Flat for single person. Questions

W348
W348 Community member Posts: 109 Contributor
edited August 27 in Housing and independent living

I have ESA and was recently awarded PIP. I feel I could afford to leave home.

I haven't left home before, I want to try, and see if I can cope with this.

I'm just looking for some general advice as I don't really have a clue where to begin. Is there some sort of council flat list that I need to somehow get on, does claiming disability benefits mean they would be less likely to stick me in a rough area?

I feel like council properties are probably really tough to get into, especially for singles. If there's a waiting list or something though then I would like to get my name on it.

Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 60,028 Championing

    You can put your name down on the list for social housing but as a single person it may take many years to be rehoused. The waiting list is likely to be many years.

    https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-council-housing

    Your Local Authority would not know anything about any specific areas, that will be for you to find information on. With neighbours, I've always found it's more of a case of "pot luck"

    You could also look to see if there's any private landlords that will accept someone claiming benefits but this isn't going to be easy either. Many landlords refuse benefit tenants.

    If you do find somewhere else to live and you're still claiming ESA, you would need to claim Universal Credit for help with any rent. This will then end your Income Related ESA 2 weeks later.

  • Luchia
    Luchia Community member Posts: 509 Empowering

    Hey

    Firstly you would need to contact your council and register to go onto their housing list, This can take several weeks if they accept you onto the list, you will be given a default banding once the account is activated and will then be able to bid on properties(you can place 2-3 bids per week).

    You will also need to apply for an occupational health assessment with your council, this can take several months so it’s best to sign up asap, Someone will come out to your home and talk through your health conditions and how they affect you in your current home, if they decide your current housing is suitable they might not be able to help but this is an important step as they are able to increase your banding if they find your current housing to be unsuitable.

    Once your able to bid on properties you will login to the website and place bids on the property your interested in, bare in mind a bid is only to tell them you wish to be considered for the property, if someone has waited longer or has a higher priority than yourself the offer will go to them even if your showing as 1st.

    The council won’t stick you in a bad area as you are responsible for placing the bids, keep in mind the more desirable an area the lower the chance you have of been made an offer as people who have waited longer or higher priority/need will be offered first.

    Even with a higher banding you may still be waiting several years as there’s a chronic shortage on council housing across all of England.

    Also keep in mind what you bid on as you aren’t able to refuse a property without a very good reason(for example you use a wheelchair full time and the doorways in the property aren’t able to accommodate a wheelchair etc)

    Banding is pretty much the same at all councils they just use different terms

    A/Platinum - Urgent need for immediate housing(you won’t get this as it’s got extreme situations)

    B/Gold - High priority due to medical needs, current home is unsuitable/risk to health

    C/Silver - High need but not urgent due to medical or health conditions

    D/Bronze - Low priority, no medical/health risk, standard banding.

  • W348
    W348 Community member Posts: 109 Contributor
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/903159#Comment_903159

    Hmm, I didn't know they would want to come out for assessment. I will leave it for now, not ready for all that. Appreciate the insight, thanks.

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 60,028 Championing
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/903336#Comment_903336

    They will only come out to do that assessment if you refer yourself for a needs assessment. You don't have to do that. Though it may help you to move out a little quicker but that will depend on your current housing situation.

  • vikki66
    vikki66 Community member Posts: 588 Empowering

    Hi, I just wanted to say that it might be worth putting your name down with your local authority, and also any housing associations in your area (ie filling out their application forms).

    Social housing has been in crisis for a long time, and, though it’s not really likely that you’d be be offered a home quickly, if you have your name down you can always update the application if your circumstances change.

    From experience, private rental can be very expensive, and benefits are unlikely to cover the whole amount of your rent.

    Maybe you could read up a bit on allocations policies in your area, and also look at how much private rents are, so you can prepare yourself in case there comes a time when you really feel you need to move.

    Good luck with it all in the future.

  • W348
    W348 Community member Posts: 109 Contributor

    Just wanted to say thanks for your advice everyone, I will try to look into this some more next week. Just juggling a few other things in the meantime but will get back to this. Cheers.

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