How long is council housing waiting list for us if we have a son with a disability?

MissRachael29

We applied for council housing 2013 our son is 9 months old and has a physical disability called spina bifida, just wondering has anyone else been in our situation. There is me my partner and my son. We all live with my parents in a very overcrowded room which was assessed. And thankfully we were accepted. How long is the average waiting time for? And do u get priority when u have a disability? .

fussyonion

Medical priority cases are usually up there in terms of housing the most needly.
However, my partner has medical conditions and we were still waiting 10 years for a place.

Submit all your medical evidence-doctor's notes, hospital notes..back it all up and submit it and then see what happens.
You're still in for a wait, I reckon.

Gatling

The average wait is a minimum 8+ years country wide ,
Currently 90,000 waiting to be housed ,
Were 7 years waiting while I suffer 3 degenerative conditions we've given up any hope of been housed in the near future,
Have you looked into rent allowence at all

MissRachael29

Reason I haven't applied for rent allowance because where I live "bray" county Wicklow it seems impossible to get anywhere at all. this country is ridiculous!

Thanks so much for your help. I suppose it's just the wait now I have anther 8-10 years to go.

Gatling

MissRachael29 wrote: »

Reason I haven't applied for rent allowance because where I live "bray" county Wicklow it seems impossible to get anywhere at all. this country is ridiculous!

Thanks so much for your help. I suppose it's just the wait now I have anther 8-10 years to go.

You might get lucky ,when you applied did you thick the box where it asked would you accept housing other than council housing ,ie cluid,nabco and so on

fussyonion

Also, to add to what Gatling said, to perhaps increase your chance of being offered somewhere sooner, tick as many areas you'd live in, as possible.
Only picking one or two areas means you'll be waiting longer.

RAS could be another option for you?

MissRachael29

Yeah I never thought of that, I wonder if I could go back to council and ask to see my application or to add to it? And is the ras a 10 year waiting list too?

fussyonion

MissRachael29 wrote: »

Yeah I never thought of that, I wonder if I could go back to council and ask to see my application or to add to it? And is the ras a 10 year waiting list too?

As far as I know, the council are happy for you to go back and add...if anything, it makes things easier as it means you're being open-minded and willing to move.
RAS doesn't have a waiting list but you need to ask the Council if you are eligible for it.

ted1

MissRachael29 wrote: »

Reason I haven't applied for rent allowance because where I live "bray" county Wicklow it seems impossible to get anywhere at all. this country is ridiculous!

Thanks so much for your help. I suppose it's just the wait now I have anther 8-10 years to go.

he who dares wins.
you can't knock something if you haven't tried it.

corner of hells

fussyonion wrote: »

As far as I know, the council are happy for you to go back and add...if anything, it makes things easier as it means you're being open-minded and willing to move.
RAS doesn't have a waiting list but you need to ask the Council if you are eligible for it.

Am I right in thinking if you accept RAS/Cluid etc you lose your place on council waiting list ?

fussyonion

corner of hells wrote: »

Am I right in thinking if you accept RAS/Cluid etc you lose your place on council waiting list ?

Yes you do because you will have been deemed as being housed.

Gatling

fussyonion wrote: »

Yes you do because you will have been deemed as being housed.

Also the Ras scheme run by county council's you have to be in receipt of rent allowence for 18 months before applying

Mrs OBumble

OP, where do you live and where are you prepared to move to? In some counties, the wait time will be a lot shorter.

MissRachael29

So if I'm living in county Wicklow and decide I can't wait 8+ years on council housing plus can't afford private rent I've also asked around a lot about rent allowance which seems almost impossible to find and I've been assessed for our over crowded room, would you be eligible then for ras scheme ? my son will more than likely be in a wheelchair next year. Does that not even push u up a little more in priority or time. I have steps to the house I live in at the moment, so I wouldn't be able to stay here

fussyonion

MissRachael29 wrote: »

So if I'm living in county Wicklow and decide I can't wait 8+ years on council housing plus can't afford private rent I've also asked around a lot about rent allowance which seems almost impossible to find and I've been assessed for our over crowded room, would you be eligible then for ras scheme ? my son will more than likely be in a wheelchair next year. Does that not even push u up a little more in priority or time. I have steps to the house I live in at the moment, so I wouldn't be able to stay here

It will definitely help your case but you still have to wait until you're top of the list for that category.

Even if you submit all your medical evidence, doctor's letters, notes from the hospitals, even letters from TD's etc, you'll still have to wait until you reach the top of the list and for a place to become available.

Like I said, and as Gatling mentioned, having a disability doesn't automatically push you straight to the top.

I was waiting 10 years and that was with countless pieces of documents, letters, phone calls, social workers, health workers..it was a long drawn out process.

Do the council know you're in an overcrowded home?

I also forget...did you say you were receiving Rent Allowance?

foggy_lad

MissRachael29 wrote: »

So if I'm living in county Wicklow and decide I can't wait 8+ years on council housing plus can't afford private rent I've also asked around a lot about rent allowance which seems almost impossible to find and I've been assessed for our over crowded room, would you be eligible then for ras scheme ? my son will more than likely be in a wheelchair next year. Does that not even push u up a little more in priority or time. I have steps to the house I live in at the moment, so I wouldn't be able to stay here

Your son is considered a "babe in arms" until he is school going age and will not help your situation much until then. The fact that you live with family is at present the biggest impediment to you being considered for housing, even with one room your parents are unlikely to turf ye out.

As far as the council are concerned there is no immediate concern for your situation so ye will wait for years while much more deserving cases where people are actually living in squalor or physically homeless are housed first.

zef

foggy_lad wrote: »

Your son is considered a "babe in arms" until he is school going age and will not help your situation much until then. The fact that you live with family is at present the biggest impediment to you being considered for housing, even with one room your parents are unlikely to turf ye out.

As far as the council are concerned there is no immediate concern for your situation so ye will wait for years while much more deserving cases where people are actually living in squalor or physically homeless are housed first.

I don't know how you can give such expert advice.
This child will be in a wheelchair soon and the house has steps.
OP I suggest you get onto your Family Support Worker, - see http://www.sbhi.ie/spina-bifida.html if you do not already have one.

foggy_lad

zef wrote: »

I don't know how you can give such expert advice.
This child will be in a wheelchair soon and the house has steps.
OP I suggest you get onto your Family Support Worker, - see http://www.sbhi.ie/spina-bifida.html if you do not already have one.

As far as any council in the country are concerned and also any occupational health department the child can be carried in and out of any house the parents live in until it becomes older, school going age or even above that. only when the parents are unable to physically carry the child will wheelchair ramps, access etc become part of their housing requirements.

No Pants

MissRachael29 wrote: »

"bray" county Wicklow

Are you suggesting that Bray doesn't exist?

MissRachael29

Obviously bray exists, it just seems impossible to find anywhere in this town that accepts REnt allowance not to mention the average cost is €1,000 p/m. How is anyone suppose to afford that much it's like a bloody mortgage! Ridiculous. I was at bray town council yesterday and the lady said it's changed now That you can rent outside Wicklow with rent allowance and still remain on the housing list in Wicklow.

No Pants

MissRachael29 wrote: »

How is anyone suppose to afford that much

They obviously do or the properties would be empty, which would prompt a decrease in the rent asked.

MissRachael29

Well I definately can't afford that, I'll be looking somewhere else. I'm just glad I can rent outside Wicklow I didn't know the rule had changed.

Gatling

MissRachael29 wrote: »

Well I definately can't afford that, I'll be looking somewhere else. I'm just glad I can rent outside Wicklow I didn't know the rule had changed.

The rules will change again soon with the new system coming in

AlwaysAnyTime

OP do you or your partner work? I genuinely don't intend to be offensive, it's just myself and my partner both have to work to afford our house and if I was in your situation - I would stop at nothing until I or my partner found a job so we could afford suitable accommodation for our child. You are talking about waiting 8-10 years like it's a given. It doesn't have to be this way.

MissRachael29

Yeah we are both working in a hotel so depending on buisness is the hours we get, well I work only 2 days a week because i take care of my son but I'm waiting on a response from carers allowance which I'll be taken 2 years out to care but even at that we still couldn't afford 1,000 and then other bills on top + shopping and baby essentials if you look at the prices compared to rest of Ireland it's the highest.

Mrs OBumble

Why doesn't your partner look for a job in a more affordable part of the country?

MissRachael29

Yeah we have Definately considered it but in a new job your more than likely going to be on minimum wage anyway. Plus my sons physio is only up the road and temple street children's hospital is only 40 minute drive when my family bring us in for our regular check ups so where we are is ideal and my family are also all around me. We need to get ourselves on the road too. I think moving out of Wicklow is the only choice we will have to be honest.

Olive8585

AlwaysAnyTime wrote: »

OP do you or your partner work? I genuinely don't intend to be offensive, it's just myself and my partner both have to work to afford our house and if I was in your situation - I would stop at nothing until I or my partner found a job so we could afford suitable accommodation for our child. You are talking about waiting 8-10 years like it's a given. It doesn't have to be this way.

Do you have a disabled child?

Mrs OBumble

MissRachael29 wrote: »

Yeah we have Definately considered it but in a new job your more than likely going to be on minimum wage anyway. Plus my sons physio is only up the road and temple street children's hospital is only 40 minute drive when my family bring us in for our regular check ups so where we are is ideal and my family are also all around me. We need to get ourselves on the road too. I think moving out of Wicklow is the only choice we will have to be honest.

There are physios and hospitals that provide services to kids with SB all over the country.

Having your family close is more of an argument for staying nearby. Even so, hopefully you can find somewhere more affordable that's not too-far away: with the motorways, realistically nowhere is that far away any more.

homeOwner

I can't begin to imagine how hard it's been. I wish you the best of luck. Sorry I have no practical help to offer.