Hi, my name is AJAM74! we need a bungalow, they are out of our budget in our area

AJAM74

Please help as my husband is disabled with a spine degenerative disease and his health and mobility is getting worse. We rent privately and have done for a number of years now but we need a bungalow, they are out of our budget in our area and we need to stay here due to GP and hospital and family help. What can I do? Is there any help we can get as the LHS we get in UC doesn't even cover what we are paying now, so no chance of getting anything more if we move to somewhere even more expensive. I don't know where to turn!

Alex_Alumni

Hello and welcome to the community @AJAM74 and thanks for reaching out yesterday. I'm sorry no one has been able to share their thoughts with you yet. I've moved your post over into our housing categories which will hopefully help. 

Have you looked into applying for council housing? I'm aware that the waiting lists can be years long, so of course this might not be an option for you, but if you'd like to read more, Citizens Advice has some information for you. 

The key things to bear in mind are: 

You’re more likely to get a council home if you’ve been given priority by your council's allocation scheme.
This could be if you’re:

• legally homeless or the council has a duty to find you accommodation if you’re homeless - check what help the council should give you

• moving because of a disability or serious, long-term health condition

• moving to a different area because of ‘hardship' - this could be to get medical treatment, because you’re in danger or to take up a new job

• in a home that’s overcrowded or in poor condition

It’s likely to take you a long time to get an offer - even if you get priority in your area. In areas with long waiting lists, you might not be offered a home at all. 

Advice Local is a site you can search for an adviser on lots of different topics including housing.

Have you spoken to your husband's GP about his condition getting worse, and the impact this is having on your day to day life at home? You might be able to talk about getting referred to an occupational therapist for additional support, or access to equipment and mobility aids. 

There's also the option of a Disabled Facilities Grant, but only if you are considered eligible by your local authority. 

I hope the about is helpful for you, and if we can do anything further then please ask, and we'll see how we can help   

Alex

Luchia

Best thing I could suggest is to request an Occupational Health assessment, the wait list for social housing can be years but it might help you with priority if OH think you need it.
Bungalows are like diamond dust so it might be better to broaden your search to ground floor flats as these would be easier to get it might also be a good idea to look at ground floor flats as a private rent as it.
Even with higher banding it could still be quite a wait depending on your area

AJAM74

Thank you for all your suggestions and advice. My husband has already got a OT and he is advising us to move to ground level accommodation. Thankfully we have now found a bungalow in our local area so haven't got to move too far but, its alot more each month to pay in rent? Is there any help out there?

poppy123456

Thankfully we have now found a bungalow in our local area so haven't got to move too far but, its alot more each month to pay in rent? Is there any help out there?

Will that still be privately renting? If so and there's just the two of you then you'll be entitled to the 1 bedroom rate of Local Housing allowance. You can check what the rate is per week here. https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/ for UC you will need to convert that amount to monthly, to do that you times the amount by 52 and then divide it by 12.