Woman with 1 child being evicted from her 6 bedroom council house ....

[Disenchanted]

Im really torn over this.

It was in my local paper.

Obviously as someone who waited 3 years with 2 children for a 3 bedroomed council house, who had to sleep in a single bed with DH, DS1 and have DS2 in a cot next to us in my mums box room I think its right that this woman should be asked to leave her home in order to house a family that needs it.

There are currently 507 'large' families In South Manchester waiting for a 6 bedroomed home. All who actully need 6 bedrooms unlike this woman who on;ly has 1 child.

However that is her family home. It was her mothers home who had many children and was justified living there, the tenancy was passed onto this lady when her mother died and now there are only her and her son years later.

The reason Im divided is that my granny lives alone in a 3 bedroomed house, she has lived there for over 40 years and by ratios if a 2 bedroomed house is too big for two then on the same principle they could move my Gran out of her 3 bedroomed house.

But I dont think they should IYKWIM. Shes lived there years.

When I needed a house I complained constantly (to myself not the council obviously) about all the old widows/ widowers living in 'family homes' but they have every right to be there.

Or do they?

Should 1 person be allowed to stay in a 3 bed house?

Should this woman and son be allowed to stay in a 6 bedroomed house?

She has been offered a 3 bedroomed house BTW, but not in her 'area'.

To me it seems obvious the woman should be moved but then where does it end IYKWIM.

are their bedrooms 8ftx9ft or 8ftx7ft? thats the size of the bedrooms here. they are the smallest i have seen. i'm trying to figure out where i'm going to put a cot, and i thinking of actually curtaining off a part of my hallway for #4. our tenancy agreement states 5people.

we have been looking at part rent/part buy schemes in the area as thats the only hope we have of ever owning a place again.

I was you Knickersonmahead. At 20 I had my own home with my then dp.

After 2 years of living there xp then decided to accept voluntary redundancy from his company (without my agreement i might add) and then found he couldn't get another job. We ended up losing the house. We moved to a privatly rented place but the rent was way too high, it was higher than what our mortgage payments had been yet it was alot smaller.

Eventually we got a flat with a HA. I then got pregnant with Ds which depsite what most people think, was not planned, and not done to get a bigger place.

In the end we were actually moved more because of anti social behaviour we were suffering from a neighbour than because of over crowding.

I know I was incredibly lucky to get rehoused to where I am now and have often said that when my children move out, I will downsize and give another family the chance to enjoy this house.

misdee, i sympathise totally with you..and you have 3dds. I dont know what regulations your council have but we have 2ds and 2dd and 2 bedrooms. So 2 boys in small box room in bunks, and then me, dh, dd1 and dd2 in other room. The environmental officer came out and apparently we are not overcrowded until my eldest is 10yo, which will be in Oct. They dont need there own room till then and cannot be put in a room with opposite sex then! They take living room into consideration when working out sleeping area. Its not fair on the kids, if it was just me n dh it wouldnt matter..and i wouldnt care..i would make do!!!

I won't ever be able to buy, which I am quite sad about, but then I am so lucky to be in the area that I am in, I am just grateful for that really.

we wont even be overcrowded technically untill dd2 reaches 10 i think. which is 5years away. housing officier thinks we may get extra points for giving up a disabled adapted bungalow. i hope so, as i already feel guolty about living i na palce which i know is more suitable for a different family than our own needs.

Blimey thats bad bitcat.

I had 2 adults and 2 dd's in 2 bed flat, and then had Ds and was immeidatly classed as overcrowded as soon as he was born.

As I said though, it wasn't that, that got us moved it was the anti social behaviour from neighbours and the damp state of the flat.

i rememeber your damp problems cracker, it was terrible.

i would be happy in a 3 bedroom house with enough room to put two beds in each room. dd1 room is so so small. she has her bedm wardrobe and a desk. and no room to play at all.

i would've stayed at the masionette but dh couldnt manage the stairs.

BITCAT, my friend is the same, although she rents privately. She has 4 children in a 2 bed flat - 2 girls in together and the two boys in together and she sleeps on a sofa bed in the living room.

She really can't afford anywhere else and the council won't house her as the children are all in their teens now.

I think she's looking forward to them leaving home so she can have a bedroom again!

thats really bad soapbox. how does she cope?

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I dont live in a particulary nice area either!! We have problems with drugs, kids shouting and screaming at all hours, cars or bikes racing up and down street. My kids cant even play in garden without being sworn or shouted at by kids out front..or things being flung over the gates! I'm sure something will come up soon we are at top end of list now..just hoping its a nicer area! It will just be nice to eat together around a table and to have a room for me n dh and especially for the girls who are so desperate for a pretty pink girlie room..i can make do with a 3bed, as long as can fit bunks in them! So i'm not being greedy, i just would like a little normality for my kids..as i am sure other children at their school dont share a room with their parents at 6yrs.

She's just one of life's copers IYKWIM - although it is a garden flat so she has a small garden, which I think they just about live in in the summer - so she thinks she is lucky!

Her DD is pregnant though and has left school with a decent job, so I think she might move out to live with her boyfriend sometime soon. Although I don't think my friend is particularly keen at the idea of sharing a bedroom with her 12yo DD.

Eating around a table are things that some families take for granted and dont do even though they have the room..i know plenty that dont..i would love to be able to!! I have to feed kids then us seperately! But we make do for now!! And have become quite good at using spaces cleverly, and you would be surprised at how tidy and clean my house is most of the time!! I'm sure i will feel lost in a bigger house.

bitcat. exactly, rooms big enough to have bunk beds in there. i dont want a mansion, just a place with 3 decent sized bedrooms. knowi9ng the council though they will say we can only have a 4bedroom place and wont let us have a 3 bedroom place. when we had dd1+2, we were desperate to move back into ground floor property due to dh heart problems, and they told us we couldnt have a 2bedroom place. even though there is a big shortage of 3bedroom ground floor places. that was because i was epxecting dd3. they insisted we could only have a 3bedroom place.

i shared a bedroom with my 2 sisters for years, it wasnt a big deal. fortunatly the house had a large duel aspect living room, so when SGK got older, my parents boarded off half the living room to make it into an extra bedroom.

i think we would be ok here for a while, if the door to dd1 room wasnt in a silly place, meaning we can only have the bed in one place to be able to open the door.

Anyway good luck to you all, and i hope things get better for all of us soon. But i think the general feeling is that 6bedrooms is too much for 1 woman and a child and the council is right to rehouse them.

Would peters health not be taken into consideration?He will always need a clean comfortable home and rest is vital to hom too.Also the 'old biddies' bungalow will probably be a constant reminder of his life before and he may be happier with a new start in a family home

this palce is riddled with damp noddyholder. we have finally got a date for fixing the vent to deal with the damp problem. in May. that will be 5montsh after i alerted them to the situation and 5months of him inhaling mould spores. i am thinking that the sooner we go the better.

mind you they fixed my shower today, so cant complain. its lovely having a working shower again.

Of course she should be moved.

There are several things which immunocompromised patients need to avoid and damp is one!We are in rented for teh first time ever and I have had a chest problem due to damp for 7 weeks!I'm sure Peter would be high priority Also your mental health is assessed and you would score highly there after what you've been trhough.

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well hopefully the forms arrive tomorrow so will fill them in ASAp and get a medical form as well.

dd1+2 are wheezing mroe than usual, dd1 room is also suffering damp problems. its madness. the vent brokw and there has been a big row over who needs to fix it as the new maintanece dept are saying its not their responsibility. never mind the fact that the mould is very dangerous for dh.

Lots of buy to let landlords bought up cheap council properties and now that they don't pay many are empty.they should never have been sold off

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