UK housing dificulties - any advice?

[babyjan]

I am also in London and am have been waiting eleven years for a home, we are band B (second highest band) and are still waiting.

I hope you have better luck than us

That's terrible!

Where you band b for the whole 11 years? Where I am (west London) people on band Bs get houses so easily, it's always band A & B getting homes.

 

[beth_terri]

Can I ask a question without offending anyone? What are council houses in London like? I have it in my head that they must be in the really bad gang areas! Am I completely wrong? I live in Scarborough North Yorkshire and I'm pleased to not have to live in a council house here because they aren't in very nice areas. And that's just in a small town never mind a huge city! Sorry if that comes across a but snooty, I'm just curious!

 

[Tasha]

babyjan I was band C for the first six months, band A for about four months and then band B ever since.

Beth we don't have much of a problem with gang culture here. There are two estates in my borough that I would class as 'rough', they are both huge though with thousands of flats and houses but the rest of the council homes are on small estates which tend to be quite nice or just down roads. Aside from the two estates I don't think that any where here is rough at all.

 

[Boomerslady]

I know this isn't hugely relating to OP but might be if she goes down the private route option. Can you apply for a council house if your private renting and recieve housing benefit?

When I was in exact same position as OP I was told by the council if I went down the private route I'd never get a council house as I'd have somewhere to live iykwim. I'd like to have the option to be on the list as a back up, even if its fir years.

Also Beth on my road it's all 2 bed masionettes (although I'm SE London/Kent so not in the centre) and a % of these are council properties. Also a girl I know who was in one temporarily got moved to a gorgeous new build 5 mins away and she told me all new builds now have to have a % as council properties, I don't know if that's gospel though! Deffo not a rough area though.

 

[maryp0ppins]

our neighbours are council and they live in a victorian conversion (bottom flat) its exactly the same as ours inside layout wise.
my oh and I applied to go on the list and were approved,sent all the documentation ans the council lost it! we got a letter 3 months later saying they never got the stuff requested so they were closing our file. I sent an appeal with a royal mail signed delivery copy ('housing') and never heard back! Have given up as its at least a 10 yr wait for us probably more like 15.

 

[randomrach]

If you get a private rented home while you're on the council list you can still be on it but you'll never be a priority so you're very unlikely to get one. Plus the average property here rents for quite alot over the local housing allowance so even if you qualify for full housing benefit, meaning you earn nothing or very little, you still have to pay 150-250 a month on top of it. That's why so many people on a lower income wait for a council or housing association property. The council also work with a very small amount of landlords that do offer affordable private rents but I think they rent specifically to people the council introduces them to.

It's not gang area here although the properties aren't exactly the quality of a private rent. They are within the local housing allowance though.

 

[stephx]

Yeah it's true- the council/HA always buys a portion of new builds

I'm so lucky that I got a new build house on a really small street, it's in an ok area on the outskirts of Bristol, but it's the only road off a large dual carriageway and there are no other houses around here. There are 34 houses and flats, and 70% of them are council- but everyone seems really lovely, surprisingly there are a lot of new cars and expensive furnishings :L hmm...

I can understand the OP wanting a council home over private renting with HB, a totally secure tenancy and a home for life Much better than dealing with snotty landlords and estate agencies and my rent is half the price of private renting

 

[Tasha]

Most new tenancies aren't for life now though

 

[stephx]

Most of the tenancys being offered in my area at the moment are, I think they are slowly bringing in shorter 'fixed length' tenancies.

 

[babyjan]

Yeah I've heard some are doing probation tenancies?

 

[Tasha]

Here and also where my brother lives (not far from Guildford), you get one year first of all and then provided you keep the property nice and don't get into rent arrears etc you then get a three or five year tenancy (depending on your circumstances) and then at the end of that it gets reassessed.

 

[Abigailly]

My two cents.

Go to your council, a lot of them do a scheme where they help you with a deposit for private renting where you save up and pay them back eventually.

We live an area with one of the shortest waiting times in the UK, a girl I know is a single girl living in a hostel with her daugter, she's been there for 10 months and has only just been offered a scatter house until they find her somewhere permanently.
So if you don't want to go into a mother and baby hostel or something similar I suggest you go private. One bad experience doesn't make them all.
Also, babies don't cost a lot of money if you don't want them to. You can get free and ridiculously cheap everywhere. Especially with the likes of Facebook pages.
As for your dog. I know how hard it can be to give up animals, but you may have to choose between it and your family. Accept that you'll go into a B&B and your partner will live elsewhere, and even then you wouldn't get to keep your dog.

 

[magicwhisper]

i would rent a one bed privatly, it may mean hiding your dog for a bit though. but most landlords when they realise you are decent and pay your rent ect let you have a animal unless they are big or malt. our house is not for pets but we asked and they let us have tim .

maybe there are cheeper areas of london to move to. (i am not from london so i dont know sorry)