Housing

[madmooch]

Hi All

We have decided to sell our house and try for a council house because my hubby is going to have to give up work to help look after H as i cant cope any more

I get no support off SS and when i told her of our plans she said she couldn't help, only support us

Has anyone else had to do this and has any advice?

[alibaly]

Proceed with great caution as you may not get a council house due to the fact you have deliberately made yourself homeless. Speak to your local housing officer as well as your county or borough councillor, they will be well up on the rules but once again do not go down this road until you have sought qualified advice. I have a suspicion, from something that I read on another list, that its a very difficult if not impossible thing to do.

[phasmid]

Quite correct. If the local authority suspect that you have done this deliberately they will NOT be interested. If however, you have grounds due to those you state that might be viewed differently. We were in a similar position a few years ago. We spoke to our council and a very nice housing officer came out to see us. So get in touch with them FIRST and see what they say.

[lil_me]

I agree with whats been said already, contact local authority first, look at how long waiting lists etc are. You might also have a fight with benefits if he's quitting his job. I know of a family who succeeded in selling there house and moving into a council property but it took them about 8 years as they weren't classed as a priority even with a disabled daughter, but where they wanted to move to had high waiting lists and they weren't a priority. Letters from GP's, Consultants, Psycologists, HV's etc I have been told can help as we are in the process of trying to get my sister moved and they've suggested can help as a medical need to move, I don't know if this applies in your case but maybe worth a shot.

Edited October 13, 2005 by lil_me

[madmooch]

I'm going down on saturday to put our names on the waiting list and my GP and SW said they would write letters to the housing group.

We hav'nt put our house up for sale yet were waiting to see what the housing group say's.

We need an extra room for H as a safe play area and his paed agreed so maybe the housing group will take this into account.

[denise2]

If you decide not to sell and are still needing extra room have a think about applying for a disabled facilities grant. We have just had a room built under this scheme and it makes a huge difference. We had to see the OT for an assessment and convince the grants department that it was mandatory, but after that it has been plain sailing. If you want any more information let me know.

 

Denise 2

[madmooch]

Hi Denise, I asked the ot ages ago for an extention and they refused

[Canopus]

Does having AS increase one's priority when it comes to council housing?

[madmooch]

Well it's classed as a disability so you would think so, but you never know what gives you priority when homeless poeple cant even get a house

[madmooch]

Oh and i know a girl who was living in a 2 bed flat who got a house while she was still pregnant when they say they dont class the baby as viable until6 mnths old

[alibaly]

My father is a county borough councillor and he would always try and get wman settled before she had her baby. You'll find that most LA operate a 'points' policy and when you go to try and get onthe list you will be awarded points for different aspects of your situation. So a person can end up getting a house within weeks even though others have been waiting years. In the area where my dad is children of the opposite sex are not expected to share a bedroom once they are a wee bit older so that would help get a person more points.

[madmooch]

Well i've been to pick up a housing form and the woman told me that i have to be in the process of selling my house before they can offer me a house

What if the house is sold before they offer me one

[lorryw]

Please be very careful before you do this. It is a very tricky thing do do and you may find yourself in a far worse position than you already are.

Are you sure you are getting all the financial help you should, check you are getting all your benefit entitlements. I work 2 days a week and claim carers allowance and my husband works 3 days. To be honest we havent noticed any drop in income and we are both happy with the arrangement. Could you sell up and move to another area with cheaper housing and a more autism friendly local council/LEA and services (Im sure they exist??????)

Take a look at this site, ww.shelter.org.uk and get some advice, its such a drastic step (Im worried about you guys)

Take care

Lorainexxx

[Malika]

Hi

 

Please be careful as far as I know the law the law protect the one made unintentionaly homeless, but the other part is that they have to provide a home when there are children involved (this refer to the child protection act) that is why you won't get anything before you are virtually in the street with your children, I do not know how it works in your area as it seems there are shortage of housing all over the country , may be you could find a shared ownership with an housing association, housing laws are very tricky and most of the people I know who have lost their home because they could not repay their morgadge ended up in temporary accomodation once their home had been repossessed.

 

Now in the South-East it is nearly impossible to get anything permanent if you have not spend at least 3/5 years in temporary accomodation I know a familly who moved every 6 months for 5 years before they finally got a 4 bedrooms flat in rundown towerblock being told that if they would refuse the council would not do anything for them anymore.

 

Not to frighetened you but if you could find a way to keep what you have, may be an housing association would be ready to give you an accomodation because of medical condition??? you can apply privatly you do not necesseraly need to be homeless part of their allocation are to people who do not go through the LA however it may take long... Good luck hope you find a solution.

 

Malika

[lil_me]

What if the house is sold before they offer me one

If they are anything like our local council what they say will be something along the lines of tough. Seen several families living with parents etc for some time in similar situations, inc one family of 6 who had to split between 2 families as noone had enough room for them. Then they waited 4 years for a house with council, privately rented for a short time in between.

[phasmid]

The use of points to determine housing need is fairly universal (as far as I know) the following is the formula my LA use:

 

POINTS FACTOR POINTS Points

Awarded

Lack of bedroom 10 per BR + 5 every 6 mths.

Occupants of 1B Pty with 2+ children 20 per BR + 5 every 6 mths.

BR occpd 2 children (1 over 10 of opp sex) 15 per BR + 5 every 6 mths.

Separated families 10

Medical 0 ? 50 (100 priority)

Social Points 1 ? 50 (100 Priority)

Under occupation (transfer points) 20

Occpts of 4BH (also qualify for asstd transfer). 50

Inadequate Accommodation;

Steep stairs 5

Poor internal arrangement of rooms 5

Inadequate cooking facilities 5

Inadequate ventilation 5

Severe dampness 10

Poor state of general repair 10

Inadequate heating 10

Inadequate natural light 10

Severe Condensation 10

Unfit property (EHO assessment needed) 100 priority

Shared accommodation with 1 other household 15

� � with 2+ households 30

Applicant sharing + expecting/have children 5 per child/4 mths pregnant

No direct access to garden (for people with children

under 16 years).

15

Children in 1st or 2nd Floor Flats 10

Caravan dweller (with permission) 20

Access to children points (proof needed) 10 per child (max 20 pts)

Temporary Accommodation One award of 30 followed by 5 pts

points for each month.

Vulnerability points (potentially homeless) 50

Insecure Accommodation (notice received) 50

Sheltered Housing (from FFF to GFF/Bung.) 150

Move-on points 100

Retiring member of HMFs 100

Agricultural workers 100

Local Connection (first choice only) 20

 

This may not be the same formula your council use. Obviously the higher the number of points you have the higher up the list you go. However, be warned, we ended up in 'temporary accomodation' for over 5 yrs before getting a permenant house. It may not be the 'quick fix' solution you may think it is. The important thing is to get talking to the council. make them aware of the problems you're having and ask them to help.

[lorryw]

Hi again,

Site address should read www.shelter.org.uk. You can email them for advice and they will have access to all the relevant legislation you need to be aware of before you take this step.

Shame on ss for allowing you to feel this is your only option.

Love Loraine

[madmooch]

Thanks all I'll speak to the council and see what they say and i'll phone the ot and see if she can help seeing as the sw is as much use as achocolate fireguard

 

 

Clare

[bid]

If you apply to the council or a housing association make sure you are sent a medical form to fill in because you have a child with special needs.

 

When we applied they forgot to send us a medical form, and we were awarded the grand total of 5 points!! When we finally got the medical form and returned it, we were given enough points to get a housing association house (although we also got extra points as our lease was due to expire...but most points came from having a child with AS).

 

When I filled in the medical form I also got letters from my son's consultant, etc.

 

One point to bear in mind...you will have no choice over any house you're offered. You may get a nice house, but in a dreadful area We have a beautiful, large house, but it's in ASBO Alley The police are always outside our house, and a car was set on fire and exploded at the end of our road, and a set of garages burnt down on another occasion.

 

We would give anything to be able to buy our own house in a nice area

 

Bid