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Waiting Lists for housing

T

Tracey167

Well-Known Member
Messages
309
Location
Essex
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi All

A silly question really but i searched the web and cant find a answer, I am a type 1 diabetic with hypo unawareness and for this reason my husband has had to become my carer, we moved to private renting to be closer to family and joined the council housing list got a Band C for medical reasons. I also joined a housing association with there own waiting lists and we are quiet high up on there list ( due to medical reasons), they are building 15 new houses 8 of which are 3 bed (what we need) in one of the areas we put in for of which we are 2nd on the list, we know a percentage of the housing ass homes are given to local authority 10% apparently told to us by housing receptionist at the council. What do you think our chances are of being offered one of the new homes? We are so desperate to get out of the house we are in as it is old with no double glazing and falling to pieces and the landlord won't do nothing to it. It is stressing me out living in this house i hate it but we don't want to move and rent private again because its so much money and you have to sign into a contract for 6-12 months and dont want to do that and have a possibility of being offered a council or housing ass home.
 
Hi would you mind sharing what medical grounds you have as a diabetic for council housing? We have been on the list for a year but at a low banding. My son has been diagnosed type 1 two months ago and I have had to cut my work hours to attend appointments etc if we could get a council house sooner this would really help with the lower rent payments. Please advise.
 
As a landlord I can tell you that rented properties without contracts are just about as scarce as hen's teeth and you will definitely have to agree to one with either council housing (very scarce now) and associations alike.
The contract is there to protect tennant as well as the owner.

With interest rates at such a low rate as they are now, more and more unsatisfied savers are investing in property and therefore you should find more houses/flats in the rental market.

Depending on your location and your council's housing policy, your existing landlord might be eligible for a modernisation grant from the council.

http://www.grantsexpert.co.uk/renovationggrant.html
 
Have a word with your GP. He can write to the council and the housing association to emphasise your need - that may just boost your points a little.

Good luck!

Viv 8)
 
Hi viv

I have spoke to my G.P he told me theres not alot he could do, my diabetic consultant wrote a letter for me a few months back but it did'nt seem to help it obviously gave us some priority but even stating that the property we are in is in poor state does not give you any extra priority. The landlord is a millionaire and has over 40 properties but does as little as she can to them its all done on the cheap and she gets her hubby to do most of the work. We have no double glazing and mould / damp and rotting windows and the council know this but still don't do nothing. i have been told to report it to health and safety but i know if i do that she will evict us, then we have the stress of finding another place.

tracey167
 
Have you looked on the Shelter website http://england.shelter.org.uk/ - they also have a freephone helpline. You could also try contacting your Citizens Advice Bureaux. You could also contact your local Council Councillor or MP.


Edited to add information about Councillor and MP.
 
Hi all

If there is any landlords out there just wanted to ask a quick question (not diabetes related) My landlady has told us that we have to give 2 months notice if we want to end our tenancy we are on a periodic tenancy (rolling month to month) but surely our rent is paid monthly we should only give a months notice , we have lived at this property for over 2 years now. My hubby rang shelter and they said they think she had got that muddled up with her notice to us. But when looking on the internet im reading all different info. The thing is we want to move after christmas which will obviously be privately rented at the moment as this house is in such a poor state and she won't spend no money on it, but what landlord would want to wait 2 months plus we have to give our notice by the 4th of each month or we will have to come up with more rent money. Any advice would we appriciated.

tracey167
 
Getting council or housing association houses these days is very hard, even harder if you are private renting as the council usually regard you as being adequately housed, and you will almost always be pipped to the post by someone on the homeless list.

I got a housing association house three years ago. Where I live the council dont have a list, they only house people who are homeless or facing immediate homelessness. I lived with my mum (with my 3 children) as I had been caring for my dad before he died, and my mum wrote a letter 'evicting' us and we were housed within 2 weeks. She would never have actually evicted us but I wanted to live with my (now) husband, who is severely disabled, and even though he got maximum medical points for housing, our local council wouldnt move him here (he was living in a different council area). As soon as I was offered the house I had a meeting with the housing officer for my housing association and he asked if my partner would be moving in with us and I admitted he absolutely would be once he handed in his notice on his bungalow, and the housing officer said that was brilliant and it wasnt often they got to house couples with children anymore! So it was a win win really, we got to live together as a proper family, and his disabled adapted council bungalow could be re let to someone who needed it!

I would definitely talk to Shelter, they were brilliant when I was having housing benefit issues years ago (when I privately rented)

You say you are worried about reporting her to the health and safety for the mould for fear of being evicted, but in all reality of she did evict you for this your council would have a duty of care and would be forced to house you! So that may not be such a bad thing really!!
 
as a tenant you have more rights than you think. It's not so easy to evict a tenant, your landlord would have to give you notice, then 6 weeks later they apply for a court order and they need to give a darn good reason for wanting to throw you out.
Anti social behaviour or non payment of rent, so even though it's bad housing don't put up with it. Speak out but don't let anyone threaten you. It takes ages to obtain an eviction order.ame even then the landlord has to apply for a bailiff to do the deed and it all takes timeu
time to go through the legal process.
Shelter will support you, don't make yourself intentionally homeless. or you could lose your place on the wailing list.
It's a rotten stressful business, but don't despair contact Shelter for advice.
Good luck x
 
Hi all

Had a bit of good news friday. I rang one of the housing associations i am on there waiting list for and am down for 3 different areas and they told me we are 2nd place on all 3 areas which is really good as with this housing ass no one can jump in front of you on the list its first come first serve so hopefully we may be offered something next year sometime. (fingers crossed)

tracey167
 
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