Friday, 25 May 2012

Pregnant and living in Housing associaiotn bedsit...Advice needed!

Posted in: Need to Know | Ask the Experts

12/09/2010 9:43 am

Samantha Chapman

Samantha Chapman

Posts: 3

I have lived in a housing association bedsit for 3 years. This was suitable when I was single but, my partner moved in with me in October 2009, and now I am 3 months preganant with our first child (due Mar 2011).

I sent a transfer application form to the housing association over a month ago, and have recieved no formal acknowledgement from them. I have called to check they have the form, and they confimed that they have, and would be in touch.

I'm stressing myself out, worrying about the three of us being stuck in one room when the baby is born. Should I call them again and keep nagging? Do they HAVE to move some one in my situation? Do I need to prepare myself for being here for a couple of years? I can't afford to rent privately as we will be living mainly on my partner's salary.

I appreciate any advice I can get! Many thanks.

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Junior

Junior

Posts: 649

12/09/2010 2:53 pm

Samantha without sound rude and uncaring.  I heard your circumstances about the accommodation.  But need to here your circumstance re if either or one of you are working.

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Anonymous

Anonymous

12/09/2010 3:17 pm

Junior or EVA can't you read the young lady said that her boyfriend was working.

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Junior

Junior

Posts: 649

12/09/2010 3:21 pm

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Junior

Junior

Posts: 649

12/09/2010 3:43 pm

Sam I would go to the office and ensure you anything regarding to your application for a transfer is hand deliver and date stamp and do you do have a bidding system.  What area of England do you live in.

I beleive that your on the internet and remember you can apply to any Council of Housing Association in the UK.  "See Freedom Pass under moving anywhere in the UK.

Look at you local authority Common Housing Register.

This is hard until the baby is born nothing will change and not until its x amount of years old classed has a child.

You have to get down to Legal Centre or go to a local library and look up your rights.

Also see if you Housing Association has a schedule called under rurles called the Overcrowding Reduction Initiative.

I be honest we have human being living in two bedroom property's with over 10 people living in the accommodation.

You say you cannot afford to rent.

Last speak  to Shelter wait a long time for a answer it is a freephone number.

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Samantha Chapman

Samantha Chapman

Posts: 3

13/09/2010 10:42 am

Thanks for your advice. Both me and my partner are working at the moment, but it will just be my partner from March next year. I CAN afford to pay rent, just not privately (as I said in my first email). It will cost over well over £1,000 a month and we wouldn't be able to eat! Whilst I appreciate there are thousands of people living in crowded situations, I can only worry about my own case. And seeing as our bedsit can only fit a bed, I'm naturally stressed and worried about what will happen when my child arrives. Also, my partner works various shifts and sometimes comes home in the early hours of the morning. If he wants to eat, or watch TV, he can't do so without disturbing the baby. At least 10 people in a 2 bedroom flat have a living room as well as the bedrooms. I don't have even have that.

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McMadman

McMadman

Posts: 26

13/09/2010 11:37 am

I feel really sorry for your situation but, to answer one part of your enquiry, your landlord is not legally obliged to house you. It is not, at a bvasic level, responsible for the fact that you are having a child and can only allocate properties that it actually has available.

At the moment most allocation policies are based on assessed need and also take into account time waiting. That may not assist you; however, recent debate has been about a move away from strict needs based allocations policies only to taking into account, amongst other things, people needing to move for work related reasons and so on. So that might (or might not) help in the future.

Shamefully - for both Labour and the Tories - years of underfunding in the public housing sector means that your enquiry is regrettably not at all uncommon, in fact across the UK there are thousands in the same position as you, and many in even more pressured circumstances. But, housing just doesn't have the profile; the public and the politicians just do not care enough about it and people like you and many others, who either have no home or struggle to afford accomodation which is unsuitable.

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Samantha Chapman

Samantha Chapman

Posts: 3

13/09/2010 12:11 pm

First of all, my landlord IS obliged to move me, because they say so on my rental agreement, in regards to overcrowding, and have also confirmed this on the telephone. Its against their regulations. The only thing they can't do, quite obviously, is snap their fingers and give me a flat because there is a waiting list. I realise I'm not a special case and that there are other people in my situation. You're only telling me what I (and everyone else in this country) already knows - that it is overcrowded. But, that doesn't mean I have to sit on my behind, and say "oh well, I'll do nothing and wait 7 years until something happens."

My main reason for writing on this board was to seek advice about what routes to take. How I can progress - bidding on properties etc. I know little about it.

Thanks for trying to help - but drilling me with the facts about thousands of people living in crowded flats isn't going to help. I KNOW this. I grew up in a 1 bedroom council flat with 7 people until my Mum got moved when I was 16. I know this more than anyone.

Thanks though!

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Harry Lime

Harry Lime

Posts: 164

14/09/2010 11:41 am

Samantha, I would have another look at the wording where you claim they are obliged to move you.  I suspect (but may be wrong) that the wording is along the lines that they will "help" "facilitate" or words to that effect for those that are overcrowded.  the phrasing is important, it doesn't mean you will have a position to necessarily force them to move you ahead of others, just that if you ask, they will assist, it's not a guarantee.

What it probably will mean is that you will obtain a degree of priority, but will then be up against others in the same situation as you, and if your landlord has a high number of bedsits there are likely to be others in identical situation to your own, in which case any extenuating circumstances you have that migh make you more of a priority than others could be a factor.

Time served on the list is usually the main one where you have people in the same circumstances, but any other factors may help oyu, even the point about your disrupted family life due to your partners working pattern might be considered, particularly if others in the list haven't jobs (this shouldn't be to their detriment, but could add weight to yours) 

I'd receommend obtaining their transfer/CBL allocation policy and go through it carefully and see what weighting or priority your case should indicate and ensure you provide them with the evidence to back that up.

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tags Accountability, advice, affordable housing, Allocations, antisocial tenant, arrears, Best Practice, care and support, careers, comment, complaint, council, councils, discrimination, discussion, eviction, HA renting, help, homelessness prevention, Housing, housing association, housing associations, housing policy, rent, urgent

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