ARGH!!!! STUPID COUNCIL!!!!!

[little*red]

hey girls
sorry just need to rant about my stupid blinking council !!!!

ok so here goes.

I found out i was pregnant back in july, and as my oh and i live in a one bedroom flat we decided to apply to the council for a two bedroom house/flat. in handed in the application in august 1st, i only received the letter to say we had been put on the waiting list last monday (16th oct) so it has already taken them 2 1/2 months to put us on the waiting list . anyway, our housing system is based on points (i.e you get points if your overcrowded,homeless,sharing facilities etc) and we got told that we had 0 points. So basically the letter said that yes you are on the waiting list but anyone who has even 1 point will be given priority over you!!!

So being really mad at this my oh and i went over to our local council office and demanded to speak to the cheif of housing (we were told he was extremely busy and fobbed off with some other guy) so we spoke to him and he basically said we couldnt get anymore points until the baby is born and even when it is we will only be giving 5 points!!!!

So not happy with this we went down to the housing allocations office and were told no-one was in the office (all at a meeting apparently) so we made and appointment to come back at 3 o clock. during that time we went to see our local MP at her weekly surgery and told her our concerns, she said she would try and set up a meeting with the chief housing guy for us. so happy with that we went on our way to our 3 oclock appointment.

We reached the HA office at 2.50pm and reported to reception. by 2.15pm we still had not be seen to, so we asked the receptionist to phone the department again. By 3.35pm we had still not been seen to, and the receptionist had phoned the department 4 times and each time told someone would be down. Eventually my OH had to call the department himself and say "we had an appointment for 3 we are down in reception why is no-one coming down?". 5 min later a woman came down and told us that it was the receptionists fault because she had'nt called WTF!!!! Anyway we were also basically told in that meeting that we would have to have the baby first to be considered for a move and that they didnt know how long it could be before they could move us even when the baby was born!!!!!!!

Im so f**ked off right now as where we live is a complete hell hole! we live in a multi-storey flat with all the scum of the earth, and we are constanly complaining about anti-social behaviour. We have two extremely problem neighbours, (our house is 2A, they live at 2B & 2C) and they make our life a misery with their constant shouting,banging,music playing, fighting, setting fires in the hall.
And today took the biscuit!
as its a multi-sorey builing we have a concergie. today the people from 2c were making a right racket in the hallway, when we look out the peep-hole there were a group of about 6 people sitting on Chairs in our landing!!!!!! so we phoned the concergie to try to get him to move tham on. at first he said that he wouldnt do it, but then 2 min later he was in our hall telling them to clear off, however the second he told them to move, he banged on our door in full view of these people and said the my OH, "thats me moved tham on for you"!!!! I mean what a fucking idiot! so now those pepole know we have been complaining about them.

ARGH. im just fed up living in this shit hole and nobody is helping us. i don't want to bring my baby back here but i have no other choice. i also dont want to be moving house just after having a baby and having to decorate too. the stress isnt helping me during this pregnancy and my OH is constantly worried about me when he is at work. so tomorrow we are off at it again to try and catch this chief housing guy and try to pressure him good ( i might even turn on the waterworks !)

Sorry for the loooooong rant, just needed to get that off my chest.

 

[hananhmiller]

Hi

I had a similar problem to you. We lived in a tiny one bedroom flat with damp and severe condensation problem. I suffer from asthma and when i found out i was pregnant i went to the council. We were told we would not get a 2 bedroom place until the baby was born and as for the damp, there solution was to leave the windows open with a newborn baby in the middle of November. We had no central heating or double glazing and had to use oil and electric radiators. We had no choice but to wait even though we kicked up such a fuss. Baby was born and our points went up but we had 100 points and were told unless we had 150 we would not get anything. They said once the baby was 1 years old we would definately be moved. We wrote to head of housing, MPs everything but nothing. When she was one we had 150 points and waited. Still nothing dispite me ringing and going in every couple of days. We were told we would get a new house being built which was due for completion this May. My daughter had suspected pheumonia in Feb of this year and we went in a said this is not good enough and how could they let this happen as we had waited and been so patient. They did nothing and finally in March of this year they said we would not be getting one of the new houses and didnt know when we would be housed. We eventually went and found a house privately even though we would struggle to afford it and demanded the council help use pay the deposit. The council are useless and would not help us despite the fact me and hubby pay council tax and work.

My advice to you is get a doctor or midwife to write you a letter to support you claim that the flat is not suitable and making you depressed. Try everything possible and go to local MP or every paper if you have too. I really feel for you and if I had my time again, I would have gone to papers. I hope everything works outs for you and let me know how you get on.

Hannah X

 

[x-kirsty-x]

I totally understand what you mean, we're having exactly the same problems with out council at the minute. Our house is a very small 2 bedroomed one so we're applying for a 3 bed house instead. However we also get points for certain circumstances and after reading through the booklet I'll be surprised if we get any! It took us 3 years to get this one, I applied when I fell pregnant with Josh and didnt get a house til he was 2!

It doesnt matter that Im pregnant as they say the baby can share a room with a sibling of a different sex until one child reaches 11 years old. Josh's room is a box room anywayso thats gonna be hard.

Also, I want to move back near my parents (5 mins away) as the school Im putting Josh in is there and it'll be more convenient. I know what the council are like though and I just know we'll be stuck here for years yet.

I do think you are entitled to some points though as having noisy neighbours are worth 5 points (may even be more i cant remember). Also, living in flats that are above the ground floor (inaccessible to children) will give you points too.

Councils are absolutely useless though, all I can say is keep bothering them til they listen to you

 

[cab'o'holic]

As far as the housing people know me OH and Luke are all still living in my old room at my mums and have been for 6 years as it happens we got a morgage and bought a house, but we left our name on the list to see how long it would take them, here it is who you know are council are rubish

 

[Jaidy]

Hi hun,

I sympathise with you totally regarding the council and housing!!

We were evicted from our 2 bed private rented property start of October and are 'staying' at my mums at the moment because we cannot afford another private rent, the one we had before was reduced and we could just about afford it.

We have had to make an application for homelessness and are currently waiting for a decision, if the decision goes in our favour then we will be housed but not neccessarily straight away (I have 11 weeks till im due!) and it might not be in the town we are in at the mo!! Also they have said it might only be a one bed property.

So when you say you are looking to transfer to a two bed, they might not give you one straight away as they have told us a baby can be in our room (in a one bed place if thats what we get offered) up until its a year...its ridiculous and totally frustrating as your probably aware so I know exactly how your feeling hun.

To be honest though, at the moment we are just praying we get accepted as homeless cos if we arent then we wont get offered a property at all

I hope you get some good news hun, in fact I hope we all do!!!

 

[fran_23]

tbh i've been on the housing list for 2 yrs, they didnt even house me when i was about to be evicted i had to live with my parents but as far as the council knew i was homeless. i dont see me getting housed for a good few years esp with this crappy locata sytem..and the points etc..
i think the best thing to do is rent privately and claim housing benefit..thats what i do now (because of getting no maternity pay or even maternity allowance from social) they even told me to move to stoke as their housing list is extremely short..what a cheek! the housing list is awful where i am..theres polish ppl coming into the country and getting houses...(some live down my road and told me about how they got housed in 2 weeks)

 

[x-kirsty-x]

I know! Im not racist or anything but I dont like how foreigners come over here and get jobs, houses and stuff straight away while we wait ages.

EDIT: In case this offends anyone can I just say its my opinion and from my experience its actually true, as fran said, they often get housed a hell of alot quicker than we do and Im sorry but I dont think thats fair.

 

[Tara & Liam]

we have 3 boys in a 2 bed house. we have been told that it will take about 7 years to get a 3 bed property. the main problem is, is that Maggie Thatcher sold most of the council houses off. we are about to do a council exchange, have you looked into that.

 

[little*red]

thanks for all your responses, its good to know that im not the only person going through this.(in a good way, ideally we would all have the houses we want).

Davina ive looked in exchanging the house but the problem is even though our house is really nicely decorated etc, we have scumbag neighbours and its a rough area. noone in the right mind would want to swap a 2 bedroom house/flat for our flat. its so frustrating

 

[Minime]

I know! Im not racist or anything but I dont like how foreigners come over here and get jobs, houses and stuff straight away while we wait ages

My OH is a "foreigner" and works damn hard, pays more in tax than some people earn, is not entitled to jack shit. The foreigners you speak of come over to earn a living, they work hard and do jobs that "natives" wont get off their backsides and do. Out of every single person I personally know who claims social not ONE of them is seriously seeking work. Take my fit & able 19 year old nephew, why should he bother getting out of bed before 2pm when he gets a roof over his head paid for & money in his hand every fortnight. When we push him to get off his backside he claims he cant get a job right now because his "social" is being sorted out and it would mess it up, what like for the past 12 months? We find him jobs and he comes out with excuse after excuse, he's just a lazy ******* in reality!

The media are portraying immigrants as scroungers when the reality is that they come to work, benefits depend on immigration status as does housing. The govt closed the benefit tourist loophole 2 years ago and immigrants have to work for at least 12 months before being eligible for many benefits including JSA. Many of them have decent qualifications yet do low paid jobs, who's taking advantage of who?

 

[x-kirsty-x]

I know! Im not racist or anything but I dont like how foreigners come over here and get jobs, houses and stuff straight away while we wait ages

My OH is a "foreigner" and works damn hard, pays more in tax than some people earn, is not entitled to jack sh*t. The foreigners you speak of come over to earn a living, they work hard and do jobs that "natives" wont get off their backsides and do. Out of every single person I personally know who claims social not ONE of them is seriously seeking work. Take my fit & able 19 year old nephew, why should he bother getting out of bed before 2pm when he gets a roof over his head paid for & money in his hand every fortnight. When we push him to get off his backside he claims he cant get a job right now because his "social" is being sorted out and it would mess it up, what like for the past 12 months? We find him jobs and he comes out with excuse after excuse, he's just a lazy b*****d in reality!

The media are portraying immigrants as scroungers when the reality is that they come to work, benefits depend on immigration status as does housing. The govt closed the benefit tourist loophole 2 years ago and immigrants have to work for at least 12 months before being eligible for many benefits including JSA. Many of them have decent qualifications yet do low paid jobs, who's taking advantage of who?

Can I have my head back now please??

Actually, thats my personal opinion and I wasn't looking for an argument. I meant exactly what I said, people who come over from abroad get priority when it comes to housing and jobs (thats in my area, I cant speak for anywhere else)

Im not talking about people such as your husband who actually earn a living and provide a life for themselves and their families, because despite what you may think I do have alot of respect for people like that. Im on about the ones who expect everything but give nothing back.

 

[beanie]

Can we please stick to the subject in hand without going off and making generalisations. I don't think a debate is really needed on here.

littleres I really hope you get it sorted soon. Councils seem more laid back about housing then they should be.

 

[x-kirsty-x]

Sorry beanie, and also minime, I worded my post totally wrong and I dont blame you for taking it the wrong way

Right, back to topic...

 

[mum2A&L]

for those living with parents, my friend got her mum to write a letter saying she had 2 months to find somewhere or she would have to kick her and her 1 year old out (she wouldn't have done!), but the council soon got off their bums and found them somewhere the following week.

Not sure if it would work across the board, but it seemed strange timing .

Red, and all those having problems with their councils, i hope they sort it soon

 

[Minime]

Thats the issue though Kirsty, they dont get priority for jobs, thats illegal. They do however apply for the low paid jobs that natives wouldnt get out of bed for or seriously apply for. Ive no idea how my nephew blags JSA as youre supposed to prove youre actively seeking employment when he clearly is not.
There are lots of assumptions made about immigrants due to the media hype. How do you know what the people around you are claiming if anything at all? How do you know they get priority for housing?

Look at some of the british people, there are people in their 40's now who have never done a days work in their life, get a house, money in their pocket, council tax paid, free prescriptions etc etc
Ive had times where I cannot afford my medication yet pay NI. I have a registered disability but got turned down for DLA because I fight it tooth and nail and even if that means crawling on my hands and knees or asking my 13 year old daughter to get me out the bath then so be it. If I did not fight it then the condition will take me over like his has done with some of my friends who have it and yes they get DLA.

When I left my abusive husband I went to the council, the same council I worked for, to get a roof over mine and my daughters head, I was turned down because I could "afford" to buy. Not on my own I couldnt yet my nephew who's never had a job breezed straight into a flat.

People like him wind me up far more than any immigrant ever will, at least the majority are working and making a contribution unlike many of the british born people.

 

[x-kirsty-x]

Look, I apologised and like beanie said, we dont need a debate!

PM'd to avoid further arguments

 

[little*red]

****UPDATE****


hey girls, just keeping you updated on this council situation .
Ok so yesterday i got a letter saying that i had to go a housing vetting interview today(basically to confirm i am who i said i am, D.O.B etc).
So along i toddle today ad get my interview with this really nice lady (rarity for my council!) and she said that my housing officer needed to make an appointment to come up and see my house (just to make sure we hadn't wrecked it whilst living there etc) and then if that was satisfactory we were going to get offered a flat.
At this point i was soo happy to think that things had gone through so quickly and so lucky as i know how long other people have struggled for.
Anyway, we managed to get the address of the place they were going to offer us. HOWEVER... the flat was in an area which we had removed from our application (its a dodgy area, and they called it another name so at the time of filling the form ,we didnt realise it was the same area!) but we decide to just go have a look at the flat anyway before we get the offer.

So we go to this flat and OMG , i thought i already lived in a very rough area but this took the biscuit!!! It was in such a bad area, the front door was covered with a metal guard, and the neighbours were blearing music at 10.30 in the morning! I never thought i'd say this but id rather live where i am than take that shit pit. Im sorry if that sounds really ungrateful to some people but there is nooo way i am bringing up my child in that environment.

So my OH and i decided that as soon as the offer comes through we are going to reject it straight away. With my council we only get 3 housing offers and if we don't except we get put on a 6 month waiting list before we get offered anything again. However as that house wasnt on our areas selected, then we still have to get offered another 3 houses
so at least we know the ball has started rolling.

I feel very grateful and thankful that i've been offered things so quickly (but it wasn''t without a struggle).I just want to say to all those girls out there who have been waiting for so long, that you shouldnt give up, try and hassle as many people as possible and hopefully things will get pushed forward.

 

[sophie]

great news little red hope things get sorted for u!
xx