[mdotforreal]

Hi,

I am 19 and i live th my grandma in a council house.
How am i supposed to apply for my own council house?
Can someone help step by step how the system works? Points, etc.

[montyzuma]

you would be better off asking your local council

[colin44]

[montyzuma]

Thank you for that helpfull reply, colin


I'm sure at 19, the person will have a 25% deposit in no time.



If you simply want to wind people up there crying out for you in communiy and f&p

[clw1981]

As someone who is ex-homeless I can assure you that it does not bode well for anyone to state they can get housed by the council very quickly. I was not a drug addict or alcoholic nor did I have any children, in fact I have 2 health conditions which mean I should not be homeless but that did not stop the local councils saying no thank you.
I was homeless through no fault of my own so those of you suggesting to someone enjoy sleeping rough, I hope to God that you never have to go through that experience. It is not easy to get off the streets once you are on there, unless you have serious issues of course.
Please do not judge every homeless person as being drug addicts; alcoholics or criminals - some are actually genuinely in need!

[stephief]

I have just moved into a housing association house. In my local area our council dont have a waiting list or points system. What you have to do now is go to the office when you are facing homelessness and they look at your case and act straight away. If you can afford private rent, thats what they help you to find, and that includes if you are entitled to housing benefit. If you work but are on a low income (but too much to claim housing benefit) they will find you a council or housing association house. Within 2 weeks of applying my partner and I had been offered a choice of six different low rent properties to choose from (including two brand new build). As a single mum, which I had been for some time, I was never entitled to a low rent house, its only now I am part of a working couple we have got a permanent home. Its a good system, it means no one sits on a waiting list for years, if you will never get a house they just tell you straight away and they keep the housing stock there for people who need it, when they need it.

[Bluey]

[mdotforreal]

[Bluey]

[mutley1]

[mdotforreal]

[montyzuma]

t'would be easier in summer than in autumn

[pableau]

Wow, there are a lot of angry, racist and ignorant people on this thread. I work 'in the community' and I can assure you all, that most people who arrive in the UK are entitled to nothing... No benefits, no accommodation... Nothing. The only people who can claim any kind of benefit; have to have worked here for at least 12 months with a real employer; have paid taxes and not got in trouble with 'The Law'. Then and only then (following vetting and much form filling and delays) are they entitled to sign on...

It's the same if we go to their country as well... Although at least here, we generally don't have militia murdering and raping our relatives on a daily basis, stealing our property for a despot or bulldozing our houses to teach us a lesson.

NOTE TO GUMTREE ADMIN - Please delete the above posts that violate your ToS

[pableau]

re my last post: this is mainly aimed at people with their knee jerk reactions in the earlier pages... some of you have actually been really helpful.

The quickest way to get on a council housing list is by going to the council and being honest. If you present yourself and outline your situation, the council can be surprisingly helpful.

A friend of mine was recently made homeless after the company that owned her building went into administration. She has no children, a reasonably well paid job and no welfare issues. She was placed into temporary housing through a 'vulnerable adults' placement scheme and has since bidded for a one bedroom council flat which she moved into in September.

[Lesley1988]

Hi all,

Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated. I am a 21 year old, full time employed girl from Scotland currently living in rented accommodation with my mum who works full time and 18 year old sister who is in part time work. Up until recently we were getting on with things, granted we were struggling but now due to my mums hours being cut we are behind on our rent. We have now been served a notice to quit and have to be out in a month.

We are not going to be able to afford another private let as they all seem to cost the same as we could not afford to pay or even more. £450 rent, plus 130 council tax, gas and electricity all adds up to more than we bring in! I am paying a car every month along with insurance and cant afford to give my mum anymore than I am currently paying.

We could move back in with my granparents but it would be extremely over crowded and both my grandparents aren't in the best of health.

Our only option seems to be council housing as the rent is much cheaper and would help us enormously to get back on our feet. We've sent off the application and my mum has a meeting with them on Monday.

Just wondering what our chances are based on the information I have given on getting a house relatively quickly.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[colin44]

[hiigara]

[LondonChap]

get pregnant and go to the housing association with a letter from your parents/landlord saying that they are throwing you out

[Lesley1988]

Sell the car and use the bus or walk !!!

That will save you loads of money.

I am finding it hard to understand how between 3 of you working you can not cover the rent or bills.

Please tell us your combined income per month and what your rent + council tax is and I will set you a budget.

I can help.


Colin,
Unfortunately I am still paying for my car as I bought it when circumstances were much different. I had thought of that but its not an option.

Just because the 3 of us are working does not mean we are bringing in a great deal of money. My sister only work part time as a cleaner, my mum is in a low paid job and I'm a trainee at what I do so as you can imagine the wages aren't fantastic.

As previously stated the rent is £450 a month, council tax is 130 a month,
plus the gas and electricity bills, totalling around £650 a month.

(May I also just point out as well, when we took the house on there was four of us, my dad consequently left)

Trust me when I say we have been struggling for months to pay this, and have already tried to work out a budget.

I welcome any advice, but as you can imagine this a really upsetting situation, especially when we have never had to ask for any help before so I would appreciate it if you could take what I previously wrote seriously. This is our life.

[Bluey]

Colin is right to get you to examine your outgoings though he's not seeming particularly sympathetic. Go to a website like Moneysavingexpert that have hints, tips and advice on how to check your benefit entitlements and reduce expenses. There are people there who will sympathetically examine your statement of accounts and provide advice how to improve your budget. The whole ethos there is not to criticise those posting a thread.

3 women on minimum wage jobs (2 full time and one part time) can net £1500 per month after tax - your basic household bills are less than half that. Try not to take the advice so personally as a criticism of you but as a way of thinking around the box to resolving your financial problems.

3 working women should not be struggling to pay their rent (which is a priority bill) so do register with MSE, visit a CAB adviser to check benefit entitlements and your debts and look at the 'Entitled to' website. Contact Shelter about your impending homelessness and look at their site about the process for registering with the council and how homeless applications are dealt with.

Local councils do not always grant social housing tenancies. In areas where there is a shortage, they will facilitate the tenants to find private housing through a referrel scheme. Secondly, local council's will not assist those they deem to have made themselves intentionally homeless (i.e. evicted for rent arrears when the council believe the tenants could have but did not pay them).

The other thing that strikes me is that council tenancies, although often considerably cheaper, may only shave off £100 to £200 per month off your household expenses but since you probably being evicted for arrears much greater than this, this won't necessarily get you out of the hole you are in unless you bring in more income or cut expenditure.

My worry is that you regard a council tenancy as the full solution to your problems when you may not get one or if you do, it may not help you out of debt. This is why you need expert advice - CAB, Shelter, MSE.

Good luck, keep us posted on your progress.

[Lesley1988]

[quote="Bluey"]Colin is right to get you to examine your outgoings though he's not seeming particularly sympathetic. Go to a website like Moneysavingexpert that have hints, tips and advice on how to check your benefit entitlements and reduce expenses. There are people there who will sympathetically examine your statement of accounts and provide advice how to improve your budget. The whole ethos there is not to criticise those posting a thread.

3 women on minimum wage jobs (2 full time and one part time) can net £1500 per month after tax - your basic household bills are less than half that. Try not to take the advice so personally as a criticism of you but as a way of thinking around the box to resolving your financial problems.

3 working women should not be struggling to pay their rent (which is a priority bill) so do register with MSE, visit a CAB adviser to check benefit entitlements and your debts and look at the 'Entitled to' website. Contact Shelter about your impending homelessness and look at their site about the process for registering with the council and how homeless applications are dealt with.

Local councils do not always grant social housing tenancies. In areas where there is a shortage, they will facilitate the tenants to find private housing through a referrel scheme. Secondly, local council's will not assist those they deem to have made themselves intentionally homeless (i.e. evicted for rent arrears when the council believe the tenants could have but did not pay them).

The other thing that strikes me is that council tenancies, although often considerably cheaper, may only shave off £100 to £200 per month off your household expenses but since you probably being evicted for arrears much greater than this, this won't necessarily get you out of the hole you are in unless you bring in more income or cut expenditure.

My worry is that you regard a council tenancy as the full solution to your problems when you may not get one or if you do, it may not help you out of debt. This is why you need expert advice - CAB, Shelter, MSE.

Good luck, keep us posted on your progress.[/quote]

Thanks for your reply Bluey, I've printed it out and will give it to my mum to have a look at!
It such a mess as we've never had problems like this before or had any debt.
My grandparents are taking us in until we can sort something out, so worry over for just now.
Will keep you posted.

[colin44]

Hello again, I am sorry if I didn't seem particularly sympathetic.

The problem is I hear all too often about people who are having problems paying their rent, and most of the time this is simply just the tenant being frivolous with their money and not being over bothered if the landlord suffers as a result, as most tenants when they are struggling or fall into arrears don't care less how this affects the landlord and his credit rating.


I did how ever ask you a question, that question was ....
What is your combined income and what is your rent / council tax.

If you really are struggling why have you not been to the council to see what help that they can give.
OR
Get a 2nd job.

Do any of you smoke ?
Drink ?
Go clubbing ?
Waste money on other things ?

You say that you have a car on credit .... Do you REALLY NEED it ? ... You can still sell it as long as you settle the credit ( ask the loan company first )

A full time job on min wage is approx £1050 per month + Over time.

If 2 of you are working full time that = a min of £2100 per month + Over time . A worker only working part time ( say 20 hours per week ) would be on £500 per month.

So please tell me why you can not afford the rent... I think that if the truth be known you can afford the rent. What you can't afford is all the other things that you LIKE to spend your money on !!!

Yes I know that your Mothers hours have been cut ... But by what ? You did not say.

I am sure that you will tell me that I am wrong .... And I hope that you do ... But please give me / us some figures so we will be better informed.
It is no good to just say that you are struggling, as we are all struggling when compared to a millionaire !!!

I hope this helps

Colin

[stephief]

Hi,

You say your rent in £450 a month, I am in a housing association house (3 bedroom) and my rent in almost £400 a month, so not sure you would be financially much better off if you were given a council place. The council wont usually put you into a house which is too small for you. And often, not affording the rent is not a reason for the council to help you anyway. They would very closely scrutinise your income and outgoings before deciding if you qualify for help from them, and unless a car is absolutely vital for your work, it wont be classed as a priority outgoing. If they decide you have chosen not to pay your rent, but pay for something like a car instead, and you are evicted, they most likely wont help you at all as you will be classed as having made yourself homeless.
The best thing you can do is speak to your council and see what their policies are.

[Bluey]

[Natasha1989]