Sheffield City Council Housing Waiting List

[Lisa A 10]

And there we have it. your rant is unsubstantiated by facts. (as well as being inaccurate).

 

Are you Homeless, threatened with homelessness, or vulnerably housed?

 

no? then the simple fact is, you don't qualify for a priority on those grounds.

 

Are you disabled, and can't manage in the property you are in currently?

 

no? then the simple fact is, you don't qualify for a priority on those grounds.

 

Are you overcrowded, by the Sheffield Homes' criteria?

 

no? then the simple fact is, you don't qualify for a priority on those grounds.

 

 

Are you a victim of domestic violence, and needs rehousing away from an abusive partner?

 

no? then the simple fact is, you don't qualify for a priority on those grounds.

 

being a "loser"? (your words) Neither you nor I, nor anyone else on this earth or it's evil twin, would qualify for priority on those grounds.

 

 

 

And quite rightly so. There is no evidence in your application to show "Need". The only evidence is "Want". and that doesn't qualify you for a property.

 

I want the council to provide me with a wheelchair-accessible five bedroomed house with two garages and a 300 foot garden in Dore, with stair-lifts to all floors, and a level-access wet room.

 

Am I going to get it?

 

NO, not in this life or the next.

 

I have accommodation suitable for my needs, I have a level access property. I have a stairlift,. I have a wet-room. The property is suitable for me. I have what I need. not what I might want.

 

Plain Talker. What do you know about my application? And actually, 'want' does qualify anyone for a property; on a waiting list. I have been informed I can move onto priority because of my recent change in circumstances but was also advised it may be better to stay with my waiting time of 18 years. Did you get that? 18 YEARS. I was advised it is a risk to move from an 18 year wait to a priority list. So im staying put.

 

What I want to know is when is it my turn (after a 1992 registration)to secure a tenancy that I am eligible for? Answer me that 'smart boy/girl'.

 

I am sorry to hear about your friend and if you read my first rant you will see that I acknowledged genuine cases. But I also know that there are people who abuse the system and there are also other priority cases that frustrate me. For example, my Aunty was allocated a property to flee domestic violence only to start inviting the person that was responsible for this round to her new council home for tea!

 

 

I know that there are people with disabilites that may need a ramp etc and I was not having a go at people with disabilities. I was adding to the list of 'what will put you in front of someone' with a lot of waiting time; I was telling this to the guy who started this thread. And yes I still stand for what I say in that I have a problem with priority cases moving into properties with 10 year+ waits. I assume you were thinking about your friend when talking about Burngreave and Millhouses. None of the properties that I bid for were specially adapted so that is not relevant to your friend.

 

I might be on a waiting list but I still NEED somewhere to live. I do not want a 5 bedroom house with a 300 ft garden and 2 garages in Dore from the council (like you mentioned in your message). I will do that myself once I secure a permanent job. Then I will move on from social housing (if I ever get a house) and buy.

We all have a right to social housing. It is there for everybody. In my opinion it is not inclusive.

[Lisa A 10]

so, if someone is living in, say, Burngreave, and they need a wheelchair accessible bungalow, instead of an inaccessible house that they are currently in, you're trying to tell us that they should stay in Burngreave and not be offered an accessible bungalow in, say millhouses, as it's a nicer/ more desireable district?

 

A friend of mine has just had months in hospital after triple amputations, (he has had both legs and a hand amputated, and has lost part of the other hand, all through no fault of his own) and then contracting pneumonia after a fall (the fall was through living in a property that was not suitable for his needs)

 

He and his wife have finally been able to have him come home, as they've finally been offered an accessible property. It happens to be in an area that's convenient for shops and transport.

 

 

 

Do you think he should have been kept in hospital, bed-blocking, rather than being given a priority for the type of property he needs, to manage in his wheelchair?

 

I really think you must've got your head on the wrong way round if you are so dim as to think like this.

 

Plain Talker before you start to suggest I may be dim go back and read what I said about genuine cases.

[Ms Macbeth 73]

Lisa A - It might be worth your while having a look at some of this information. http://www.sheffieldhomes.org.uk/myHome/MovingHome/FindANewHome/HowLongWillIHaveToWaitForAProperty.aspx

 

You will notice that some waiting times are longer than yours - 1987 - 23 years for a two bedroomed bungalow for instance. Your 18 years is a good waiting time, but for some properties that go to waiting time it won't be enough. You haven't said what size of property you're entitled to - as it makes a big difference. No point bidding on a three bedroomed house if your family size doesn't warrant it.

 

The first paragraph in the link above states:

 

Priorities

We consider people by priority first. However, to make the system fairer, one person in every four from each type and size of property category is assessed based on their waiting time.

 

When someone is awarded priority for homelessness (most common priority) it can take some time for an investigation into their circumstances. Proof is required to support medical conditions and family responsibilities. If the applicant is awarded priority then the council has a legal duty to house them. It doesn't have the same responsibility towards someone who is already in accommodation, or who isn't considered vulnerable. You have said that you could get homeless priority - and be rehoused more quickly, but lose the element of choice. Its your decision.

[2's Company 10]

All I can say is good luck! I have been on the list for 18 years. My first bid was around 2006. I have recently started bidding on a weekly basis and still, priority cases are taking preference over myself (this is on properties with a 10 year wait). You would think 18 years would be enough to secure a property with a 10 year waiting time. But no! I have been informed that 'I have 'a desire to move' and 'not an urgent need' because I am living with family and I am on a waiting list. I have also been informed that should my family require me to leave their property I will be eligible for priority homeless. However I could get an offer that is 'not desirable'. Why would I want to accept a property in an area with a 2,3 or 5 year wait when I have 18 years waiting time under my belt! I asked a Housing Officer if there was criteria to help normal people but it seems not.

I appreciate that there are genuine priority cases out there but the system is clearly being abused. The Housing Officer told me that most people on their list are priority. If you can 'step in front of someone' with 18 years waiting time by being priority then why would anyone choose to join a waiting list. It is clearly open to people to abuse the system. Priority is the way foward dude!

The impression I get from the housing staff is that if a 'priority applicant' turns a property down then a 'waiting time applicant' may then get the offer (providing no one else with priority wants it). The staff claimed it was out of their hands and it is the government that have decided 'these rules'. This is the treatment you get from the government for getting of your <REMOVED>', going to work, paying into the system, and being a good honest citizen. It seems that there is very little help, if any at all for 'normal people'.

I asked the Housing Officer if there was a way to monitor different priority cases i.e. help genuine cases and 'stick all the losers' in one area. She said that would create 'ghettos' and as it is social housing they cannot be seen to be doing that. Well I am part of the social community too and in my opinion I am not being treated equal. Hopefully my financial circumstances will change soon so I can buy my own property. In the meantime this will help you to secure a property under priority:-

 

- disability

- house fire in your current property

- fleeing domestic violence

- overcrowding

- pregnant

- release from prison

- homeless

- drug addiction and have to live near 'mummy and daddy' who wont allow you to live with them

- mobility

- having a walking stick/crutches after injecting your leg with heroin and making a hole

- exagerating your breathing to make it appear worse than it is

- vulnerable (not safe in your current area)

- AND BEING A LOSER

 

Keep bidding but I would look at other housing associations. You will not lose your waiting time with the council if you rent directly from another association. Many of them are a bit more fussy who they let into their properties and do not have all this priority ******.

 

All the best.

 

Have you tried the housing associations? My parents have just accepted a property with one and it's on a lovely estate. It was the 1st housing association property they bid on too!! They were given disabled priority the same day that they bid on it but the housing officer did say they would probably have got it anyway because they had 11 years waiting time and with your 18 years waiting time you may stand a chance.

 

It's worth a try

Edited August 29, 2010 by 2's Company
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[leviathan13 348]

Lisa A - I think you're slightly confused on this "10+ years" waiting time.

 

The council does not have a set waiting time that properties will be let to. There are lots of people with more waiting time than you who would be offered the property over you if you bid for the same property.

 

The guide that they publish is just that, and not a requirement.