USAGypsies

Hey all,
I have read a couple of threads on here recently about government assistance for British Cit's returning to the UK.
If we could avoid the whole 'Moral' side of things for a moment, I'd be interested to know if it is even possible to get assistance with a home on return.
I was under the impression from years back when we lived inthe UK that it is near on impossible to get a council house, firstly because there is a lack of council owned property and when an application is made the waiting list runs into years. I remember a girl I knew that I worked with for a while saying she had put her name on the list and it was about 4 years long. I thought emergency housing was always available (i.e. a hostel) but nobody is just given a house. Anyone care to comment/share experience?

Fleaflyfloflum

Very little hope i would say. I think you have to be literally on the street with either kids or some medical condition to get help.

Are you or your partner in medical or health services, teaching, government, prison service , or one of the professions considered as keyworkers? If so there is a governement help programme for housing. See my link

http://www.housingoptions.co.uk/ho2/

Go to the "are you eligible section".

I will add that this one is for London, but I think you can get help in other areas. Do a google search for keyworker accomodation

BristolUK

It depends where you are willing to live.

There is a myth that asylum seekers get housed as a priority compared to Brits. It appears that way because they are often willing to accept what's offered. And that's usually in areas that people don't want. That's why there's a vacancy after all.

People on the list know where they want to be and usually reject certain areas hoping something better comes along. There's a limit to how long one can do this without a good reason. Sometimes there is good reaason, so some will wait.

So people very familiar with the areas will wait for their best choice where possible. That means they won't accept the areas where most people wouldn't want to be.

The following describes the situation I knew of up until the early 2000s. I don't know if there have been some changes but I imagine the principle is still the same.

Part of that problem is the 'grouping' of areas. An applicant may be happy with areas A and E. But the LA may have A,B,C & D grouped and E,F,G & H grouped.
While happy with A the applicant may not want B or C because they consider the area a dump. Because it's less desirable they will probably be offered vacancies in B/C rather than A. If they can't come up with a good reason to reject such an offer, they will maybe select only E as a preference, taking the view that F,G or H may be offered but that's better than B/C.

They won't be the only ones thinking along these lines. Consequently they'll have a longer wait.

But others who either don't know, or those that grew up there or on a similar estate and don't mind, they will take an offer.

I have known people get an offer in one of the worst areas in Bristol within a week of applying.

Emergency 'temporary' housing is available where the LA has a duty - ill health, children etc. There used to be a requirement that there was a local connection (with exceptions if there was reason not to be where there was a local connection). There may still be.

Temporary housing could be all sorts. If there is a duty, it's because the applicant is a priority case. The permanent housing offer will be much quicker because of that.

Fleaflyfloflum

This is actually a better website for all areas

http://www.housingcorp.gov.uk/server/show/nav.001

Might not apply to you, but I am posting it in case there are other people out there who may qualify. You can rent or buy homes thorugh this scheme

lobby lou

Thank you for this i will forward it to my son , he is a prison warden and because he is married with a son cannot get a house without a long wait(he was actually told the mistake he made was to marry(his wife should have applied as a singlemum),this is why at the mo they live in our house

Jerseygirl

A brit living in the US told me last year during a visit to the UK she'd put her name down for a council house in Sheffield. I guess she must have used her mum's address and said her and her husband were living there. Although she had no plans to return she just wanted keep her options open.

Fleaflyfloflum

Thats outrageous! Bloody cheek!

Celtic Princess

Getting a council house can take an incredibly long time depending on the circumstances. There are 2 ways it can be done, through the waiting list or as an emergency case.

The normal process is that you apply to you local council who assess your need and give you a points rating based on this. Points are awarded for things like the number of children, the income or lack thereof, whether current accommodation is overcrowded especially if that is an existing council house (eg kíds have grown, married and had kids but still living with parents in 2 bedroom council house) and time already spent on the waiting list.

Then, as someone has already mentioned, you say which areas you would be willing to accept. When a house of the size you will be allowed comes up in that area it will be offered to the person on the list with the highest number of points. If it is you, you can either accept it or reject it but you have to bear in mind that they will normally only make three offers and if you reject them all you have to start all over again and will lose your place at the top of the list.

Then there is the emergency accomodation. This applies to people who are homeless through no fault of their own. Once upon a time the councils had a legal responsibility to house everyone who needed it. About 15 years ago the law changed and they now only have to house vulnerable people, ie children, pensioners and pregnant women. So a single guy turning up on their doorstep will be sent packing, whereas a pregnant woman with 2 kids will be provided with some sort of shelter. This could be a temporary council flat (most unlikely) or a bedsit, flat, b&b with a private landlord. Then you go on the waiting list with the normal application to wait for a council house, although you get a gazillion extra points because you are officially homeless.

THE MOST IMPORTANT BIT: If you are deemed to have made yourself homeless you are NOT allowed emergency accomodation. It's up to you to sort it out yourself. So if you leave your home abroad to return to the UK you would not be eligible because you would be deemed to have chosen to be in the situation you are in. Same if you are homeless through criminality, so you cannot be really bad so that you get deported back to the UK and then claim homelessness.

Hope that helps.

USAGypsies

Some really interesting replies on this subject - I have learnt a lot from all of you.

I suppose I asked this question to understand what the absolute last resort would be if our plans did not come together. You may remember from my other posts that we have a plan to return with a certain amount of money so we'll be on our own feet from the get go. It's this determination to land on our feet that stops us from returning sooner... but I can't help but think 'what if'. You know us women, we like to know that there is a plan b, especially when we have little ones to look after.
My huz doesn't think it will ever come to this, it's not part of the plan but I like to be prepared for all senarios. A bit of research never hurt anyone.
I don't like last minute panics!! Like many others at the moment, our income is not at it's strongest and huz is trying to secure a better paying job so we can achieve plan A.

Celticprincess: You made some interesting points. Can I throw a couple of 'what if's' at you?

A returning Brit family applies for a LA home. They are returning because they lost their income in their adopted country or their home was taken by foreclosure or a disaster so had no choice but to return to UK. Any idea how those senario would go?

Also, if you chose not to reveal that you had ever left Britain, how would the LA know?
In our case this would not work because if we did end up needing assistance I think it would be a case of immediate assistance as we have no relatives that would be able to fit us all in since my Mum died. I had it the back of my head that my Sister would be a 'last resort' if need be but she just told me yesterday that they are downsizing to a 2 bed flat so that's not an option anymore.

My mum had a council home in the early 80's and I know some things about it, although I was young but I have always fought to keep out of that whole way of life with hard work and a strong ambition to achieve above and beyond. I've seen those TV shows that display the lives of people who live in estates. I remember my niece telling me about a girl she met at work that used to live on an estate, just her and her Mother and apparently they were burgled regularly and then the thief would offer to sell their things back to them! Am I naiev or do others find this enormously disturbing????
My husband is the same as me and we have both worked our whole lives and done really well for ourselves, but like so many others, it's an uphill struggle right now. I can't believe how much America has changed since we landed. I hardly recognise it.
Living in a LA housing environment, well, it's hard to get your head around - or is it just me? You can't tar everyone with the same brush, I know. I do know that some areas would be absolutely mortifying to live amongst - it's just not something I could bring myself to do and would do my damndest to avoid it. I couldn't put my children into a home/location where I could not feel some pride to live. I can't lie, its a depressing thought. It's also a comfort though to know that at the very least, there is help available and that maybe it is possible to get something that isn't in a depressed and sorry environment where you could still hold your head up...but what a lottery. Sorry if a bit rambly. Just thinking out loud.

Celtic Princess

I don't know how they would treat it if you returned under the circumstances you laid out. I've had a look at the housing strategy plan for my old borough council and it makes no mention but I would have thought that if you are in their area and you can prove your circumstances that they have no choice but to honour them.

I don't think it would make any difference to your application whether they knew you had left the UK before or not.

But don't panic it will work out. Worse case senario, you arrive in the UK with nowhere to go, book into a hotel then go to see the council and tell them that you have £X in savings, the hotel costs £Y so you will be homeless in Z days, and then they will have to help you. Obviously they may take issue if you book into a luxury hotel so use up you money 10 times faster.

Or you go to your sisters and apply and get mountains of points for overcrowding and then after a couple of weeks your sister tells the council that it's driving her mad and that she wants you out by the end of the week thus you become homeless through no fault of your own.

As for area, many councils are now moving away from nasty council estates. In my area there were no council houses, it was all done through housing associations and their new houses would be just a few mixed in with private housing. You would never have guessed that any of them were 'council' houses.

USAGypsies

You're very kind to share this information. I would never have thought of going to a hotel and then applying. I was doing some research on 'LHA' (housing benefit) also and worked out that it may be a good way to get financial assistance with a privately rented house until we got our job and business up and running and had UK income again. I'm thinking it should only take a few weeks but of course we would need to have a deposit and at the very least 1-2 months rent. Do you think there is a stigma and some landlords wouldn't entertain LHA supported tenants?
Sorry... I don't expect you to have all the answes lol, just nice to be able to talk with others who understand and get opinions and ideas.

lobby lou

The majority of landlords will not take housing benefit(may have changed with the way things are there at the mo)
Also i dont think you can use a hotel address ,for benefits,unless the law has changed

BristolUK

Agree with the post except for the above part. The key is, as you say, if you are deemed......
You wouldn't automatically be ineligible because of leaving your home abroad and returning to the UK.

There might be some circumstances where that's decided but that would be quite rare.

And there will always be individual officers with different attitudes and more flexibility than others in good and bad ways.

Without returning to the HRT aspect too much I knew of many cases where the Housing Officers were merely waiting for confirmation that HR was satisfied. Part of satisfying Hab Res would, of course, involve having given up the home (eg selling or ending a tenancy) abroad because of the intention to settle in the UK.

So the LA's were accepting responsibility for people who had voluntarily left homes abroad. They had just accepted that was reasonable in the individual circumstances.

USAGypsies

All good stuff. Thanks to everyone.

One last question on this subject. Does anyone have any idea how the cost of a LA rent compares to the cost of a private rent, in any given area, for similar homes (i.e. a 3 bed council house /association house compared with a 3 bed private rental house)? I assume council tax is according to band and not according to whether it's LA or private.

Will be interesting to see the difference.

BristolUK

In my experience that wouldn't be classed as voluntarily homeless. One might argue that there were other options (insurance paying for a new home following the disaster for example) but the voluntary part (mainly) is returning to the UK, not becoming homeless.

The second part....the LA need not necessarily know you were abroad. But they will usually want some sort of history - addresses etc - in considering your case. That could be hard to do without admitting one was out of the UK. No such law. I doubt there ever was....certainly not in my 30+ years in DSS. Of course, if it was an expensive hotel not covered by benefit rates and you were declaring no capital or other income, there might be questions as to how it could be afforded.

There was always a belief you couldn't claim without an address. That was a myth too. Just like the £5 a week allowance for homeless people with dogs.

And the "You can get a grant for a TV if it comes in a cabinet with doors, because it counts as furniture."

That was always my favourite.