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huge housing issues!

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
i need to leave where i'm living by June due to my age, and it being a age dependent project. as i'm supported by social services they are meant to pay for my housing. what they normally do is either put people into shared housing with other people they have never met or into halls. Due to my many health problems neither of these are really viable options, but the rent they have said they will pay will not cover a flat in the area i'm living in now, or where my uni is.

I've been on the council house list for a year and half, and i'm still really far down the list, even though they are fully aware of my situation (not the having to move out part but the being a care leaver and my health problems), i'm still classed as having priority housing need (the top band)

I'm really unsure as to what i can do. Social services said that there is a very slim chance that i could get funding for a flat, but it would be very very unlikely. I could go to the homeless persons unit saying i'm goingt to be evicted within the next month, but they might stick me in B&B for however long they need (can be up to 3 years). So, i'm now stuck...help?

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Get in touch with Shelter.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I know I've asked this before, are you really really sure halls won't work? If you've got special requirements a lot of uni's can arrange for you to have the same room in halls for consecutive years, and all year round.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Just reading your post it seems very stressful! But maybe put housing in order of preference, and come up with new solutions to make the most preferential modes more likely.

    Example:

    1. Get your own flat
    2. Shared house?
    3. Halls
    4. B&B
    5. Some kind of hostel
    6. Homelessness

    etc.

    I don't know if that helps at all but some places at least at my university if you have special requirements you can get a room / flat all on your own. Of course these are based on availability and need but have you written that option off too soon?

    I think if they can't give you enough rent (are you claiming all elligible benefits? Can you work to top up your earnings?) then hoping a council house comes through is what you want to be hoping for, but other than time I can't see any way of increasing the chance that's going to happen anytime soon. So you may need to consider alternative options. Would bed and breakfast really be better than living in halls? Or a shared house?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    .
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i have and i'm not elegable.

    yes, halls would be preferable to B&B but i have big problems with noise, and am prone to insomnia if i can't have things pretty quiet at night. they are my last option, but i don't know if i'm going to get a place there. and i'd only be able to stay for the first year.

    maybe i'm asking for too much, but i just want a home more than anything. I'm fed up of being moved pillar to post, and i just want somewhere i can make my own to some extent. i have big anxity problems and halls seem like a really scary prospect. SS would have to pay the majority of the rent on halls but wouldn't pay for all of it. sharing a flat with people i'm not good friends with would be unfair on others due to all my health problems. watching me have a fit on the sofa every night is not pleasent, nor is me hogging the bathroom for days on end when my IBS is bad, and my anxiety would shoot through the roof. i have asked my mates but none of them are looking to move out.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't know what the situation is with halls for your uni...but at my uni I know there are some halls which are generally reserved for postgrad students (i.e. they're generally quiet and not full of rowdy freshers playing ring of fire :P)

    Halls also do vary a lot, halls I'm in are very noisy and the walls are like cardboard but it doesn't bother me.. some of the newer halls though are quieter and much better. Speak to the accommodation people at your uni, they might also have some halls/floors/etc where they put people who ask to be somewhere quiet. Because of your circumstances they might also let you stay for more than a year (I know it's possible at my uni.. but obv don't know about yours)

    Gd luck, really hope you manage to get something sorted.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've sent you a PM hon, just a bit of food for thought. If you don't understand anything let me know, but if you haven't had one done, get social services to assess your care needs. And then get down to your nearest Shelter Housing Aid Centre (you can find your nearest one here.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    oh god, i've got a trip to islington then :(
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You could ring the Shelter helpline tonight (they're open until midnight) on 0808 800 4444 to get some interim advice and if that isn't enough go up to the housing aid centre to see if a caseworker can fight your corner.

    Be sure to mention that you think you have some community care issues you want to talk about too. We've recently won some contracts to offer advice on that down south, not sure if that includes London.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    im sure you already have, but check out the student accomodation thouroughly - there usually is a very wide range e.g en suite which i guess would be good for you? and student houses where there are less of you.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    yeah i know my uni don't have uni houses just halls. i'll call them and see what else they can offer
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    SHELTER
    sHELTER
    SHELTER
    SHELTER
    SHELTER
    SHELTER
    SHELTER
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    update-

    got hold of shelter, and they basically said get myself a solicitor ( i have one dealing with my DLA claim atm, so i think he's going to have a look)

    but basicly, its against my interests to go into privately rented accommodation, so it's probably going to have to be halls. I've been told i can have a 3 year lease and i may be able to negociate having my own flat, or sharing with just one other person (probably someone else with a disablity or mental health problem which could be a good thing or a bad thing)...

    i'm not sure where i can really go from here. its not ideal by any means but i'm sick of fighting for everything, i'm already going to have to go to a tribunal for my DLA claim.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Does the uni you're thinking of going to have privately rented flats? I don't mean halls, but flats for students.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    only a list of approved landlords...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think getting yourself some specialist advice is your best bet. A good solicitor or a good advocate (try your local advocacy service) will help get around social services' gate-keeping. Gate-keeping is where they draft policies to try and restrict access to services.

    Get yourself a community care assessment from social services as this can sometimes trigger a duty to accommodate you under s21 National Assistance Act 1948. If the accommodation provided by other people (such as the housing department) is not suitable for your care needs then social services sometimes have to provide you with suitable accommodation.
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