Confused about sheffield homes

[bassett one 453]

as a local in lowedges and on the tennants association i am sure you will like the area

we have many local pre-school and schools in the area if that helps,and iam sure you can find the answer to any questions you may have on the internet or this forum,i have lived

in the area many years and in general found it a nice place to live thanks bassett one

[Leah-Lacie 10]

So I assume you take your daughter to the childminder for just before 7am, and she does the school runs for you? And it took you a while to find a childminder that starts so early, but surely with the times people work, they can't be all THAT rare?

I guess your daughters school and childminder are quite a way from Lowedges then? Would you consider Lowedges and the schools there if you could find local childcare to suit your needs?

 

 

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[becks7785 10]

As far as I was aware, from past experience of being homeless & being rehomed by SheffieldHomes, you have to take the first offer of accommodation that you are offered and if you do not then they wont help you any further. Surely if you are homeless you would take what you are offered. I do believe when they process you as a homeless person they ask you to clarify which areas you would like to live in & if you have attachments to any particular area, I would have thought you would have chosen an area close to your child's school. Also I do believe they dont randomly offer you anything, you still 'bid' on houses every week so it must have been a house & area you chose & bid on.

[WackoJacko 10]

Hi,

 

If you have been awarded a priority folowing a homeless application, then the Council only need to make you one offer of permanant accommodation. If they feel this offer is reasonable and you refuse it then they will withdraw your priority. Without a priority it is very hard to get a council property. You can request a review of the offer within 21 days of the offer being made and the council will consider if it was reasonable but unless you are fleeing domestic abuse/violence or harrassment then generally they willl say it is a reasonable offer as they will argue that Lowedges is served by buses and there are schools nearby etc.

 

My advice would be to accept the offer, you can still submit a review of the suitability of the property. If the council decide it was a reasonable offer and you lose your review then at least you still have a roof over your head. As long as you have no rent arrears you could also look in to doing a mutual exchange.

[TeaFan 10]

Hi,

 

If you have been awarded a priority folowing a homeless application, then the Council only need to make you one offer of permanant accommodation. If they feel this offer is reasonable and you refuse it then they will withdraw your priority. Without a priority it is very hard to get a council property. You can request a review of the offer within 21 days of the offer being made and the council will consider if it was reasonable but unless you are fleeing domestic abuse/violence or harrassment then generally they willl say it is a reasonable offer as they will argue that Lowedges is served by buses and there are schools nearby etc.

 

My advice would be to accept the offer, you can still submit a review of the suitability of the property. If the council decide it was a reasonable offer and you lose your review then at least you still have a roof over your head. As long as you have no rent arrears you could also look in to doing a mutual exchange.

 

^^ Correct advice. You would be taking a major risk if you turned it down and then put in a review of suitability. Take the offer then put the review request in. The relevant bit of legislation is section 193(7F) of the Housing Act 1996.

 

In the case of an offer under section 193(7), section 193(7F) requires the authority to be satisfied that, in addition to the accommodation being suitable for the applicant, it would also be reasonable for the applicant to accept the offer. Although there is a significant area of overlap between the suitability of accommodation and the question whether it would be reasonable for the applicant to accept the accommodation, these are distinct and different requirements.

 

What this means in plain English is that for an offer to be suitable it has to meet two requirements: 1) that the accommodation is suitable for you and everyone in your household, i.e. it meets any mobility needs anyone has, isn't about to fall down, etc. This is an objective test of suitability. 2) that it would be reasonable for you to accept the offer, which is a more subjective test and is more about your personal circumstances. Sheffield Homes rarely understand the second part in my experience.

 

You can get housing legal advice in Sheffield from Shelter, who have an advice service on Furnival Gate, Howells, Sheffield Law Centre and Norrie, Waite and Slater.

 

Your review request has to go to Housing Solutions though, not Sheffield Homes. You can usually make the review request via the main number on 273 5142 or in writing, or via a law firm.