Council Housing?

[nickilubs]

Hi

Just wondering if anyone would know how easy it would be to get a council house?

Basically we live in a gorgeous but very small chalet. It used to be used as a holiday let and we moved in on a 6month contract 4months ago. Since telling our landlord I am pregnant he has been okay we have two bedrooms one is our double room one is a half a room its actually classed as a half room because you can fit a bed in it but nothing else.

Anyway....he wants to increase the rent to £600 a month because we mentioned paying by housing benefit. We could pay it but it is NOT worth it.....apparently the increase is because of the location...right next to a beach. At the moment we pay £475.

But on top of the rent he wants to extend the house which he has announced will take around 3years because he only comes down twice a month. So we will be living in a house which will be partly built most of the time with a newborn and the landlord is the type to appear on a Saturday morning at 7am and work till 7pm then again on the Sunday. He is also very expectant that my OH will be helping him with the building work too!!!

We don't want to move but we really cant see any other option. And living in seaside land we will find it impossible to find a house to private rent at that time of year in this area so council would be the only real choice.

 

[Suzie and Faith]

Council housing is VERY hard to get
Me, my OH and baby will be living in my mums house, with my mum and 15 year old brother in a 3 bed house, my brothers room is literally a box, it fits a single bed and thats about it!
Yet me and OH are in the lowest band of need according to the council!!!
Houses in my area are classed as bronze silver or gold. We are bronze. Last fortnight the only that were given out were given to gold people - there is about 80 applications for each house!

But it could be different in your area.
It's worth speaking to your council/ finding out about your local scheme.

If you are homeless then obviously they are moer able to help but even then people have trouble!!

I hope it's ok around your area, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[nickilubs]

ooooo bugger! I think we are classed as silver our house doesn't have heating and nearest family are 200miles away.

hope you get a house soon.

 

[Suzie and Faith]

thanks we're hoping to be able to afford to rent privately at some point after LO arrives as child benefits will up our income a little.
It's tough though.

Hope you get something sorted hunxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[kalia]

It sounds like your landlord is really trying it on How can he significantly increase your rent while having the house less habitable?
Your idylic chalet will stop being idylic if he is doing work on it - for one thing you can't be certain it will be secure or weather tight so it looks to me like you really should move.

I don't know anything about getting council houses. Could you tell the council that you can't afford the increase in rent? Would that make them find something for you more quickly? The only problem is that could mean staying somewhere dodgy. I know that is the case where I live - if you are willing to live in areas that lots of people won't live in you get homed more quickly (I think).

Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[nickilubs]

Yeh all we can think is that he wants someone to live, pay and keep heated and dry a building site in between his visits.....I honestly can't think he would be doing it for our benefit. Hummmm I want out.

 

[Minime]

That is extremely intrusive and unreasonable of your landlord. You have a BUSINESS transaction, he seems to think youre pals. Your contract should state he should be allowed reasonable access. Making your home a building site is NOT reasonable.

As for council housing it really depends on the area, availability and need. With a LO on the way your points will increase so you will go further up the list but as you live in a "suitable" property you wont get priority on that. Housing benefit is also only paid on reasonable value which is to stop unscrupulous landlords charging over the odds for the property and the area. He may ask for £600 but they will come out and say similar property in the area is worth X amount therefore we will pay X amount so you could have a major shortfall.

A friend of mine has one kid and as they were pulling down the flat she was living in they gave her a 3 bedroomed house because she "might get married and have more kids in future" That just wouldnt happen in most areas and if you do get offered a property and turn it down they often put you on the bottom of the list again.

Hope you find something but its worth putting in an application form now.

 

[Geordie&Bairn]

Good luck with the council
I hope the council take into consideration that your cercumstances and find you some where to live

I am very angery at the state of housing
a 1 bed flat in my village is selling for over £145.000 so you can see we cant afford to buy even a one or 2 bed house as this is even more expensive we dont have the money.
rent in the area starts at £6/650 a month so even rent is impossible on our wages becuse the council tax in or part of kent is one of the highest. and is about to go up a further 4%
also the water and electricity is one of the highest priced in kent.

wher hoping tp me out of the area

the council say where not priority we both work we live together we have aroof over our heads
but that roof is a converted shed that my partners Dad let us move into 2 years ago
all i have is a bedroom a shower/toilet room and a small make shift kitchnette in the store room

not ideal for a newborn baby


sorry for the rant but it really GETS MY GOAT
hard working people cant afford housing but people on benifits with no job or 13 years olds up the duff get it handed to them on a plate.
sorry if that last comment made any one angry
buts it how i feel

 

[Josephine_Beth]

I wanted to go into council housing when I first moved back but the only way to do this, is to go into a hostal, which the local council supply (they are right dives) and then they will home you.

It is very hard to get housing from the council these days, the only thing they are willing to do, is you find a place to live and they will pay only for half you're rent. But that is as a single mother and ONLY FOR A 1 BEDROOM place. I am not sure how to go about as a couple but I have a feeling they will not supply a house for you right away, you can be waiting up to a good year before they home you, a friend and her hubby have been on the list for 5 months now.

You're landlord can not increase the rent, not until your contract is over with, then he has every right to increase it, however, he is not allowed access to your place, unless you are there or he has asked you for permission.

A lot of landlords do not like the 'housing benefit' for some reason, can't see why, maybe they don't like to have the government poking around their records, huh.

What I would do, visit your local council, as they all are different in how they do things, ask them about 'housing top ups', if you are both working, I doubt they will rush to house you in a council home. I think the best way is this top up thing, then you can get a lovely place, they will pay you're deposit for you but you have to pay the council back, the deposit over the following year, or something.

This seems to act a lot quicker than council housing, but let's face it some council estates and housing are right dumps

 

[sam96031]

when i was in college (16) i tried to get a council flat (or room anything) as i was classed as homeless, in the end DH's parnets allowed me to live with them and eventually we got our own place then afgter living here for 1 year i had a letter saying they had found me a room i was lucky as i did have DH and family but if i had been desperate then it would have been awfull.
I hope you get something sorted good luck

 

[Gemma & Jake]

I thought that landlords could only put up your rent by a maximum of 5% each year.

 

[Josephine_Beth]

I thought that landlords could only put up your rent by a maximum of 5% each year.

it's 10% a year, most don't, if you are a decent tenant but it is illegal what this landlord is doing. I imagine if you report him to the council, they would stop him, or would they?

 

[Tara & Liam]

The thing is everyone blames the council, but in fact it was Maggie Thatcher that brought in "the right to buy". It was a terrible idea, thus what happened is a lack of houses.

Back to the subject. My SIL was in a property where the rent was more than what the council were prepared to pay, and she was supposed to make the shortfall up. She claimed that she couldnt afford it (on income support) and they moved her into temporary for a year and then she got her housing association house. it is so hard to get a property. My husband managed to sign over his flat to his brother, (lot of work involving solicitors) as he moved into mine. and the wally gave it up. this was in London, and now lives in a privately rented house.

 

[mandspice]

I can't believe your landlord is basically forcing you out of your home Can you speak to your local citizens advice bureau about your rights?

The subject of council housing really frustrates me too. We're looking to move soon from our 1 bed flat to a 2 bed flat ready for when baby's born. Private rental prices are so expensive around here but we have no choice as we're right at the bottom of the council's priority list as we both work.

A friend emailed me earlier about a friend of hers (single mum, 2 or 3 kids I think) who has given up her council house in southend twice this year, on a whim to go and live with some bloke, and both times it hasn't worked out. She's decided to go back to southend again and within 2 weeks the council have given her a 3 bed house, deposit and months rent in advance and a £1,000 community grant! Alright for some eh? - maybe we should all move to southend.....

 

[mrs_tommo22]

The only reason me and my oh have a housing association is because we were made homeless.
And they only gave us a 2 bedroom knowing that our second baby was a girl, so its annoying cos in a few years were going to have to move again.

 

[Tara & Liam]

you may find that they wont move you until the oldest one is 10 as this is the age when they say that different sex children should stop sharing.

 

[Riley's Mommy]

good luck lol.


im in devon, in a 1bed flat with baby and dog, and they wont help me whatseover. unless you are faced with homelessness then they wont help. even then, they will only put you in a b&b

hope this helps.

 

[Tara & Liam]

how long will they keep you in a B & B.

have you been on homeswapper.co.uk

it is a council flat that you have isnt it.

 

[Tara & Liam]

The thing is everyone blames the council, but in fact it was Maggie Thatcher that brought in "the right to buy". It was a terrible idea, thus what happened is a lack of houses.

Back to the subject. My SIL was in a property where the rent was more than what the council were prepared to pay, and she was supposed to make the shortfall up. She claimed that she couldnt afford it (on income support) and they moved her into temporary for a year and then she got her housing association house. it is so hard to get a property. My husband managed to sign over his flat to his brother, (lot of work involving solicitors) as he moved into mine. and the wally gave it up. this was in London, and now lives in a privately rented house.

 

[mandspice]

I can't believe your landlord is basically forcing you out of your home Can you speak to your local citizens advice bureau about your rights?

The subject of council housing really frustrates me too. We're looking to move soon from our 1 bed flat to a 2 bed flat ready for when baby's born. Private rental prices are so expensive around here but we have no choice as we're right at the bottom of the council's priority list as we both work.

A friend emailed me earlier about a friend of hers (single mum, 2 or 3 kids I think) who has given up her council house in southend twice this year, on a whim to go and live with some bloke, and both times it hasn't worked out. She's decided to go back to southend again and within 2 weeks the council have given her a 3 bed house, deposit and months rent in advance and a £1,000 community grant! Alright for some eh? - maybe we should all move to southend.....