Social Housing scéal

snubbleste

A woman complained about the delay in receiving social housing from Kildare CoCo. She said that she had been on the Council housing list since 2006 without receiving a housing offer. Her family had been forced to move from their private rented accommodation to a different town. She said she is a single parent of two children who were suffering emotionally because of the lack a permanent home.

The Council accepted that the woman had been on the housing list for a long time. It said that there were people waiting even longer because of the shortage of suitable units and the number of applicants seeking accommodation. However, as she had moved to a new location, the Council reassessed her circumstances. It recommended the family for a new voluntary housing scheme which was due to become available in her desired location.
The woman accepted the offer of a three-bedroom house from the voluntary housing association.

Ombudsman L20/15/2438 Completed 20/08/2015
I don't understand this scenario. She is on the housing list for only nine years, complains about 'emotional suffering' and effectively is allocated housing ahead of others because she made a fuss?
Surely everyone on Housing lists can do same. Am I missing something?

Gatling

You don't think all of these newly homeless this year is because of landlords selling up

Mrs OBumble

snubbleste wrote: »

Surely everyone on Housing lists can do same. Am I missing something?

Everyone on the housing lists can indeed move to a new location, and say that they are willing to accept voluntary housing.

Doing this is likely to get them allocated social housing more quickly that staying in an extremely over-subscribed area and refusing voluntary housing.

Of course this won't make much difference if absolutely everyone does it: there are only so many difficult to fill houses that are waiting for a tenant. But there are some.

MarkAnthony

It's about time a serious case was taken on behalf of people requiring social housing. The record of Human Rights lawyers in looking after their own in this country is shocking. Until it starts cost the CoCos more money to fanny about than to house people in genuine needwe'll see no change in this decades old problem. It's an absolute disgrace at this stage.

snubbleste

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Everyone on the housing lists can indeed move to a new location, and say that they are willing to accept voluntary housing.
Doing this is likely to get them allocated social housing more quickly that staying in an extremely over-subscribed area and refusing voluntary housing.
Of course this won't make much difference if absolutely everyone does it: there are only so many difficult to fill houses that are waiting for a tenant. But there are some.

Ah! The scéal illustrates that the woman was forced to move to a different town and after complaining to the Ombudsman, the Council suggested a new voluntary housing scheme which was due to become available in her desired location, which I take to mean the original town.

Sleepy

Squeaky wheels get greased. It's a sad and inevitable part of our society.