How to get a council house -C4

[heyhulahoop]

Anyone watching? It's so depressing. So many zero hours contracts and racist rants.

He is lovely.

What i am wondering though is why werent they referred on to social services by the council? Theyve been traipsing around all day with those children looking for somewhere to stay and it turns out SS can house them because of the kids. What would have happened if that priest hadnt been with them to think of calling SS? Why didnt the council suggest that to them?

He really is. He's gone above and beyond.

God its sad
But would you move your children to a foreign country , with no job, no money and no house and just expect that country to house you??

Re the polish and Ugandan couple - move somewhere out of London which is cheaper! And they should have done it months ago.

Makes me very grateful for what I have.

I'm a bit scared this programme is turning me into a tory.

But would you move your children to a foreign country , with no job, no money and no house and just expect that country to house you??

It depends what their options were in romania. Maybe the UK was best of a bad situation.

The polish/ugandan couple- how can they move if they cant save a deposit?

The Romanian man had ridiculous expectations. They shouldn't be housed. Sorry to say.

The Romanian man isn't really helping himself here. He's espousing the sort of 'UK streets paved with gold' trope that makes it hard to empathise. You don't bring 5 kids to live in a precarious situation because you 'expect' someone to help.

I don't know. It is terribly sad. But they'll have known this was coming for a long time, £6k debt doesn't build up overnight. Longer term living somewhere cheaper is more sustainable for them. No idea how they do that :(

"
Re the polish and Ugandan couple - move somewhere out of London which is cheaper! And they should have done it months ago.
"

How on earth are you supposed to save the thousands to move when you don't earn enough to cover your rent? And guess what- no-one will let to you if you are on 0-hours contract. You will get laughed out of estate agencies- I have been through this recently.

I don't really care why the parents made the decisions they did. Those poor fucking kids. Why didn't he get set up here first? A room or a house or a flat. Anything. And why go to London? There are areas all over the country with housing a lot more available and affordable? It's not like the rest of the Uk doesn't have manual jobs like the car washing he was doing.

The cynic in me thinks he was using the kids as a way to get help.

Totally agree Froubylou!

I can't believe they are getting somewhere. Totally abusing the system.

I can't even watch programmes like this.
I left my ea ex h five years ago. I left with nothing except the desire to save my soul and sanity. (I started again from scratch and am slowly clawing my way into a career. )The price is that I'm sleeping on my mum's sofa while my kids ( teen and pre teen boy and girl) share a bunk in the box room. I can't afford private rents where I live and work. He pays no maintenance and never will. I'm on the council waiting list and have been told there is an eleven year wait where I am. I will never be able to save enough for a deposit, and if I ever rent privately, most of my income will go on that. I can't really get my head around the fact that someone like me who tries so hard and works will never be able to get social housing. If I ever,by some miracle get rich, the only thing I want is a home for me and my children. I'm so ashamed and no one knows.

Well, this just perpetuated the "Immigrants get council houses as soon as they step off the plane" stereotype.

So signing on for free money means maintaining workers status? I don't understand.

I think there is a massive disparity between what people in other (poorer) EU countries are led to believe/expect in terms of help available in the UK and so they come assuming what others tell them is accurate. It must be a massive shock and very infuriating for many when they arrive and find they were misinformed. Many of them may not have an education or facilities which allows them to research and confirm what they have been told before they move. And also i would say many of them are in such bad situations that they simply have to leave where they are.

He is quite an intelligent man and got what he wanted. Did they have the children enroled at school ? Did I hear that right?

I cannot get the girl out of my head who was bluntly offered Birmingham last week. Very cold way she was spoken too.

I really admire Uchi. She is professional but there is something very astute but genuine about her. She is brilliant at her job.

Those poor children, perhaps they'd be better off in care while parents get jobs and somewhere to live.

I don't know dillite. But how do you stay in London if you can't afford the houses? It is a terrible situation to be in.

Affordable housing in London would be the answer, but that's not likely to happen any time soon.

Looks like birmingham has an abundance of houses!!

But putting the kids in care just costs more money plus the damage it will do. There isn't a right answer. There never will be. It's just heartbreaking to see.

I live in social housing. I waited 10 years. I don't begrudge anyone else having waited 4 days wherever it is. But many people will and this doesn't help anyone. 2 weeks for a 4 bed property. I am glad for the kids.

A very astute priest actually. He said "at the end of the day you'll do anything to provide for your family" and that's exactly what the Romanian man has done. Played the system like a finely tuned violin.

Well, you stay in London because at least there you might have some friends willing to help. If you leave there's literally nothing and no way of making anything.

I considered moving up north, but the amount of money that it would have cost was twice as much as what it cost me to move here. And at least here I have a job and family.

Exactly adrenaline. If you were in the same situation you wouldnt just set up on the streets with your children because others had been waiting longer. You would do whatever you needed to do and play the system to make it work for you to get your family housed ASAP.

But in the end non of them got social housing did they? They got private rented. Which he will have to find work to pay for and if he doesn't the hb will stop. He will then eventually get evicted and then turn up to Birmingham council for help. Which he will get because of the children.

It's just a cycle of poverty he has brought his family to. But it will be better than where he has come from. Which makes it even more sad.

And why have 5 children in that kind of poverty.