Housing help

cjw237

We're a family of 5, in a  3 bedroom property, it's very small. My youngest has an asd diagnosis, and only sleeps for 3/4 hours a night. He has an ehcp in place, full time 121 at school. I don't want to change him schools because it's another change that would cause more problems. 

We're really struggling with space and applied for the council house list. They are saying that my youngest can have his own room, put my older 2 in the second bedroom, it's 7.62m2 and my older 2 are nearly 17 and 10. The 17 year old is starting work at 6.30 every day and at college also. 

We have had letters from the doctors, school early help team, greengables, sleep charity and photo evidence of the results of my youngest biting my middle one. 

We aren't classed as having a critical need due to their solution being put the older 2 together. You can fit 2 separate beds in either it needs to be a bunk bed. 

Has anyone any other suggestions for me? 

My husband has a chronic illness, I have sleep apnea at a moderate level. I get 4 hours a night max, I feel like I'm drowning and I'm so fed up of my youngest being so unsettled constantly. The oh from the council also made a decision from reading the application. Never came out and assessed us. 

Am I expecting too much for our needs to be a priority?

newborn

Please don't think I am minimising your problems, but however long you wait, maybe there is some make do way to improve things for the time being? Can you divide rooms, particularly the largest bedroom?

Sometimes parents use that for themselves, and they rarely are the ones who want to lay out a train set on the floor, so it is not necessarily the most logical decision!

(Parents also often don't know about 4' double beds, which can make all the difference between needing a double or a single room.)

If you can partition the double bedroom the two older ones might share without the older one disturbing the other. 

Of course I don't know your layout, but other answers could be using a dining room if there is one, or using the kitchen as a semi-living room.  Or using the living room to double up as the parent's bedroom, since they will be going to bed latest. Or, letting the grown up son have that as his bedroom, either as his sole use, or else with the parents and young brothers banished upstairs by, say, 9 in the evening . 

  There are all manner of make-do arrangements. Years ago when people had huge families they managed in tiny cottages or the famous Glasgow tenement flats, which actually had cupboards and drawers which pulled open to be sleeping places for the youngest . The preserved ones owned by the Scottish National Trust are a tourist attraction now. 

cjw237

No dining room. The kitchen has a 3 ft passage and that's it so no room for anything else.

The second bedroom isn't big enough for a double bed, it's wide enough for a single bed, hence the bunkbeds. The bigger room has a double bed a set of drawers and no room for anything else. 

My bathroom is downstairs so if someone uses the living room as a bedroom you have to walk through it to get to it so would disturb whoever is in there. 

poppy123456

The only advice i can give is to have a needs assessment for your youngest son by referring him to your local Authority. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/help-from-social-services-and-charities/getting-a-needs-assessment/

Are you currently living in social or private housing?

cjw237

@poppy123456 were in private rent. If my youngest didn't have additional needs tge situation would be different. It's my father in laws house and we were told he'd extend it 5 years ago. We've not had use of the front door since August due to him not fixing it 

poppy123456

Even if you're eventually given high priority this is band 2 and doesn't mean you'll be housed any quicker. It could still be a couple of years waiting. I would still advise you to refer your child for a needs assessment. The outcome of that may help with the housing banding.