Refusing permanent council housing

[UFK]

I am staying in a temporary accommodation for 2 years given by the council and have just been offered a permanent flat by council on the 2nd floor.

I am a single mother of 3 daughters, all under the age of 7 and i do not have any family in UK. My ex partner is not giving me consent to take my girls abroad to visit my family, especially my elderly parents. My girls have never met my parents. I had made a court application to be allowed to take them for a visit without his consent but it was dismissed by the judge.

Now my elderly parents, both in their 70s and 80s have applied and received a 5 year visa to visit me and my girls in UK as we cannot visit them.

Both of them are incapable of walking up a flight of stairs and have to stay with me during their visits because of their advanced age and inability to speak English.

They will not be able visit me if I live on a 2nd floor. My girls and me will be isolated with no family in uk, no means to travel to them and for them not able to visit us either. I have on these grounds refused the 2nd floor property and requested for one with a lift or a ground floor one.

I have been warned that this is not a valid reason to refuse and the council could discharge me of the housing duty and I may get evicted.

What is the best way to deal with this if the council does indeed discharge me and I am evicted??

Accept the flat, even if your parents came to visit you they don't have to go out several times per day, maybe just once for a walk? Then you can try to swap for a ground floor or a small house.

Contact GlobalARRK Charity, they can help you with being able to travel home.

Why don't YOU stay with them in a temporary accomodation when they arrive?

Backstory or not, people need to be told when they are being inappropriate and unrealistic.

The expectation and entitlement is not on.

This.

Sort your own property then.

I waited on the list for almost 5 years... I was single and struggling with getting onto the housing ladder and properties in edinburgh are shocking prices to rent.

My mental health suffered. I would beg every week to ask when I was getting housed when I knew properties were sat empty.

Not once did they offer me anything. Did nothing, saved everything I could.

I would have bit their hand off for any offer. This attitude of yours completely stinks and a kick in the face to all those desperately waiting.

Do better.

A council house is provided for the needs of the residents. Unlike private rent/mortgage.
So if the council is expected to consider the parents then they are 'puttinf them up', yes.
I do think this is a wind-up though. Nobody who has lived in temp accomodation for two years would be this entitled.
I'm an immigrant, also from a culture where we value our family relationships but even in ours mothers put their children above all else. How can OP sacrifice her children's comfort for her parents? Makes no sense at all.

Wow. What an idiot.

You should accept or you'll get kicked off the list. It happened to my sister. You can't reject it, on the basis that your parents are visiting and struggle with stairs.

Then you'll need to suck it up and private rent - you are so unbelievably lucky to have been offered housing. They are within their right to remove you from the list, and not consider you for any further properties.

Sorry just reread your post. You've already turned it down. I do think that was a mistake. There's hardly any social housing so I think you were being unreasonable. What a shame.

This got everyone frothing away nicely.

No sign of OP?

Can anyone enlighten me as to on what grounds the parents are eligible for a 5 year visa? They must have indicated they had accommodation waiting, which they clearly haven't.

Presumably if we’ve they’re they can come here for 5 years they must have means to support themselves?

maybe they can rent somewhere nearby.

And never posted before

Unfortunately I used to work in this area and I think it's more than likely they would consider your refusal unreasonable and you're making yourself homeless you'll have to find private rent or live with friends if you do that

You have been very foolish to refuse the offer, in all likelihood you will now be considered to have made yourself intentionally homeless by refusing a reasonable offer. The local authority will have no further responsibility for you. No housing department is going to consider the needs of family members who don't reside with you, much less ones who are not in the country. I'm sure you were told all of this prior to the refusal. Better start looking for a private rent.

If they are coming to visit then book an air b and b or hotel for your parents. Or are they effectively moving to the UK if they have 5 year visa? Seems a bad idea at their ages. If so you and they may have to pool resources and rent privately.

As someone with 3 DC under 5 in a studio flat waiting on the council list to be moved. I find her refusal unreasonable- if she wants to be choosy then she needs to buy her own flat or private rent and not expect the council to bend over backwards- there is a housing crisis in the UK!

This. When there are people crying out for council accommodation. Your guests are visiting from overseas how often in 5 years. Think about every day and not just a visit from overseas relatives.

They will struggle to get insurance for this visit if they are infirm.

It's a warning not a definitive outcome.

Find something wrong with the flat that you can't sort yourself and which they won't fix eg location/proximity to nursery/schools etc

I honestly have no idea why we build flats with no lifts... It's stupid.

‘Visit’ 🤣

They will be entitled to NHS care and for public funding, just as any UK resident, if they are joining OP settled status.

It's something OP should check with CAB.

But OP really needs to sort it out, otherwise the other parent can apply to have the children.

Couldn't your parents get a private rental/airbnb? Or a room in a house share near to you while they're staying in the UK? Most people don't get a free holiday let when they visit a different country, so they must be prepared to financially support themselves while here?