Question regarding Local Authority Homeless policy

Yes. From what Frances has posted so far, it sounds like it will be a vague covering of backs, non-committal and precedent-avoiding.

I'd be very interested to see the content.
And I'll have piece of the sweepstake action. I'll go for a higher word count, though - 400, I think - on the basis that the few Council solicitors I've dealt with have been pretty long-winded and verbose. Why say something clearly in 100 words when you can say it really confusingly in 400? :o)

Whether it's 100 or 400 words I suspect the content will have the same value, i.e. none LOL. I hope to be proven wrong though obviously!

I'm afraid that distasteful though it may seem to you non-British citizenship is fundamental to the question of who should be first in line for the limited supply of council housing.
anyone who espouses the cause of British citizens first for council accomodation is NOT racist.B

I was referring to non-working tenants who get EVERYTHING for free as they know how to work the means-testing situation.
I appreciate that there are supposed grey areas as to housing someone in council accommodation.
Believe me if a sinlge parent with 2 children was ecivted by her LL for failing to pay LHA to the LL and went to the council with an eviction order she would be housed by the council in cheap council accommodation.
A LL doesn't need to give any reason why she is being evicted.
Personally I would advise the council as it would be most unlikely that the council would house once they had bbenm advised by the LL that she was being evicted due to not passing on LHA.
She won't be paying any rent as she will be unemployed.
It would be most likely that even if 2 months of LHA was not passed on that it would be unlikely to have too much of a negative impact on her being given council accommodation.
I appreciate that granting council housing is not formulaic and as you suggest all aspects are taken into consideration with no prescriptive response ever being given.
If I was a Romanian Gypsy with 5 children who turned up to the council housing dept advising that I was homeless, you would put me in council acommodation and give me ALL the benefits I would qualify for.
This is where the allocation of council housing is going all wrong.

Please can someone help me, I've been on the housing bidding for 3 years, my landlord has served me with a section 21, I have a 5 year old daughter and I'm on benefits, I've been offered a job to start in January but I'm in no fit state mentally to take this job, the local council have give me more points( 230) but my housing officer who should be helping me has advised me I will not be housed by social hosing and to look for rented accommodation I explained I've looked and there is nothing available in the area the officer stated for me to move out the area and take my daughter out of school, all my family live near me and this is very upsetting, one housing officer said I will get ten more homeless points once my section 21 has expired, and it will make me top priority I feel sick of the fact I won't be housed and my housing officer has told me I will not need the ten more points for homeless as I have a long time to find rented accommodation. My expiry date of the s21 is feb 2, 2013 this is not long pease please can some help and advise me of what will happen and will the council help me when my daughter was born I was in a mother and baby unit and it was the worse stage of my life and it should of been the best, I really don't want to go back to this help help please someone x

Zara, Many landlords read these discussions and perhaps if you gave the area that you live in one of us could offer you a nice home. Most Councils just haven't got anywhere to offer people and I don't want to make you feel worse but in most areas it is best to find a private landlord who can offer you a home.
I really do wish you and your daughter the best of luck and I hope that you will soon find somewhere nice to live.

Hi Zara

Two organisations that might be able to help are:

Citizens Advice http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/

Shelter http://www.shelter.org.uk/

Those two websites are just generic sites for the whole of the UK. It's possible to contact both of those organisations directly, either by telephone or in person, but how you do that depends on where you live.

If you'd be comfortable saying where you live, I could find more specific contact details for you.

Also - you have a lot going on in your life at the moment. Are you getting any support from any other organisations, such as a GP, mental health care services, social services, or someone from a Sure Start Children's Centre? It's also possible that your daughter's school may be able to help you access some advice/support services.

Adam x

I'm afraid you will have to face the economic reality of your situation.

If you cannot afford private renting in the area you presently are; then you have to MOVE! to an area that you can afford.

If this means you moving to another part of the country, then tough!

Just because you have built up a domestic situation in a particular area is no reason for you to expect the state to continue to provide your 'lifestyle' domestic circumstances.With the OBC coming into force many HB tenants are being forced to move.

That is a how it should be.

Anyone in work has to make rational decisons based on affordability as to where they live.

YOU are now being forced to to go through the same decison making processes, and that is how it SHOULD be.

Personally I believe the OBC should be reduced substantially more; but we are where we are.

For too long benefit claimants have been able to conduct a lifestyle on benefits far removed from the reality that hard working people have to deal with.

If the OBC forces people to move because of the revised benefit funding then so be it.

As a taxpayer I have NO duty to fund your existing domestic circumstances just because it will cause you upset; that I'm afraid my dear is just tough!

It is of course inconvenient; but then very little in life is easy!?

Councils are now able to discharge their homeless into the PRS.

If you fail to take a place they find for you they will have NO further obligation to assist you to source rental property.

So I suggest you get cracking and source your own private rental accommodation.

Yes by all means try and source as near to your existing domestic infrastructure; but if you can't that then that is just tough.

You will find moving to a more affordable area will be cheaper with other aspects of normal expenditure.

Cheaper areas tend to me away from the 'smoke' and offer healthier living circumstances than the 'bright lights'

It has been mentioned that many HB claimants who have been forced to source cheaper rental property have despite their natural trepidation found the new area better than the previous situation.

So look upon this situation as an opportunity to live in a cheaper area of which there will be thousands to choose from, to give yourself a new start in life.
Lots of HB claimants are being put in the same position as you.
I suggest you sort things now so that you get the pick of the best rental property that might be available for your OBC circumstances.

I have no problem with multi-culturism providing that the British citizen is given priority in EVERYTHING.

Bona-fide asylum seekers accepted.

I agree that hard working migrants might think that they should receive some precedence over a 'Vicky Pollard'; but the line has to be drawn somewhere!.
Therefore let us allocate scant resources to British citizens 1st and then anything spare we can look at other allocation if the govt deems it appropriate.
To me a British citizen is one who has a British passport, no matter how they acquired it.
However I believe the Nationality Act needs amending; we cannot allow former colony subjects the continuing right to settle here.
Our Empire is long past having to pay for it's sins by allowing former subjects righst to settle here..
Having said that the immigration policy needs to be egalitarian and pragmatic.
If an immigrant can make a case for right to settle, such as money, brains etc, contribution they could make to the UK economy,I have no problem with each case being based on it's merits.
Once in though it should NOT entitle that person to bring the whole of his extended family to the UK!