Hi
I currently live in a 3 bed housing association semi and have lived here for 34 years. Only one of my children still live at home and so therefore I’m being hit by the bedroom tax if £84 monthly and couldn’t afford to pay it so I dr used to apply to go onto the bidding site for a smaller property and I was given a band A which is highest priority. I must add here that I do have rent arrears at my current property due to unpaid bedroom tax and I did have an agreement with my landlord to pay this monthly to avoid court action of which I’ve since broken (four months ago) due to my son leaving college and me no longer getting money for him. I’m on universal credit due to having a small heart operation last year and not being able to find work since due to covid.
Anyway... I digress... I got offered a new build 2 bedroom property on my first bid and this was with a different housing association to the one I’m currently with. They wrote me an offer letter and stated to me that if I take the house with them I will no longer be at risk of loosing my home as they are a completely separate housing association although the debt will still remain and my current association will request that via a money order.... then added that I would however be hit by the benefit cap monthly of £77 should I decide to take the house... making me £7 per month better off if I chose to take the new house.
I’ve looked around the new house... it’s a new build 2 years old quite spacious and the layout downstairs is almost identical to my current home and the location is on a quiet toad overlooking woods and fields. I love the bright airy homely feel if the new house and it’s about a mile away from where I am at present. My home at the moment is around 700yds in either direction from my two daughters who live in adjoining roads.
Every time I’m at the new house I can envisage where I would put things perhaps even feel a little excited about it yet the moment I’m back home at my current home I’m filled with panic and in utter turmoil at the thought of ever moving from here. I’ve recently decorated my current home laid new floors and carpet and I love and adore my current home. I feel safe and secure here and everything is familiar and the reason for even consider a move was purely financial with maybe a bit of curiosity thrown in but now I’m faced with reality it feels like a whole different kettle of fish.
I’m now terrified of moving house to then panic and be continuously missing my old house and never being able to get it back.
Anyway on Monday the new housing association said that I had to sign for the keys or they would give the house to the next person in line ( 3 days to decide if had) I decided to sign for them but then immediately regretted it I cried and had a bit of a panic attack so the next day I sought information from shelter to see if I had forfeited my current tenancy by signing a new tenancy and the answer was “no” and that is because quite often when people are downsizing they are asked to sign up on the same day as viewing so have two tenancies running until they give written consent to terminate their tenancy with the one they no longer want so I do still have entitlement to my current tenancy so if I wanted to change the decision I seemed to have already made when signing for the new tenancy I can.
I also have a tenancy sustainment officer for my current home and have asked her to check with the rent department where I stand on whether they will soon take court action to try and evict me or whether they will allow me to start paying bedroom tax again (son now working so is giving me £100 per month).
Obvious if they are deciding to enforce court action to try and evict me then I’m better off taking the new house but if their not going to do that then do I really have any valid reasons to move except that the house is new needs nothing done to it snd in a beautiful area.
Please help me decide what’s right and what you think I’m wanting to do by reading between the lines as I’m in total panic mode and in turmoil ty