Being made to move yet again! PLEASE BE KIND!

[saffa2017]

So this is a long story but i am at my wits end and need advice.

Back story, i registered myself on the housing register with my then partner in 2007 when i got preganant (out of wedlock) at 23 and was told to leave the family home! i was accepted and put in a hostel until i gave birth sep that same year. i was given temp accomendation in the same borough but different area far from anyone i know! nevertheless i accepted seening as i was in need! this property was on the 3rd floor with no lifts! i then had my secound baby there, i was struggling with the property with having 2 babies and no stairs, partner at work till late so everything was down to me, i managed and did what i had to. then my health problems started! i had 2 cestions and the lifting and bending and moving about with 2 babies took its toll, i was isolated and started feeling depressed fast so i requested to be moved closer to family out of sheer despartation.

bare in mind that i am not familar with all the housing rules, i knew that a duty was accpeted to me and my babies and we would be assisted which i was greatful for and as this was a temp accomedation i felt secure!! untill something permanat was given!

I was moved to a small flat with 1 flight of stairs which was way better than 3 flights, it was close to family and i finally was able to get my mind right, my partner was working full time pay half the rent ect so we was good! then the damp and mold and waters damage started in the flat, my son had ezema and asthma this was hell, he was always sick ALWAYS not to mention i am now pregnant for the 3rd time, i complained to the council who say this was the problem for the landlord!!! i thought they where the landlord but no, they had put me on th private letting scheme which meant from here on out i was no long able to secure a long term housing apart from bidding for one! this flat was in dire need of a deep clean due to the issue i mentions, the landlord aggreed to fix it, he bascailly tore down the rooms one by one and bulit new walls in place all the while me and my babies and partner were living there, can you imagine the dust and dirt and madness i had to live with! i spent most days out with the kids whilst my flat was a construction site. i complained and complained untill the council called me one day and said you can move to a house further away immediatly again in the private sector! am preganant my son is suffering my flat is a mess and making us all unwell i accepted out of sheer departation yet again, i didnt care what condition it was i took it, i had no choice and i couldnt wait in the flat not one single minute longer!

we moved to this amazing house, ablsolutly amazing, i gave birth to a girl, i was content, happy everthing was perfect. then fastforwd 2 years! the landlord wants to sell :( i was devasted absolutly shattered. i was served an eviction notice, i went back to the council, they said as i was a "private sector" tenant i had to find my own place! we tried me and my partner we really did, but no one wanted anyone on housing benefit, so on the last day of my eviction when the balliffs came i went to the council, kids and bags in tow!
they accepted this was no fault of ours and put us in a temp accomodation which we currently live in!!!! fast forward to NOW 5 1/2 years later living in this temp accomodation the council have informed us that they HAVE to move us because the property is too expensive for them as i am now a single mum to 3 kids and working part time! they cant pay this £1495pcm! they also informed me because i was placed in this property in 2013 i will ALWAYS remain in the private sector (unless i get an offer through bidding) because in 2011 the govermant passed a localism lesiglation which allows from 2011 anyone offered a duty will be in the private sector and not intitaled to secure accomodation! so yet again i have to move yet again i have to shift and uproot our lives, i am really trying to do the best i can, i work part time i provide for my kids with no help from family, i just feel that the council took my desparation and need in 2007 and made me fall in a trap of being moved and shifted every few years with no say what so ever! am in a loop, i cant afford to rent a home let alone buy. i can keep this up and its taken me back to 2007 when i contamplated ending my life out of pure and utter helplessness.

i didnt ask to be put on a private lettings scheme, i was in need and now feel tricked and left to again think about me and my childrens life, am sorry for the long post but please dont judge me, please understand that i am trying to do the best i can but moving again is really breaking me. i would love nothing more than too have a home that i can work full time to pay for and eventually buy i just need a break! so any KIND advice on what i could do is what i need please xx

There weren’t any other options for the council though. They didn’t have any council properties for you.

Have you tried housing associations? Contact your local ones to ask what products you qualify for and how they accept tenants. They’re not life time tenancies but you’re unlikely to be moved if you’re a good tenant

the way it works here is you bid and i have been for the best part of 8 years with no luck! i know the housing situation is dire, i just want stablility and not move every few years :(

Can your partner up his hours so you can pay the rent without housing benefit? It would be easier to find a private rental that way.

Bidding is for social housing. A housing association may offer another product that suits you ie mid market renting/ intermediate rent. They’ll have their own application process for this outside of the housing register.

There is no social housing. It’s all been sold off and new stock isn’t being built. It’s complete wank OP, vote accordingly is the long term advice. Short term, I had a friend in a similar position and she appealed to landlords directly and provided references from former landlords, offered to have a guarantor/payna larger deposit etc .... eventually a landlord took her on with CB.

HB not CB!

Are you in London? Have you thought about moving somewhere more affordable?

i live in west london, moving outside would jepordise my work which i need to get by. i dont have a partner. My main issue is the fact that i was not aware or fully understood that moving from the first property due to the issue i mention would result in me shifting from post to post! the lady from the council who called me last week and i had a meeting with said thats exactly why am in this position, had i stayed at the first temp accomodation i would by now have been settled in a secure property. seems unfair as i wasnt mentally fit then to really look at my options, i just wanted out and now am waiting to hear back from the council to tell me where and when il be moved

No point in dwelling on the past, it won't change things now.

Is your work specialised? If so you'll be able to pick something up elsewhere.

Contact housing associations, they are separate from the council and may have other options for you.

Shelter may also be able to offer advice.

As PP said there's no point on dwelling on the past, move on and do what you need to now.

There is a huge shortage of social housing, there are schemes to build more but it takes time and funding isn't infinite so it's generally a portion of a development is earmarked for social landlords, lots of people are private renting because there isn't another option. Reduction in housing benefit also had a huge impact on the social housing industry who have had to make big savings to make up the shortfall and building projects are often easier to cut back than services to existing tenants.

I've moved 20+ times
I've rented & I own property
I lived in 3 different properties in one road
Last time I moved 100s of miles for employment
Each move has been an adventure & I like exploring new places, meeting new people
Moving is expensive, but sometimes necessary
So I guess, it depends on your perspective on life ?

You can probably find out how many people are in temporary housing in your borough. Also how many people are on the council waiting list.
A couple of years ago, BBC had an article about a southern county that had 27,000 people on its council housing list. So I imagine that nearer London, the list would be a greater number !

Owning a property does not exempt some people from the need to move or relocate due to various circumstances

Where I am then you bid for properties as shown by the local authority but they have the housing association places too and you bid for 3 properties a week, I know it may take you ages but please keep bidding and it will come good in the end.

People with medical issues, both physical and mental are given priority, so get a note from your GO about depression from the past, this isn’t a lie.

If your never going to have a mortgage then this is precisely why you should never accept a private tenancy, I thought most people knew that, once your in one then the council will seldom help you, didn’t they tell you at the time that it would be unlikely that they’d house you again? It could happen but we’re talking 5 years at least, once your not the councils problem, if you like, then they really won’t help, this is true of my area anyway.

Moving isn’t that fun when you have kids to think of though, they need a stable home with a secure tenancy for school, etc, etc, and as moving is one of the most stressful life changes then it’s not an adventure in the slightest LLapT0p962! If your without kids then maybe yes.

Passthecherrycoke since when are housing associations not lifetime tenancies? I have never heard of this! I have had 3 housing association tenancies, including the one I’m living in now, and like the council properties then you get evicted for rent arrears, antisocial behaviour etc, etc, but there’s nothing that indicates ‘don’t get too comfy because your not here for life’, unless you do something wrong or you want to move!

I was going to suggest a mid-market housing association house, there’s not a waiting list for these but you need to be earning at least £35-40k per year and your rent is obviously higher, although if you live in London then I bet your rent is high enough? and I would say that mid market don’t accept housing benefit, or part HB, this would defeat the purpose of mid market rents so I’ll just shut up now!