me my dp and 2 ds's are living in a 1 bedroom first floor flat which we rent from a housing association. me and my dp originally moved in when we had no children and it was great, then when i fell pregnat with ds1 (21 ms) we contacted our council to apply for rehousing and was told there was a 2 year wait but after that time we would be rehoused. then ds2 (4ms) 'suprised' us and again i went to the council to tell them that we would have 2 children as of jan and asked them to reasses our application, i was told that the wait ws still 2 years i was already 'high' priority for rehousing and the 2 years would be up in march at which time they would move me. they said i would just have to struggle untill then. when ds2 arrived we took the birth certificate in to the council and was told the wait was now 3 years, so have another year to wait!! at the moment me my dp and ds2 sleep in the living room, me and dp on a sofa bed and ds2 in moses basket and ds1 sleeps in the bedroom so he doesnt get woken up by ds2 during night feeds. the stairs going up to our flat are steep and too narrow to push a single pushchair down, let alone a double buggy, so this means unless my dp is at home or a freind omes round i do not go out. i have sent in a medical form letters from my hv, gp, housing officer all saying that i cant get out, the stairs are unsafe, i am becoming ill due to the situation but i am still in the same list position as they work on a banding system and i am already in high. in exceptional circumstances they can move people into 'urgent' band but i have asked the to do this and they said no. does anyone know what i should do now? i simply can not stay here for another year, i feel really bad for my children as they dont get to go outside and ds2 cant even have a proper cot as i cant fit 1 in, he will have to sleep in a travel cot once he gets too big for the moses basket, sorry its so long

sorry unless i used a sling that is an idea

You put them in their cot whilst you go downstairs.

Lots of us have to do this.

You get rid of the double buggy because it's too wide to bump down the steps to your building or get one with a narrower profile.

Then you open it at the door to the building and bump the wee ones down the steps at the front of the building.

Not ideal, but it works.

And if your elder one is 21 months he will soon be able to go up the stairs whilst holding your hand.

Mine couldn't at that age, she was already in physio with motor skills delays, but barring things like this many children can start to navigate stairs at around 2 years old.

do you not have problems with them getting really upset? my ds1 would go crazy if i put him in his cot, he wont even nap in it during the day, is fine at night but during the day wont have it

Yes, but it's too bad. There's no help for it just now because this is a second floor flat and it's what we can afford for now.

They get over it after a while.

chocy what sort of flat are you living in? is it a block of flats where there is like an entrance or is it a house turned into flats where when you get down the bottom of the stairs it is directly on the street?

it is a small block of flats with steps leading up from the street if that makes sense

I have found the person who shouts loudest get moved... email your MP, get social services around to check your living situation, get HV onside and use your doctor etcetc

will have to give the sling a go i think and just deal with the screaming whilst they are in there cots, am on quite a few waiting lists so hopefully something will come up soon

or could you carry ds1 down and tell him to wait at the bottom of the stairs and not go out onto the street. then go and get ds2. then put them both in the buggy.

Unfortunataley there is a lack of social housing and people are being told to privately rent cause there isnt enough to go round. Im a lone parent who has been on the housing register for 8 years but im not a priority, my friend is a lone parent to 2 children and is in private rented accommodation and has been moved on every 6 months but yet she isnt a priority either. Chocymonsta your only solution is to privately rent maybe a 2 bedroomed house, I know you dont want too but some of us have too and we have no choice, I know a couple in a 1 bedroom flat with a 7 year old and they arent a priority for a bigger flat either.

By the way it is always worth writing to your MP. He or she will contact your council about your situation and it does put pressure on them-they hate MPs letters!

just another thought - a mutual exchange. worth finding out if your area has this set up.