housing-the new bidding system

olivetree

hiya ,its olivetree here,back in the summer i had a major incident happen at my home address involving the police,they have made it very clear to myself, and bristol city council that i need to be re-housed very quickly.the council moved me from band 5 to band 3 has a priority,and although i've bidded every week since the incident ,i've not had any viewings or anything.i just dont understand how they decide who's going to get the property.they allocated me a housing officer that suggested i bid for property's in knowle or southmead ,has i would stand a better chance of getting a property,i've done this ,and i'm still not getting anywhere.i would just like to know how anyone else feels about this so-called new bidding system.thanks :?

Posted on: September 16, 2008 - 11:56am

Sally

Hi Olivetree i know how you feel i have been on the housing list for 7 years and i am at the top of band two, the only thing is that i don't want to go to knowle or Southmead i want to stay in the area that i'm in as it has taken me a long time to make good friends and connections. I keep getting pipped to the post by emergency housing. I do feel that something has to be done about this new system, i have just heard about a community meeting in my local area that happens monthly where they have representatives from all the housing assocations and some local mp's and you get to ask questions, lodge complaints etc, i wonderer if they have something like this in your community might be worth finding out.

Posted on: September 17, 2008 - 10:21am

Twylah

Hi olivetree

As far as I'm aware many local housing authorities and social landlords are now using a bidding system. The government likes the idea of them as they appear to offer more choice to people because they can have a say in where they live. The reality however for most people is that unless they are in Band 1 or 2 their chances of getting rehoused are quite low. Demand is greater than supply and I think this system really shows that. I know many people in the lower bands who don't even bother bidding becasue they know that they haven't got a chance.
Went on to Bristol City Council's website and found a link for the homechoice stuff. It is http://www.homechoicebristol.co.uk.
It says for Band 1 '.....have an exceptional and urgent need to be rehoused within 3 months.' If you really do need to get out within 3 months you could appeal against being in Band3 (maybe you've already done that??) and use the police support to tell the council how desperate your need is.

Not sure what else I can say except good luck and I hope that both you and Sally find somewhere safe in an area you like soon.

Posted on: September 25, 2008 - 12:04am

pixiponk

They should be able to put you into temporary accomodation until your name comes up if it emergancy.
It is mad. The area I am in claims on their stats publication that they have ample affordable housing, plenty of proper TA and all who need housing are placed within 2 months.
Hmm. I'm not so sure after being stuffed into a (being renovated) hotel room with my baby, and still on the waiting lists.
I bet they are trying to pursuade you to private rent as well.
Great get poor people to pay rich peoples mortgages.
Trapping the poor people in a poverty trap because getting back to work is very difficult due to private rents being very high.
The Harrow approach if you have heard of it is what most councils are starting to use and its not pleasent.

Posted on: March 10, 2009 - 8:07pm

Anna

Parenting specialist

Hi pixiponk, what is the Harrow approach? I have not heard of this :?:

Posted on: March 11, 2009 - 12:31pm

pixiponk

http://www2.harrow.gov.uk/Published/C00000249/M00001992/AI00006905/$14.CommunityStrategyRegeneratingHarrow5DraftCopy.docA.ps.pdf

Point 10.5 is the one on homelessness.

I don't understand it completely myself. It is basically because of the lack of affordable housing and the volume of the need for it. And the resistance to actually build more affordable housing which should have been done along time ago when our government had the mony to do it. There are guidelines set out by the government for councils to follow, but they are allowed to interperate the guidelines quite loosly.
I only know about it because I have a friend who used to work with homelessness and was able to explain why the council I applied to were so un helpful in a false smily way. They were using the harrow approach.
Even though my case was clearly genuine They did everything they could to not accept my application. They actually bullied me and deceived me so that I gave up and went away. After appeal and official complaints they were forced to accept that they had a duty to house me, they basically tried everything they could to not accept my application so that their statistics look better.
I watched them doing the same thing to other people in temporary accomodation with me.
The homeless officer who is put in front of you as someone who will help you is actually reffered to as the gate keeper. There job is to just make you go away and stop being that areas problem. If your application is successfull then they have failed and get heat from the homeless team manager.
In my case this ment my homeless officer was very cross and the only reason was that I knew my rights and had no option.
It actually made me feel they wud have been happier if I had died, just so they did not have to add me to their statistics.

Posted on: March 11, 2009 - 4:08pm

Louise

Parenting specialist

That is very interesting, I must say. I had a bit of a Google around after I read the link you posted, pixiponk and found another link which is very specific as to the Harrow model ie try to avoid having to house people at all by shunting them off elsewhere, "persuading" others to take them in and getting them into the private sector. By the way, where are these places with less social housing need? I have never heard of anywhere which has more Local Authority housing stock than there is demand, have you? :x

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/137926.pdf

Louise

Posted on: March 11, 2009 - 4:46pm

pixiponk

Alot of it works and of course they have to be vigilent against frauds wanting a free house.
It is a method of 'preventing' homelessness by denying the applications and creating other 'options' than offering a council house.
If they do it properly and actually have other options in place then it works, but most councils just use one bit of it so that they can deny the majority of applications and make people go away.
The person applying is still homeless and still in trouble but the council have managed to pursuade them that its not their problem.

Posted on: March 11, 2009 - 10:16pm