Housing help?

[StanleyParents]

Hi fellow SEN parents.

Im looking for supporting in understanding what more I can do in regards to some housing challenges we are facing.

We are a family of 5, 2 adults, 3 children, 17, 12 and 8.

All three children have a diagnosis of ASD with our youngest also having a diagnosis of a Learning Disability.

We currently live in a 2 bedroom first floor flat and have done so for the last 14 years.

We have tried to do a mutual swap for the last 10 years but always struggled to find anyone interested.

We have applied for in house transfers with our housing association but despite overwhelming medical evidence and needs we have still on be placed in a band B and to put into context the last 4 bedroom property came up 3 months ago and before that a year ago and we where only around 65 on the list. With less that 2 a year we are easily looking at a 30 year wait to be rehomed in this way.

We submitted a new application toour local council in September last year and despite multiple attempts to chase up they still have not got back to us despite contacting local councillors and today our local MP.

We have been in touch with multiple places including a local early years help alongside occupational therapy and also social services who have all told us that there is nothing they can do to support us.

My question is what can we do now?

Privately renting is just not possible for us, we do not have the financial ability to do this and we also could not be left with the instability that privately renting can be.

Anyone with a similar experience had any luck and what did you do?

Would the HA allow you to move to a 3 bed? Either a 3 bed with a dining room or a 3 bed (or even a 2 bed) that could be adapted via a DFG.

Could the current rooms be split?

HA acknowledge we require a 4 bed, and have allowed us to bid for 3 beds aswell but we dont get any higher priority for bidding for a 3 bed over a 4 bed, waiting for a 3 bid is likely going to take longer.

We have already sacrificed our main living room to split a room but this is still not enough.

We have on record from our paediatrician letters confirming our sons need for private outdoor space which is almost the main need for a move.

Have you asked if they will allow you to move to another 2 bed if that would be quicker? If they will, you could look for a property that could be adapted.

Have you also looked at a mutual swap? With a flat, it is more like if you are willing to move to a less desirable area.

The HA wont allow us to move to a 2 bedroom, we've looked at a mutual exchange for years, but we aren't in a desirable area ourselves. We had someone willing to swap into a 2 bed house with a dining room but there HA blocked the move.