Anyone know anything about council housing law?
Discussion
Have a friend who has a one bed council flat. She has a son who has been homeless most his adult life due to mental illness (abused as a child, ongoing legal action but whatever the outcome it won't help him with housing because he's not a good witness), this has gone undiagnosed because able bodied people that can't help themselves aren't bothered about (just my experience sorry for offence). He tried many times with his mother to get housing but there is no housing for single men in his borough - hostel or streets are the options. His mother is thinking about giving up her council flat to move elsewhere but only if she can pass it to her son; is there anyway to do this?
He doesn't have the mental fortitude to squat in the place I don't think. He won't see doctors as they've just made things worse, taking tablets that make you feel suicidal whilst being homeless; not such a good idea and such experiences have made him scared of doctors. Not sure if he can be made a tenant on her agreement as its a one bed flat and even if he was wouldn't there be some sort of minimum time stipulation to assign the place.
He doesn't have the mental fortitude to squat in the place I don't think. He won't see doctors as they've just made things worse, taking tablets that make you feel suicidal whilst being homeless; not such a good idea and such experiences have made him scared of doctors. Not sure if he can be made a tenant on her agreement as its a one bed flat and even if he was wouldn't there be some sort of minimum time stipulation to assign the place.
Its less a question of law and more a case of where you live. I work in social housing and previously have been responsible for a cities housing/homeless/allocation services.
Thus in cities of low demand, nonsense, homelessness doesn't exist: you can get housed all day long, but often people will play the homeless system to get the priority for premium properties. As for young single men (you don't get too many homeless women, as being honest they have children young or can easily find a bed/relationship), well the men just go round and round in a circle of drink, drugs, prison, in and out of accommodation and hostels.
Clearly the above statement is nonsense in high demand cities, i.e. the London districts where no's of people applying far outstrips accommodation available.
theoretically the young man could move in with his mother and be noted as being there. After 12 mths he may have a right to succeed the tenancy. It depends on restrictions like age and so on that might be in place. Fundamentally he has to be listed as there paying council tax, rent, bills. i.e prove residence.
but councils are not thick and if they suspect a scam, i.e. mum will abandon to leave tenancy to son: then there maybe trouble ahead.
There is no duty in law usually to find a duty to house single people 18-60 (ish), basically what's stopping them finding somewhere themselves to live ?
Of course with a diagnosis and evidence, a duty then changes and he may well be entitled to state help.
Its difficult, if the young man in question will not get himself diagnosised, tick some boxes, then no, he won't get through the quagmire of whichever cities allocations policies and be prioritised for help.
Has he actually checked though that the accommodation even exists that he seeks ? If turnover of 1 bed flats in area X is 1 per 12 mths, then no, even with the Queen writing a letter on his behalf, it will make no diffence.
Legally he needs to walk into the local authorities "housing options" or "homeless" offices, present himself with ID, proof of income and ask to make a "homeless application". turning up at 8.30/9.00am is always good. Turning up at 3.30pm because "you've been busy all day innit" never impresses. These things can take hours and you can queue for hours too.
Said LA needs to assess him and critically his "vulnerability" and make a formal decision on their ability to assist or not.
Also look at the "shelter" website and your own LA's too- they will have a detailed section on applying for accommodation.
Thus in cities of low demand, nonsense, homelessness doesn't exist: you can get housed all day long, but often people will play the homeless system to get the priority for premium properties. As for young single men (you don't get too many homeless women, as being honest they have children young or can easily find a bed/relationship), well the men just go round and round in a circle of drink, drugs, prison, in and out of accommodation and hostels.
Clearly the above statement is nonsense in high demand cities, i.e. the London districts where no's of people applying far outstrips accommodation available.
theoretically the young man could move in with his mother and be noted as being there. After 12 mths he may have a right to succeed the tenancy. It depends on restrictions like age and so on that might be in place. Fundamentally he has to be listed as there paying council tax, rent, bills. i.e prove residence.
but councils are not thick and if they suspect a scam, i.e. mum will abandon to leave tenancy to son: then there maybe trouble ahead.
There is no duty in law usually to find a duty to house single people 18-60 (ish), basically what's stopping them finding somewhere themselves to live ?
Of course with a diagnosis and evidence, a duty then changes and he may well be entitled to state help.
Its difficult, if the young man in question will not get himself diagnosised, tick some boxes, then no, he won't get through the quagmire of whichever cities allocations policies and be prioritised for help.
Has he actually checked though that the accommodation even exists that he seeks ? If turnover of 1 bed flats in area X is 1 per 12 mths, then no, even with the Queen writing a letter on his behalf, it will make no diffence.
Legally he needs to walk into the local authorities "housing options" or "homeless" offices, present himself with ID, proof of income and ask to make a "homeless application". turning up at 8.30/9.00am is always good. Turning up at 3.30pm because "you've been busy all day innit" never impresses. These things can take hours and you can queue for hours too.
Said LA needs to assess him and critically his "vulnerability" and make a formal decision on their ability to assist or not.
Also look at the "shelter" website and your own LA's too- they will have a detailed section on applying for accommodation.
From memory (as of 2008 when I left the business), the son needs to visit the local authority's "homelessness" dept and report that he is homeless. LAs work with their provider of "council housing" (ALMO, TMO etc) as well as housing associations, and have a duty to house homeless people. Of course, he may temporarily end up in a hostel or B&B, which will not be ideal for him due to his poor mental health 
.
For the LA to state that they have no housing for single men is absurd; it sounds to me that they don't want to house him because of potential disruption to the neighbours in said housing (due to his poor mental health, cynic that I am). Single bed flats do exist, but they are not the most common "council" (well, ALMO, TMO or whatever the set up there is) accomodation (and they are unlikely to become vacant very often as there aren't many of them in the overall housing stock), it is fair to say...
He is more likely to be offered a 2 bed house or flat or even maisonette (they are far more common than 1 bed properties), but then he will lose a portion of his housing benefit due to the extra bedroom he doesn't need (via the so-called "bedroom tax").
Perhaps engage the local MP over this situation? Because something is going wrong.
.For the LA to state that they have no housing for single men is absurd; it sounds to me that they don't want to house him because of potential disruption to the neighbours in said housing (due to his poor mental health, cynic that I am). Single bed flats do exist, but they are not the most common "council" (well, ALMO, TMO or whatever the set up there is) accomodation (and they are unlikely to become vacant very often as there aren't many of them in the overall housing stock), it is fair to say...
He is more likely to be offered a 2 bed house or flat or even maisonette (they are far more common than 1 bed properties), but then he will lose a portion of his housing benefit due to the extra bedroom he doesn't need (via the so-called "bedroom tax").
Perhaps engage the local MP over this situation? Because something is going wrong.
I'd also add that LA's and associations often have supported accommodation. The reason this is important is because he sounds incapable of managing a tenancy.
therefore by going down the "homeless" route, he may well qualify for this type of intervention.
Lets be honest from what you said, do you think on day one, of his new tenancy: do you think he will sustain it ?
I'm sure if he contacted the local CAB, local hostels, they'll have lots of support workers to assist with the process and guide him through.
Sorry for being sooooo cynical, but I'm very much one of life's realists.
therefore by going down the "homeless" route, he may well qualify for this type of intervention.
Lets be honest from what you said, do you think on day one, of his new tenancy: do you think he will sustain it ?
I'm sure if he contacted the local CAB, local hostels, they'll have lots of support workers to assist with the process and guide him through.
Sorry for being sooooo cynical, but I'm very much one of life's realists.
Have some experience of social housing but simple answer is no!
You cannot dictate who gets your council property as oddly enough its not her property. You can do a mutual exchange but that's if your swapping with someone else.
If she no longer needs the flats she should give it up to those in need and before jeremy corbyn and terrorist friends get hold of her! It could be used to much better effect like housing Syrian refugees. Single men and exforces are left out in the cold when it comes to social housing we house foreigners before our own, thanks to 13 years of labour rule.
The flat would need to be allocated to those on the homefinders list that are registered and graded in order of need. I assume her soon is registered and banded something like bronze and basically the council aren't in a rush to house him and there are thousands banded higher who are graded as needing housing more. If he is registered he will never get anywhere.
You cannot dictate who gets your council property as oddly enough its not her property. You can do a mutual exchange but that's if your swapping with someone else.
If she no longer needs the flats she should give it up to those in need and before jeremy corbyn and terrorist friends get hold of her! It could be used to much better effect like housing Syrian refugees. Single men and exforces are left out in the cold when it comes to social housing we house foreigners before our own, thanks to 13 years of labour rule.
The flat would need to be allocated to those on the homefinders list that are registered and graded in order of need. I assume her soon is registered and banded something like bronze and basically the council aren't in a rush to house him and there are thousands banded higher who are graded as needing housing more. If he is registered he will never get anywhere.
He cannot live with his mother because he's mentally ill. Around 2001 he went to his local housing department and was turned down for housing due to shortage and waiting list. In around 2007 he went again and was also turned down. They don't keep records for people like him (single, undesirable etc), so each time he goes for housing its a new application.
The only options have always been homeless, hostel or slum lord (he lasted 6 months in slum before he had enough). He needs a stable environment to start repairing his life i.e. a secure place to stay on his own. I guess if she gives up her flat it will go to someone else then.
The only options have always been homeless, hostel or slum lord (he lasted 6 months in slum before he had enough). He needs a stable environment to start repairing his life i.e. a secure place to stay on his own. I guess if she gives up her flat it will go to someone else then.
He can't be 'turned down' due to shortage of properties and the waiting list - he can only be turned down if he is not genuinely homeless. As I posted upthread, something is going badly wrong here (perhaps he is answering the questions wrongly due to his state of mind? or he is being misadvised?). He would go on the waiting list, if he is genuinely homeless.
It used to be possible to "succeed" a tenancy (which is what the OP is alluding to, I think?).
One example would be a married couple but the tenancy is in only one name (a 'sole tenancy'), and the tenant passes away and the surviving spouse then takes over - "succeeds" - the tenancy (and this was not guaranteed - sometimes the surviving spouse would have to apply for a new tenancy in their own name but as they were facing homelessness they were usually rehaoused pretty sharpish).
Another example would be a parent and adult child live together and the tenancy is in the parent's name, the parent passes on and the child "succeeds" the tenancy in their own name (but, again, not guaranteed as above).
A third example might be where two siblings live together but the tenancy is a sole tenancy and the tenant passes on. The surviving sibling could apply to "succeed" the tenancy (again, no promises...).
Also, it was only ever possible to "succeed" a tenancy once - if a tenancy succession had already taken place (for example, one of the three scenarios above), then if the new tenant passes away another resident in the property can not apply to "succeed" the tenancy which will then end and the residents remaining become homeless (but they were usually rehoused pretty quickly in my day).
In addition, there were conditions around how long the resident applying to "succeed" the tenancy had lived at the property, with a minimum period of continuous residence specified.
I have no idea if it is possible to "succeed a tenancy" today now that council housing stock is managed by ALMOs or TMOs etc (and I'm away from LA housing nowadays), but it isn't - unfortunately - applicable to the situation as described anyway (firstly as the homeless guy can't live with his mother due to his mental health, and secondly as she would need to pass away once he had lived with her for the specified period).
It used to be possible to "succeed" a tenancy (which is what the OP is alluding to, I think?).
One example would be a married couple but the tenancy is in only one name (a 'sole tenancy'), and the tenant passes away and the surviving spouse then takes over - "succeeds" - the tenancy (and this was not guaranteed - sometimes the surviving spouse would have to apply for a new tenancy in their own name but as they were facing homelessness they were usually rehaoused pretty sharpish).
Another example would be a parent and adult child live together and the tenancy is in the parent's name, the parent passes on and the child "succeeds" the tenancy in their own name (but, again, not guaranteed as above).
A third example might be where two siblings live together but the tenancy is a sole tenancy and the tenant passes on. The surviving sibling could apply to "succeed" the tenancy (again, no promises...).
Also, it was only ever possible to "succeed" a tenancy once - if a tenancy succession had already taken place (for example, one of the three scenarios above), then if the new tenant passes away another resident in the property can not apply to "succeed" the tenancy which will then end and the residents remaining become homeless (but they were usually rehoused pretty quickly in my day).
In addition, there were conditions around how long the resident applying to "succeed" the tenancy had lived at the property, with a minimum period of continuous residence specified.
I have no idea if it is possible to "succeed a tenancy" today now that council housing stock is managed by ALMOs or TMOs etc (and I'm away from LA housing nowadays), but it isn't - unfortunately - applicable to the situation as described anyway (firstly as the homeless guy can't live with his mother due to his mental health, and secondly as she would need to pass away once he had lived with her for the specified period).
Richyboy said:
He cannot live with his mother because he's mentally ill.
The mental illness will need to be treated before the council will recognise someone as a priority.This means the mother referring the son to his GP, and then the GP calling in mental health specialists to assess her son for required treatment.
Also bear in mind that being on a councils priority housing list is no guarantee of getting a council property, so the son would initially have to find a private landlord and get the council to pay the rent which they will do up to a certain limit.
lbc said:
find a private landlord and get the council to pay the rent which they will do up to a certain limit.
Councils only pay the LL direct these days in certain situations - e.g. if the tenant is classed as "at risk" because they are a young single parent or if they have a known history of non-paying rent. This applies to Housing Benefit, how it will apply to Universal Credit I don't know - it's a completely different game then.If the bloke hasn't even been diagnosed with any form of mental illness, then realistically he's got no chance of getting a council flat - he's a young single bloke.
He needs to start helping himself & then he'll start getting help back.
And the comment above about putting immigrants in the queue before "our own" - that simply isn't true.
He must visit a doctor and be diagnosed.
Maybe go to a walk in rather than his local GP.
He needs to get on the system then he may be able to get on the priority housing list.
As is he will never get to the top of the list for housing.
People are on the list for 10 years sometimes before they get a council house.
Maybe go to a walk in rather than his local GP.
He needs to get on the system then he may be able to get on the priority housing list.
As is he will never get to the top of the list for housing.
People are on the list for 10 years sometimes before they get a council house.
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