Council House Waiting Lists ; Are You On It ?

jimmi5bellies · 03-06-2007, 15:00

If so perhaps you could ask the council when they say they have nothing available that :

A 3 bed house on Warwick Close has been empty for over 6 weeks and the ex-tennant keeps returning to pick up their mail.

A 2 bed house on Summerset Close has been empty for about 6 months.

Several 3 bed houses on Medoway are left empty.

Food for thought

SPUGGIE J · 03-06-2007, 15:04

Sounds like up here were the council closed up a block of 16 flats 18 months after refurbishing them. Personally I think they cant be bothered and more worried about what they can get themselves. They might be keeping those for immigrents. Seems odd considering that Medoway housing has back and front gardens and suitable for families so why empty if there is a large waiting list?

jimmi5bellies · 03-06-2007, 15:08

Spuggie, im not being racist here but the last Polish immigrants that moved onto Medoway was not welcomed. I dont know the inns and outs of what went on but i do remember the big fight last summer. The Polish seemed to think they could do what they wanted around here and not be liable to our laws of the land.
Medoway got fed up with them and showed them the exit off the estate.
So i really dont think they would welcome anymore immigrants around here.

MargaretR · 03-06-2007, 16:47

There are no council houses in Hyndburn and havent been for over a year.
Hyndburn Homes may well have policies different from those the council had ref allocation and occupation.
At the moment Hyndburn Homes are busy catching up with decades of neglect in repairs and improvements.This is a 5 year programme - maybe at the end of the 5 years there will be funds for new builds - who knows - more social housing is needed at affordable rents.
Harwood Red may decide to give us more info

grego · 03-06-2007, 19:25

Yes but if there are empty houses why cant they be made ready for new tenants?

g jones · 03-06-2007, 19:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by [email protected]

There are no council houses in Hyndburn and havent been for over a year.
Hyndburn Homes may well have policies different from those the council had ref allocation and occupation.
At the moment Hyndburn Homes are busy catching up with decades of neglect in repairs and improvements.This is a 5 year programme - maybe at the end of the 5 years there will be funds for new builds - who knows - more social housing is needed at affordable rents.
Harwood Red may decide to give us more info

Your right Margaret. There have been years of neglect. Many empty properties are 'not fit to let' inside and The Council/HH now, have had little money to do them up. I can't understand why voids were not top of the priority repairs list in year 1. I'll ask Ken Bury.

New builds are unlikey because the Conservatives are opposed to Social Housing. They are currently encouraging private builders to take up the housing allocation quota for the next few years. Councillors Britcliffe and Dobson (The Chair) are directors in the board of HH as well so they influence policy both ways. Hyndburn's housing policy is shambolic and will leave residents with a big bill in the bottom drawer if our town is to look like a proud town, and not one with a lot of empty terraced houses, or BTL with a higher proportion of anti-social tenants.

The previous thread said there were 3,000 waiting on the Council House waiting list (75% of Hyndburn Homes vacancies are given to those on Council House waiting list), mostly 'hidden homeless', people shacking up at someone else's or in currently unsatisfactory accomodation. A member here asked how the Council had allowed this to happen.

There is a report from Overview & Scrutiny somewhere from 2 years ago. When I was on O&S I asked for a special enquiry into the matter. In the end it was all washed over which was disapointing because back then I wanted some action. I still do but there is no chance. If a remember Doug Heyes chaired it. It must be somewhere on the Council's website.

One story came out. A semi-d bungalow up Ossy. One of the houses had been bought under Right to Buy, the person died, and the relatives sold it to a private landlord. It was rented out quickly for £100 per week. At the same time the next door, still owned by the Council, was also rented for £55 per week.

moonshiner · 03-06-2007, 19:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by grego

Yes but if there are empty houses why cant they be made ready for new tenants?

I totally agree with you they should let these propertys but they should be offerd to local folk not some EU LOT who turn up in this country we a rake oh kids an a beggin letter an exspect to get every thing for nowt

jimmi5bellies · 03-06-2007, 19:57

The houses around here have had gas central heating in, double glazed windows. The ones on Medoway have had all the exteriors done in pebble dash, new guttering, new soffits ( think thats what you call them), fences to front and rear, double glazing etc.

The house thats empty on my street is decorated to a very high standard. Whoever gets that house is getting a real gem. Its just had gas central heating in place. Its double glazed as well. Its ready and fit for somebody to move in right away. As far as i know, not one person from the council has entered this house since the last tennant vacated. If its left any longer the warm summer nights are coming, the youths will be walking the streets in their packs, getting drunk and this house will be broken into and vandalised.

Just tonight as i was standing in my front garden we heard the shattering of glass. Somehow i think that could have been the front window of the house on Summerset Grove as it sounded like it was coming that way.

harwood red · 03-06-2007, 22:51

Hmmm thanks margaret for the mention

although I don't have anything to do with Hyndburn Homes as most of you know I work for Twin valley homes which was also a council stock transfer... but we are over 6 years down the line now...

As for empty properties not seeming to be let..there could be a few answers to that one...

1. as graham jones said the relet repairs may be beyond the coffers at the mo

2. The tenant has not given notice so the HH are not aware there is no-one living there (especialy if rent is still being paid via housing benefit)

3. HH are aware it is empty but are unable to just go in and change the locks, they have to serve a "notice to quit" which is min of 28 days and then they sometimes have to apply to the courts to change the locks and take possession.

4. The property although no one living there is being used as a mail drop and the tenant is still claiming housing benefit

No matter what the reason someone needs to report the empty properties to HH just in case they are not aware it is not been lived in!!

As for building new social housing we have done so for the past couple of years and I would imagine regardless of what the "conservative" council would like the housing corp via (what used to be the office of the deputy prime minister) odpm is keen for this kind of housing to be built and offer quite generous grants in regeneration areas... the likes which I can see is happening around the church traffic light area.

As for the lettings of properties we operate a different system to hyndburn but I would imagine that they will follow suit quite soon

MargaretR · 04-06-2007, 05:18

I think that answers all of the original question - thanks

lancsdave · 04-06-2007, 06:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by harwood red

2. The tenant has not given notice so the HH are not aware there is no-one living there (especialy if rent is still being paid via housing benefit)

4. The property although no one living there is being used as a mail drop and the tenant is still claiming housing benefit

Thats quite alarming if that sort of stuff goes on. Don't Housing Benefit check what they are paying out for ?

WillowTheWhisp · 04-06-2007, 06:48

I'm confused about the housing benefit one - if rent is still being paid on an empty property what is happening about the rent for the property where the tenant is currently living? Housing benefit can't be paid twice over for the same person so who pays for the second one?

accymel · 04-06-2007, 07:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

I'm confused about the housing benefit one - if rent is still being paid on an empty property what is happening about the rent for the property where the tenant is currently living? Housing benefit can't be paid twice over for the same person so who pays for the second one?

In exceptional circumstances they do, where u have overlap, ie in a refuge/safe house accomodation, if u have to move house within your notice or over your notice, say house moving into is ready or landlord requires u move in before your notice on your existing home or new home repairs took longer than the notice given to old house so notice extention was required, you can apply to housing benefit for those reasons. I've had a 4-6 week overlap as new house wasn't ready in time for moving into also ive had my house emptied & rent covered for 4 weeks too in another borough.

So there is sometimes genuine reasons tho disgraceful that properties can exceed that time just for mail drops - thats criminal!!

WillowTheWhisp · 04-06-2007, 08:03

I can understand the situation where someone has gone into a refuge or something but the mind boggles at the prospect of rent being paid for two properties by housing benefit. How much of this goes on and how long does it go on for? This is just pouring money down the drain. Someone who rents privately and pays their own rent wouldn't continue paying rent for a property they've moved out of, at least not many people would. They wouldn't be able to afford to.

accymel · 04-06-2007, 08:20

They have to sometimes willow, say i get offered a new rented house even with HH, i look round today generally they like u to move to new one when your old ones notice is served, but in cases where repairs are needed they can drag on longer than expected

ie - notice on old house 30/6/07 ends & new tennancy starts but the repairs on new house is taking longer than that you can get weekly extentions to your notice on the old house till the new house is fit to move into - say it takes 2 weeks longer so means i got a 2 week extention on old house tennacy - this means there will be 2 weeks rent owing on new house as well as 2 weeks on old house - this is what they call an overlap which housing benefit will cover [they will cover upto 4 weeks sometimes more if exceptional circumstances ie refuge cos u have rent to pay in ref as u have rent in house u have had to temp or permanantly leave with few weeks + 4 weeks notice]

If this wasn't available then many could not simply move or take on new homes, thus many benefit people would accrue debt they cant afford, basically its set up so that houses can be let or re let in the rented sector - tho is open to abuse at times as landlords can get pushy as to taking up a tennacy asap - even before the 4 weeks notice required on previous properties & the new landlord gets rent quicker than waiting for the period to end.