Help with housing, council seem to not have any sense of urgency

prevailinthedark

hello I’m new here

Basically trying to keep this short

Myself and my partner where private renting

We approached the council for help with accommodation due to my partner’s disabilities becoming worse and I had to stop working to care for her full time, they put us in temporary accommodation and have just accepted full housing duty she uses a wheelchair primarily to get around as well as aids when she’s having a good day she has many different health problems including a heart condition which causes her to be a falls risk she frequently blacks out and falls.

The council have currently put us on a 3rd floor with a lift however the lift is frequently out of order due to the fire alarm constantly being set off which deactivates the lift which in itself is a problem because if there was a fire or emergency there’s no way I’d be able to get her out in time we’re at our wits end at the moment we’re so stressed about the situation and the council just seem to not have any sense of urgency regarding this I’ve emailed and complained and also contacted the local mp I haven’t herd anything of substance back yet and I just don’t know what to do from here any advice would be much appreciated.

Adrian_Scope

Hello @prevailinthedark and welcome to the community.

Unfortunately, council housing is in very high demand, and in many areas the waiting lists can stretch over several years. Each local council has its own system for deciding priority or “banding”, so the first step would be to check what band you’ve been placed in or what priority level you have been given. If your partner’s health or mobility needs have worsened since you were assessed, it’s worth asking for a review or reassessment of your priority level.

Has your household been assessed by a housing occupational therapist? If they formally recommended a ground-floor or fully accessible accomodation it might help. However, it is worth noting that there is often an even longer wait for accessible housing, bungalows and ground floor apartments.

Shelter might also be able to help. They are the legal experts when it comes to housing and I believe they can help with understanding your rights, and what next steps you should take. ext steps, letters, or how to challenge unsuitable housing.

Have you written a follow up email to your MP?

Please keep us updated on how you get on.

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Kimi87

These things vary so much from place to place, in my area those classed as homeless are not allowed to refuse a offer, whether that is a direct offer or successful bid, anyone else is allowed to say no up to 3 times, after which a discussion will take place between applicant & housing offer.

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igglypop93

I don't know if you'll see this but it might be a good idea to get a fire safety assessment done. If you contact your local fire dept they should come out to assess things for you. I got mine requested through OHT but they were so helpful and noted on their system there was someone who couldn't evacuate on their own at the address so they'd know if anything happened. They were also kind enough to email.the council.on my.behalf and emphasise the risk to me remaining where I was. I dont think.it.made a huge difference to.my waiting time to be placed in the adapted ground floor flat im in now but who knows, it might help :)

onlymeagain

I feel for you. We waited 16 years. However, what finally did it for us was going to the LGO. (Local Government Ombudsman) I had made sure we had a paper trail and I kept screenshots from the bidding list etc, which all helped build a case.

prevailinthedark

that’s very helpful information thank you very much I’ve just sent off an email to the fire service and hopefully that will be a little extra supporting evidence to present to the council.

Just to update

The mp has finally got back to us and will hopefully put some pressure on the council to get things moving forward.

Still waiting on home move for a mobility assessment so we can be in the correct banding.