Emergency housing

bookrabbit

My son and I have to present to the council as homeless on Monday morning and I have been told we will be assigned a support worker and placed in a BnB or a hotel.

My question is how much of the charge for a hotel will be covered? Are we going to lose all our savings? We have been hoping to pay enough rent upfront to induce a private landlord to take us but if we have to pay it all out for a hotel we will lose that possibility. Not that we have got close enough to a landlord to offer to do that as in 3 months of looking we only got 1 viewing and they just ignored us after we filled in the pre application form.

I don't know how I am going to get through Monday. I haven't been anywhere except to the GP since before the pandemic and can't sit on a chair without my legs getting pins and needles and becoming really painful and then I can't walk when I stand up. I will struggle to make it to the toilet without wetting myself. I suppose that at least as it is face to face they will be able to see my problems and not doubt them the way PIP did from doing a phone assessment. I got awarded lower mobility for being unable to plan and carry out journeys but nothing for my mobility problems or care needs. (My friend who supports me has submitted a mandatory reconsideration for me as she was scandalised by the decision.)

The TAST (targeted adult support team) team is going to be supporting us but we only met them on Thursday and consent isn't in place for them to talk to the council plus the support worker doesn't work Mondays. We really needed more time to get ready for this. They were only able to discuss it very generally with the council and tell us where to go. My friend is going to take us and stay and support us.

I feel like a rabbit dazzled by headlights about to be run over. I can't eat or sleep or think straight. Today I have to send away the last of the animals from the sanctuary I have been running here for the last 18 years. It is excruciating. 

bookrabbit

Thank you

Kimmy87

Shelter has some information:

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/homelessness/emergency_housing_from_the_council/types_of_emergency_housing 

bookrabbit

Thanks I already read all that. It talks about benefits for hostels and council accommodation but doesn't say anything about BnBs or hotels.

bookrabbit

I have now spent 4 nights in the hotel and still don't know the answer to this question! I just asked on my UC journal maybe they can tell me.

We were placed out of area so I haven't seen a housing officer except briefly when we presented at the Town Hall on Monday morning and so haven't had an opportunity to ask. The only thing about money in the offer letter to sent my online housing account was £ to be confirmed and that they think it is affordable as required by law. Hopefully that means that housing benefit will cover it...

It is a very nice hotel so a soft landing for now at least.

The council we presented to wants us to switch to another one so there's a lot of uncertainty. Our local connection is with the first one but after what we have been through here we would rather be away from the coercive people and closer to the friend who has been supporting us. Which this hotel is. But it is only booked until Monday. 

poppy123456

I'm unsure whether all your rent will be covered. What I do know is that you will need to claim housing benefit for help with your rent, from your local Authority because it's temporary housing. Rent will not be paid in with your UC so asking on your journal isn't going to help because they will very likely not know the answer. 

I do hope you'll find somewhere permanent very soon. 

bookrabbit

I was asking about changing my address anyway so thought asking them about that too wouldn't hurt. I don't know if I can use my friend's address as a care of address or if they want the hotel address. If they are paying for rent they would obviously need the hotel address. Of course as it is out of area they might want to swap job centres.... So many details to think about. Which is just as well really. I need something to replace my routine or I will go mad from boredom mixed with anxiety. I hate not having things to do and my routine is what would normally calm me down.

bookrabbit

They said I should give them the hotel address which I did. They then cancelled a telephone interview booked for the end of march at the old job centre to one this Wednesday in the town where the hotel is. I have told them I can't go without someone to support me and that I can't ask the person who usually does that because I already asked her to help with my WCA on Friday and she already does too much for me. Also I will have submitted another fit note by then assuming my GP will do it now I am living out of area. The receptionist wanted me to find another GP but this is only a hotel room and I probably won't be here long and the Borough council there are the ones who booked it.
Yesterday I was quite relaxed about it all but the stress is building again and my son has taken a turn for the worse too and won't leave the hotel room or talk to me:( I am tiptoeing about trying not to disturb him as he has a big need for personal space being on the autistic spectrum too and we are even having to share a bed:(
I am still not sure what to do about housing benefit as I don't know how much to put on the form as it just says £to be determined on the offer letter we got. I assume the housing officer will eventually tell us what to do after half term when she is back at work.
 
I need to keep reminding myself that this still isn't as bad as the things I was imagining before it actually happened and hold myself together for my son. I am glad I am not having to go through this alone and that he isn't either. 

Hannah_Alumni

I'm so sorry @bookrabbit I can hear how it is frustrating trying to balance it all. Neither of you are alone and can chat with us anytime

Hopefully the housing officer will get back to you early in the week and you can get all the forms sorted  

bookrabbit

I finally got the agreement from the housing officer to sign after a month of being in the hotel. 
It looks as if all we are liable for is £3.62 a week for breakfast which seems ridiculously low!
And I could be wrong. 
My son had his work allowance dropped to £379 from the higher level in the last assessment period so he did have extra deducted from his UC so he has paid something towards it already and UC are obviously aware of a housing benefit claim even if we haven't been told anything about it. I assume we would have been kept better informed if we weren't out of area.

Anyway I am less concerned now as I was worried in case we would be charged the full cost of the breakfast here even though we would never have bought it ourselves given the choice about whether to spend that much on it. But I would have been happy to pay an affordable amount a fair bit higher than £3.62 a week. Although we have been spending the same amount of money on food shopping as we did before because food that can be eaten cold is more expensive.

poppy123456

If your son is claiming for his share of the housing costs through Housing benefit then this will be why his work allowance has decreased to £379/month, instead of £631/month. 

bookrabbit

That must be why. But housing must have done the claim for us because neither of us have heard anything from them about it. I would have expected some type of notification!

We are sitting here now hoping to hear that they have rebooked the hotel so we can find out whether we have to swap rooms or pack up and move entirely in which case I need to get someone to come and collect us tomorrow morning before 11.

Jimm_Scope

I hope it all goes well @bookrabbit, please do keep us updated

bookrabbit

I just found out that the hotel is too fully booked to accommodate us past the 11th. I don't know where we will go now:(

poppy123456

You will need to contact your local Authority and they will be able to help you. 

bookrabbit

They are the ones who told us their booking company couldn't do it. I'm hoping that they will let us know what's happening today rather than leave us guessing overnight.

bookrabbit

Just heard that we will stay here until Monday then they will book us in somewhere else.

Albus_Scope

Sorry to hear they can't let you stay in the same place @bookrabbit, but I'm glad to hear you can at least stay over the weekend, that'll stop any manic rushing about I guess?

bookrabbit

We were told we could stay but it still hasn't been rebooked and check out time is approaching and I still don't know if we need someone to come and fetch us this morning:(

bookrabbit

We didn't get the booking confirmed until lunchtime so we had to pack everything up and be prepared to move. But it got sorted finally and the hotel even rearranged things so we could stay in the suite which is not what the council are paying for. 
We are here until Tuesday now. I hope it isn't quite so last minute next time, that was very stressful again 😕

This afternoon my son has a UC meeting that I will have to accompany him to which is also very stressful. Not the best of days

Albus_Scope

We're all keeping our fingers crossed for you @bookrabbit, hopefully the UC meeting goes smoothly for you both.