Council housing

scraggs

Hi there it's been a long time I have been in here ? having COPD I have just got over a nasty chest infection 4wks and feeling very weak been on two lots steriods and antibiotics and using my inhalers it's been a struggle. I have the keys to a long awaiting bungalow over 2 years of waiting and no home to call my own untill now. But with this pandemic I cannot move into it as cannot get vital white goods bed etc ( as do not have anything ) it's not possible to live there untill I can get the essentials. However I have had a council tax bill also to pay rent when I cannot occupy it whilst this situation of pandemic subsides. I was asked by council that I could surrender the property but I cannot do that as I have waited so long to be housed. Any info would be gratefully apreciated. Also even though been ill with my copd I have had no letter from drs saying I'm vunerable ( I also have secondary progressive ms) I cannot line up outside in big lines waiting to get in all around car parks !!! For over an hour at a time. I feel I'm being ignored even though doctor phoned me and could hear I was struggling breathing through having chest infection I was told I most likely have the virus but there is no testing. So just been left to struggle

Chloe_Scope

Really sorry to hear this @scraggs! It sounds like this house means a great deal. I would suggest giving Shelter a ring as they might have some more information about where you stand with the current pandemic.

Here is some information about how to access essentials during covid19, I'm sorry to hear your GP has not been supportive in this. 

Please do let us know how you get on. 

scraggs

Thankyou for your kind help means alot to me x but apparently I'm not vunerable!! With ms and COPD yet do know people that don't have my illness get food parcels every week from government ? I don't mean to come across selfish but I feel I'm left on the shelf literally ? if they can get it without having COPD and ms what am I doing wrong ? but once again thankyou for the information I will check this out x

Adrian_Scope

Hi @scraggs. How are you getting on? It may be worth you speaking to your council about a discretionary housing payment (DHP) to help cover the rent until you are able to move in. 

scraggs

Hi people hope everyone is ok x I need some advice I eventually moved into a bedsit bungalow after all my struggles however I was moved in just 3 days and was savaged by neighbours dog that came under the fence ?requiring surgery and a few months of dressings it has left me mentally scarred and physically scarred ? my luck just bad luck one after the other ! Anyway I didn't look at this property properly when showed around and didn't think how small this would be when furniture in also bath way too small not good access to the back garden etc I have had a occupational therapy assessment and they have put in recommendations that the property is unsuitable and I need to be moved ( secondary progressive ms ) walking problems etc however the council have asked me to fill another housing form out ie all docents etc required which they have on record as I have only been in the property since June 2020 they have telephoned me on numerous occasions which I feel they are bullying me saying if I don't fill this out I can't move ? Or they cannot move me ? They are arguing with me instead of helping me making my ms worse through stress ? can someone give me some advice ie can they force me to fill in these forms like they are doing ? I'm being harrased by different sections of council they are saying they have not had any report from occupational therapist ? Etc etc thanx for any advice on what I need to do 

Ross_Alumni

Hi @scraggs

I'm sorry to hear what you went through with the dog attack and the impact it has had on you. Are you still receiving support with recovering from it?

Regarding the forms, if it's the councils policy that they need to be filled in before anybody can be found a move then I'm not sure what alternative you would have. 

Are they lengthy forms to fill out? You could always ask for assistance from a loved one with filling them in? 

scraggs

Hi Ross thankyou for your reply ? I have had no support from recovering from the dog attack whatsoever! Apparently the housing forms are lengthy same as when you fill in housing registration form ? But only 10 months ago I gave in everything they needed  ie identification medical forms bank statements passports husband's entire tax calculations medical forms etc ? I'm so fed up ? this is a studio bungalow I have been through lengthy occupational therapist assessments and now I have to fill medical forms in again? As well as trying to get every price of evidence for them when I don't have access to pc only my not so good phone ? I cannot go out as I'm isolating due to being clinically extremely vunerable ( my husband is my carer) and also don't use internet as he's dyslexic ! I am thinking of going into private renting as in 10 months I have not stepped outside not only because of covid but being severely savaged by a dog has really affected me ) the neighbour and I share same pathway and she does not talk as it's a very touchy subject ( had to go court and her dog destroyed) so this in itself is not good on my mental health either, ( she never did opligise) the council did not think it warranted a move after seeing my horrific injuries. But my point is the occupational therapist has said this home is unsuitable I need wheelchair accessible property due to deterioration of my illness not being able to use or have a bath and definately not wheelchair friendly inside absolutaley impossible I struggle getting around with just my walking stick ? just feels I have to jump hoops to justify myself to everyone ? it's just awfull they are shouting at me and talking down to me like they have authority over me and it's making me very unwell xx thanx for your reply though much apreciated  

woodbine

Its always a difficult one and we often don't see the problems when looking at a property which has no furniture in it, i'm afraid if the council need the forms filled in that's what you will have to do as @Ross_Scope says could you get help from family or a friend?

Garza

Have you thought about contacting the media and/or your local MP to highlight your case and the treatment you are getting?  Seems to me that often getting media attention is the best way to solve things these days 

woodbine

@Garza to be blunt the media seem quite busy atm, and i'm not sure they would be that interested in someone who has somewhere to live when there are thousands who are homeless tonight.

Garza

@woodbine I was merely offering my own view on potential options to help this person out of what sounds like a horrible situation, I don't think the fact that there are homeless people should mean that he should just manage in unsuitable accommodation as he cant be held responsible for the countries housing crisis 

If they believe they are being bullied by the council as it is suggested their MP is duty bound to look into any constituents concerns 

I also stand by my assertion that media input and raising the profile of a situation is a valid avenue, of course I recognise what is happening in the country and globally but this doesnt account for 100% of media attention

scraggs

Thankyou Garza I am in a horrible situation atm and to reply to woodbine I am fully aware of homelessness as I myself was kept homeless for 3 years by this council had to sofa surf for those years and as I'm 60 also struggling with ms. I didn't expect to be in an unsuitable property that has been proven to be unsuitable for my needs. I have a great concern for homeless people and my son regularly gives money to homeless charities.i don't mean to be horrid about anything or to come across ungratefull in anyway whatsoever I don't like to be dictated to by council authority when they left me 3 yrs without anywhere to live previously,and to talk to me like they have is not very nice ? they are backing me into a corner and putting barriers up so it's not me being unreasonable I have no fight left in me tbh? I do have very strong compassion of homeless people but I feel sorry for them if they have to fight over the barriers I have had too.not nice at all.a home should be where you can feel safe and secure and be able to live comfortably not a living nightmare ?

Ross_Alumni

You don't come across as ungrateful at all @scraggs, I absolutely understand why you are so stressed by this right now. The council shouldn't be dictating to you, it must be upsetting to experience. 

Are you receiving the support you need from health professionals to manage your MS?

@Garza and @woodbine both make interesting points about the media, and I'm sure nobody is intending to make you feel horrible or suggest you're ungrateful, everyone here wants what's best for you  

scraggs

Hi Ross I know that no one is trying to be horrid to me sorry if I come across as thinking that ? just that I'm not ungratefull just need some advice to stop the stress it's giving me the council have telephoned me several times and have been abrupt etc as though I am in the wrong , as I said the opt out in a recommendation that home is not suitable and I need adaptable property ( I am struggling in here) I am then being inundated with council forcing me to do something I refuse to do as they have all my documents ( 3 years of stress getting everything they needed to house me) I am not going to fill more forms in to get medical evidence ( they already have from opt) where and dates where I have lived in last 5 years? I find this irrelevant ? I don't want to be forced to get stressed anymore to get all over again it has been proven that I need to move ( I'm not asking them to put me on housing register as I'm in one of there properties already. It has left me to stress all this weekend as they are going to phone back Monday. When I have said I don't want to fill there form in ?

Ross_Alumni

I understand @scraggs

If filling the form in is the only way you can be provided with somewhere suitable to live, then please consider seeking assistance with filling it in. I'm sure it would be an easier process if you had help from someone I do fully understand though why you don't want to, you shouldn't have to.

scraggs

Thankyou for your reply much apreciated x just that the unesasary stress of it all I thought due to the opt saying I need to move that the property is unsuitable that would be sufficient ? I'm not asking to go onto there housing register again and the stress that comes with it. These last 4 years have been a living hell for me. I have lived sofa surfing at my age and with a disability due to this council insisting on every price and detail of my life that had taken them over 3 years and me to suffer for 3 years. to then being savaged by a dog only been in property 3 days ! To then get assessment to say property is not suitable to having to go over the same stress all over again  with all there demands ? I'm just so so fed up and feel really ill.?

Ross_Alumni

I can completely understand how you feel @scraggs, you shouldn't have to be filling in another form when you've provided them with so many details lately. Please consider your options and do what you think is best for you  

scraggs

Thankyou x