Disabled housing in Leeds ozzy2013

chiarieds

Hi @Ozzy2013 - Hoping you'll let us know, when you can, how you're doing. Personally, I hope I have not caused any offense. When opinions are offered, they are done hoping to help, but I'm not walking a mile in your shoes; only you know how everything affects you. Think we all just wish the best for you both.

Ozzy2013

Hi folks, sorry i vanished but I got majorly overloaded by everything.... The council tried messing with the medical requirements on our application, After we proved they had been there they put them back.... then tried redefining what they mean.... Apparently Leeds City council have nothing in place to ensure those with a medical requirement for a garden get one over those who just want one, apparently the "secure/accessible garden" tag on our medical requirements for rehousing is a tag given to anyone who wants a garden, yet last year they led us, our housing solicitor, Leeds special autism service, & my doctor to believe it meant private garden, I have autism & am in an electric wheelchair, I don't go out in public & haven't been outside in years now, I believe it would be considered a reasonable adjustment under the 2010 equality act as it has such a big impact on my health having nowhere I will feel safe outside in my wheelchair...... 

Then at the end of last week the council decided to send us a rather threatening offer, It gives us the address of a bungalow in an area we put on the housing application we would never consider (why ask if they're going to ignore it), With a Communal garden..... Then it goes on to threaten downgrading our bidding status if we don't accept the property, Then....THEN it says When we go to view the property we Will be given paperwork, we Must bring it with us & several forms of ID When we are signing for the tenancy....... How very rude, Threatening, & Demanding...... We tried CAB to get through to the local law centre on Thursday, but it had us on hold so long it diverted to the National Advice Line I think they said, They've given us the numbers for the Equality Advisory Support Service, & Our reference number from when we contacted the law centre at the start of the year for advice as our housing solicitor doesn't cover discrimination which he has witnessed & commented on in writing stating the council were acting "less than legal"......... so , calls to make tomorrow then..... I'm sure the council did it intentionally knowing my anxieties would build over the long weekend, helpless to take action until Tuesday with a 4 day timer on the offer...... & they're only doing it as they want us out of this place to avoid a £17,000+ disrepair bill they have already accepted in writing, They want to gut this place & give it a cheap tosh up for the next unsuspecting victim as I've seen them do many times with other flats round here that have damp proof failing, Rising damp, & black mould.... they rip all the plaster off, spray the brickwork with a mould killer, Slap new plasterboard up, & blame the next tenant for any damp problems when it all starts again, trying to invent reasons to evict people many times over the years because we have the nerve to complain, until we finally resort to getting solicitors, then they deny everything......

Sooo.... calls to make, I've emailed our local MP with all the details, & A few ministers as I'm unsure who would deal with this.... & The council to politely tell them how unsuitable the property on offer, & the way the offer was threateningly made to us was.... I've informed them we won't be accepting the property, & if they want to avoid the disrepair case downgrading our bidding status is the wrong way to go about it as we'll be here longer, They will have to spend all that money making the place truly livable, but It still can't be adapted for a wheelchair user within any budget they would be willing to shell out as they have stated, & the area we are in is unacceptable, so they will have to rehouse us in the end anyway after spending all of that money.... It would only make sense for the council to support one of our bids on a property even their computer system puts us first for, we will not be bullied into another 5-10years imprisoned within another property.... to me the garden is the most important requirement on our application, to sit in the sun again, grow some fruit & leafy veg in raised planters, somewhere I can have a shed to have my expensive electric wheelchairs repaired, It is essential equipment I can't just send away for repair, plus I've had repeated mobility companies create dangerous faults in my equipment when I get it back from them so they can claim on insurance... If it weren't for my disabilities I could strip that wheelchair down to it's smallest components & rebuild it, so I'll be supervising whomever is touching the new £10,000 powerchair I will be buying when we move to enable me to spend longer in the chair & do more for myself..... But yeah, Not sure how the council think they can discriminate like this, The requirement has been noted by every doctor (2 now), & every professional service i've been in contact with as essential for me to have safe & secure access to the outside world.... 

Eventually I will contact the right person to help, It may take me longer than most people pushing through my anxieties, but I never give up ??


Hope everyone's staying well in these worrying times, With my autistic anxieties we prepared  for lockdown long before the virus left China...... I feel very sad  for the world, but slightly relieved I don't look like a nutcase in my full face respirator if I need anyone in from the outside world.... A few days before the lockdown Leeds council sent our solicitor an email claiming we were being unreasonable requesting we reschedule a meeting as we had put ourselves on lockdown due to me being highly susceptible to respiratory infections..... Unreasonable? ????????

Stay safe everyone ?

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @Ozzy2013, it sounds like things have been so difficult for you and that you have had to really fight for the things that are completely reasonable.

How are things today? I imagine it's hard to get anything done at the moment with the lockdown. Stay safe.

Ozzy2013

Hi @Chloe_Scope, Feeling overloaded by it all, My housing solicitor says he doesn't consider the council have any grounds to downgrade our bidding status when the offer goes against medical recommendations not only for the property type & adaptations/adjustments to make it suitable, But I also have medical recommendations for the type of area the property is in.... With my autism & me being in a powerchair with limited ability, If I feel in danger & nobody will help me remove the threat without risk of it coming right back.... I will go to any lengths to ensure the safety of my family, even if that means breaking the law, & If I am attacked I can't control myself, I go into overload & try to disable the threat, it's a danger to others & myself as the massive amounts of adrenaline dulls the everyday pain of my other disabilities, I turn into a wild animal dragging the threat to the floor with me to destroy it, & I end up seriously harming myself in the process....... I grew up in London, I have alot of control over my autism & haven't laid a hand on anyone who isn't actually attacking me since the age of 10yo, But I have ended up in serious pain stuck in a police cell on the floor more than once where I'm currently living after opening my front door & being attacked by people thinking they can rob the disabled man easily, I can't handle it here, & We're not moving from one bad place to another when we know civilised areas still exist & have friends living local to them..... I have even resorted to calling the police for advice, I explained my disabilities to them & they are in full support of me avoiding situations that could cause a danger to me & others, I don't like violence & not only does it seriously damage me, I also feel bad afterward for hurting another person, even if he came at me with a metal handrail he pulled off the wall outside my door for example.....

We've made ourselves clear to the council now I believe, Ether give us suitable housing in a civilised area that meets all of our needs soon, or we'll wait & they'll still have to give us that after paying out on a disrepair court case they have accepted liability for costing them £17,000 plus fees & compensation for our lost/damaged possessions destroyed by the disrepair of this property.... we still want our possessions replaced either way, but they still stand to save alot of money just rehousing us somewhere acceptable asap, they are just trying their luck offering us the crapper attached to a bad area but posing as an area 3.3 miles away over open farm fields, not sure who they think they're fooling lol

The black mould here is giving me the same breathing problems as always, but at least we've remained isolated away from this deadly virus, We tried warning people at the start of the year but nobody ever listens to me about these things until after, Then they swiftly forget the next time I warn them of something & they ignore me, Nobody listens to the crazy autistic guy lol..... Just wish they had though, alot of lives could have been saved...... Hoping my final politely worded Email to Boris made a difference as we went on lockdown the next day, We can fix a broken economy but we can't bring the dead back, Prioritise the people!

Hope everyone's staying safe & sane, I know too well how maddening it is to be stuck inside constantly.... Just wish those who are able would go to the shops instead of ordering online... Finding it impossible to get any deliveries atm & I can't get out to a shop like the majority out there..... Tough times for everyone i guess ?

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @Ozzy2013, I can see the significant stress that the wrong house would have, as well impacting your own independence and safety. I hope the lockdown hasn't been too bad and that you have been able to get food when it's needed! 

If you need anything then please do let us know.