council housing

caitlin12

Hi.It’s the first time for me writing in here but I’m really looking for your help.
I’m in the DCC waiting list since November 2010 ,so it’s more than 6 years.I am married with a person who is injured and disabled and he is getting disability allowance. We have 3 kids,7,4 and 1 year old.the 7 years old boy is suffering from asthma attack for the last 2 years . it’s a terrible thing to see your son not breathing properly.we brought him in the hospital when he was really ill and when we where talking with the doctor he said that probably the damp and mold in the house had made him with asthma.before that time we didn’t realize that the damp and mold that we had in the house that we are renting could make our kids that much sick.
I’m trying to clean the mold but I can’t get rid of it even with the chemicals that I have to use.we can’t find another house as they don’t accept rent allowance. The baby who is 1 year old has been admitted in the hospital twice for chest infections .
We applied to DCC to move on SDCC waiting list. We applied on April and they said it will need 6 months for the transfer.so now we are in the SDCC waiting list as well.
I don’t know what to do.the house that we live now is a 2 bedroom bungalow which has a single and a double room.in the single room is sleeping my big son and my daughter.and in the double room is sleeping me my husband and the baby.the house has a lot of mold and the landlord said that is nothing he can do.
I’m being depressed. I can’t sleep at night,even if I fall asleep I’ll wake up when I hear my son coughing.I’m starting having terrible headaches and I don’t even have appetite. I’ve lost more than 17 kg because of this situation.I am scared thinking that I might go into depression like I was 4 years ago and trying to suicide myself .I don’t want to go to doctor because I’m afraid that he is going to say that I’m suffering from depression again. When I see my son sick I feel that I can’t handle all this anymore. We don’t have no one who can help us and I feel so down because of what all of us are going through.I want a better life for my kids. I don’t mind for my self.its just for my kids I want them to live in a proper place,with no mold and damp.I want them to grow up healthy and I was wandering if anyone can help me to find a
Solution on how to get a proper house from DCC or SDCC?
I would really appreciated your help and I hope that any of you is going to give me a hope.thank you

neonsofa

Have you tried a dehumidifier?
Did the landlord check for the source of damp?
Do you use a drier or hang clothes on a horse/the radiator?
Is there condensation on the windows?

caitlin12

Yes we have tried the dehumidifier and it doesn't work.
The landlord didn't checked anything.he just said " Is nothing I can do" .
No we don't dry the clothes inside and yes the windows are condensating.

neonsofa

caitlin12 wrote: »

Yes we have tried the dehumidifier and it doesn't work.
The landlord didn't checked anything.he just said " Is nothing I can do" .
No we don't dry the clothes inside and yes the windows are condensating.

What kind are you using? Some are better than others.
Could you ask him to get someone in to take a look? It could be structural or could be to do with ventilation etc. Could be something very simple.
How often would you open your windows? And do you have the heating on all the time?

Samuel T. Cogley

Can you look at widening the net in terms of social housing? Does it not work that way?

Mrs OBumble

Libertarian Kant wrote: »

Can you look at widening the net in terms of social housing? Does it not work that way?

Not really. Prospective tenants have to be accepted onto a council's housing list. That won't usually happen unless they can prove a connection to the area.


OP - are you in council housing now? You've mentioned a transfer list, which implies you are, but the way you talk about the landlord, he sounds like a private sector LL. And having opposite gender children usually means that a 2brm would be unsuitable for you.

Get a letter from your doctor outlining our family's special health needs, and make sure that the council have a copy of this. Because your partner is disabled, there are some extra houses that you may be eligible, which non-disabled people cannot have.

caitlin12

We are privately renting and we have applied for council housing as well.Its been more than 6 years since when we applied in DCC.
Usually you have to choose 3 areas in the form.It could be areas from Dublin city council or county council.In the beginning we choose just the areas from DCC and last April we decided to change it and choose 2 DCC area and 1 SDCC area.
we have been in the DCC office and we have send them the medical reports from our GP and they said "you have to wait"
6 long years with the same answer :-(
iIn the beginning ,before we changed the areas they said to us that we want loose any year from the waiting list and now the SDCC is saying that we count just the time from April 2016.
I don't know what to do.I'm getting depressed and I feel that all this situation is destroying me.

Gatling

Op you do realise the current average waiting time is 10-12 years there's people waiting longer than 6 years ,im 9 years + on the sdcc list

myshirt

If the situation is that bad, you need to get out of Dublin unfortunately. That is the practical reality.

No person should be uprooted from their community and your children from their school, they are as entitled as anyone else to participate in active community, but the practical reality is there are deep problems in the housing supply in Dublin that are not going to be solved in the near term. And in fact won't be resolved to the extent of giving people a council house for life and a rent calculated under a differential rent scheme. That's gone. It is piss poor social housing policy. Not a realistic and sensible practice any more.

Look to London as an example and how once working class communities have been replaced by communities of yuppies. Dublin is increasingly no place for those that cannot paddle their own canoe. Op, don't give up, make every effort to chart your own way for your family, but if you need state help in putting a roof over your head and food on your table it's out of Dublin you need to be. It is a more of a material challenge to help you in Dublin than it is outside it, and with limited resources it is less and less they are going to pump those into providing housing for you in an area of the country that has top quality infrastructure and services in the midst (lots of schools, shops, etc) and is thus quite expensive.

For your children's sake, I would get out of the situation you are in as soon as possible. You don't have time for DCC to get their asses in gear or to wait around for a social policy practice to be revived from the dead. You will be helped given the health situation, but the format of that help cannot be to subsidise you into the most dominant part of this economy.

Have you considered Leitrim, Longford, Roscommon, or places like that?

SEPT 23 1989

Get out of the city and into the fresh air

myshirt

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Get out of the city and into the fresh air

The air in Dublin is amongst the freshest available... bit confused... are you living in China by any chance?

riclad

Go to crosscare get advice, if you have medical issues get a letter from your doctor .bring it to the housing dept in the council.You can get extra points on the housing list for medical issues you have .
We are in a housing crisis ,the no of landlords who take rent allowance is small ,the no of council houses being built is small .
or look for advice here ,www.threshold.ie
Landlords get tax credits for any repairs carried out,
the mold in any house can be removed ,maybe the house needs extra ventilation .maybe the landlord has a large mortgage and is making only a small profit.
Some old house the main ventilation method is to open a window .
Its not legal to rent out a house which has serious mold issues .
Theres rules re housing standards and safety in rental propertys.
it,s much easier to get ra property outside dublin, but you not wish to start again in another area outside dublin.

goz83

OP my brother was on the housing list since around 2011. He was living with his wife and 2 kids on rent allowance locally when his marriage fell apart and his wife moved into an apartment with the kids and left him couch surfing for years. He was on the housing with nothing happening. The only time anything happened, was when he made alot of noise about it and went to Doctors and TDs and kept annoying the people who were claiming they could do nothing....that he would be at least 10 years on the list. As a man, he was not a priority.

A big step was when he was given full custody of his son, who was developing behavioural issues (he was 9) and was missing lots of school. The argument being made was that couch surfing was causing huge stress and mental health issues for both my Brother and his son.

You need to become very active and be heard. If the council can't hear you, you're not there. They only deal with people on their radar. It's a messed up system and is totally unfair, but you have genuine reasons to make a big fuss. Consider the health of your family and keep calling and dropping into the council and get onto your TDs. Otherwise, you will be waiting at least another 6 years. I have a 6 year old with Asthma. No way would I sit around waiting and let him sleep in a damp, mouldy house.

In my experience, the Sinn Fein TDs seem to be the most proactive at dealing with this stuff. A certain female TD based in DCC was quite helpful to my Brother.

littleredspot

I think your best bet is to try sort out the mould where you are. What age is the house? What's the BER? What type of heating? Are the windows double glazed? Are there people at home all day? You say you can't remove the mould. That is unusual, bleach normally does the job. Are the walls damp? Is the mould on the ceilings only? Lots of questions but hopefully we can ease your worries and health issues.

the_syco

caitlin12 wrote: »

We applied to DCC to move on SDCC waiting list. We applied on April and they said it will need 6 months for the transfer.so now we are in the SDCC waiting list as well.

New list, probably new wait time.

caitlin12 wrote: »

I’m trying to clean the mold but I can’t get rid of it even with the chemicals that I have to use.

The chemicals will get rid of the mold, but not the source of the mold. The source is the reason it keeps coming back.

You can keep trying to move house, but in the meantime, lets concentrate on the present. Where is the mold mostly at, in what rooms, and where in relation to external walls and internal walls?

dar100

If your renting you can just move house!!! Very unlikely you'll be getting anything in the near future off the council

JustAThought

dar100 wrote: »

If your renting you can just move house!!! Very unlikely you'll be getting anything in the near future off the council

You seem immobilised by all of this - your house sounds really unsuitable for your needs at present & when your baby has to leave your bedroom will be even more unsuitable.
No doubt there are other bungalows to rent that have a suitable number of rooms & are not infested with black mould to destroy your sons respiratory system. Just bite the bullet & get googling on daft.ie it may seem a huge task but the Sooner you start sooner your childs health will have a chance to start to improve. This is your responsibility - your child cannot do this for himself. And ultimately you coukd be another 5 or 8 years waiting - far too long for a sick child when you are only renting.

Graces7

JustAThought wrote: »

You seem immobilised by all of this - your house sounds really unsuitable for your needs at present & when your baby has to leave your bedroom will be even more unsuitable.
No doubt there are other bungalows to rent that have a suitable number of rooms & are not infested with black mould to destroy your sons respiratory system. Just bite the bullet & get googling on daft.ie it may seem a huge task but the Sooner you start sooner your childs health will have a chance to start to improve. This is your responsibility - your child cannot do this for himself. And ultimately you coukd be another 5 or 8 years waiting - far too long for a sick child when you are only renting.

WIth all respect, it is getting harder and harder to find rentals that accept Rent Allowance. I was over 4 years between moves and the whole scene has changed for the harder. I had to move 200 miles which is fine with me .... Yesterday I trawled through daft ie out of interest and it gets harder. In my old county there is literally nothing I could have afforded.

OP try to find somewhere outside Dublin? It is marginally easier.

handlemaster

i get the feeling once people start to think about a free house they cant get it out if their minds. It would be better to yes look for a council housing if you are in need but not change your situation so you become more needy and try to get up the list that way. Better to look for work do courses better yourself also.

goz83

handlemaster wrote: »

i get the feeling once people start to think about a free house they cant get it out if their minds. It would be better to yes look for a council housing if you are in need but not change your situation so you become more needy and try to get up the list that way. Better to look for work do courses better yourself also.

The free house thing is certainly alluring. I generally dislike the idea of people being given a house fir life with rent being an absolute pittance...usually around €30 per week with the council in DCC. In my Brothers case, it was about stability and for the sake of his health and that of his kids. I wont get into that here, but my point is that some people need that stability and the OP seems to be someone who does.

My general belief is that the council house system is abused and the number on the list is almost meaningless. My brother was number 7 for a year. He was actually number 1 on the list for over a month and knew there were people getting housed ahead of him. There is no fairness....just loudness. Make enough noise and they put you into a council house/apartment.

The OP has children who are suffering. The LL won't do anything to address the health hazard and it's exceedingly difficult to find accommodation, especially on rent allowance. I will take my stupid high mortgage payments any day of the week if it means my kids are in a clean and safe home.

riclad

Its hard to get a house on the rent allowance scheme inside dublin,
rents have gone up alot,landlords can easily find private tenants.
See joe duffy show radio 1 this week,
theres an old couple on it finding it hard to get any flat under the rent allowance scheme.
go and get advice.To get a council house takes 5-10 years.
Rent allowance is hardly keeping up with private rental rates in dublin even if you find someone take takes on rent allowance tenants.its alot easier to get
rent allwance flats outside dublin ,but say you go to longford ,you,ll then
have to go on the local council housing list .
You wont get offered a house in coolock if you live in westmeath.
No House is free people in council houses pay rent every week.

the_syco

OP; do you have a car? I ask because if you do, you may be able to get a decent place outside of the estates.

Graces7

riclad wrote: »

Its hard to get a house on the rent allowance scheme inside dublin,
rents have gone up alot,landlords can easily find private tenants.
See joe duffy show radio 1 this week,
theres an old couple on it finding it hard to get any flat under the rent allowance scheme.
go and get advice.To get a council house takes 5-10 years.
Rent allowance is hardly keeping up with private rental rates in dublin even if you find someone take takes on rent allowance tenants.its alot easier to get
rent allwance flats outside dublin ,but say you go to longford ,you,ll then
have to go on the local council housing list .
You wont get offered a house in coolock if you live in westmeath.
No House is free people in council houses pay rent every week.

It is a nightmare. When I knew, last back end, that my landlord wanted to sell and started searching.... I was happy in the general area; had a lot of friends and the support I needed and it was heartbreaking. I was blessed to find anywhere. Miss my former town.

NB many do not know that Social Welfare can and do increase rent allowance in individual cases at need. Threshold are a great support in this; maybe the OP can talk to them?

NB also no you do not have to go on a housing list if you move.It is EITHER have been renting privately six months OR go on the housing list. They try to tell you otherwise but the rules are very clear,. So the OP can move eg to Longford and rent privately on rent allowance.

athtrasna

Mod note

Please stick to the issues raised by the OP. This is not the place for general discussion about council housing, who gets it, why and the costs involved.

caitlin12

I wrote in here because I was looking for an advice.As I said before I don't have anyone to help me and I thought that in here I would get some information on what should I do and where to look for help.
I'm not trying to get a free house.Nobody gives you something for free and if I ever get a council house I'll pay rent like I'm paying now.

myshirt

caitlin12 wrote: »

I wrote in here because I was looking for an advice.As I said before I don't have anyone to help me and I thought that in here I would get some information on what should I do and where to look for help.
I'm not trying to get a free house.Nobody gives you something for free and if I ever get a council house I'll pay rent like I'm paying now.

<mod snip>

Some good action points were made here for you to take away, and they key one is you need to move out of Dublin asap. Get back on your feet, give yourself breathing space, and work your way to putting your own roof over your head in time. It's the smart thing to do, and it is the practical thing to do given your situation.

BOHS

If you can't get alternative accommodation the first thing you need to do is contact the Council and get an Environmental Health Officer out to inspect the property. They will decide if the landlord must do work to rectify the situation with the dampness or if there is something that you as the tenant are doing to bring on the dampness.

As previously stated 6 years is not a long time to be on the housing list (when you look the amount of prople/ length of time they are on it) so you need to try and get a properity to increase your chances.

Under medical you need to show what the medical conditions are and how they will be made better by moving address (an extreme case I know but if you have cancer the majority of time it will not help medically if you move address, whereas if you have walking impairment and can't use stairs your doctor can write about your illness and the benefit of ground floor accom/ lifts) And then if there is any Welfare circumstances you should talk to a Housing Welfare Officer.

As the list in DCC now works by length of time it is not a case as some people have stated that "men are bottom of the list" or if you are not on their radar you won't be looked at", it is simply a matter of are you high enough on the list to be considered.

SDCC will be out unless you are looking for HAP as you are only on their list from last year (they won't allow you to carry your time from DCC as this would be unfair on applicants you would then skip who have spent years on SDCC's list)

Finally make sure you are noted for Voluntary Housing as this can sometimes go to people lower on the list so not everyone has marked their interest.

ballyharpat

They will not decide the landlord has to do work-they may decide the house is uninhabitable and you have to move out, the landlord can fix it-if he has the money, if he doesn't, he may just rent it out to another tenant and the new tenant may rectify the situation themselves.

BOHS wrote: »

If you can't get alternative accommodation the first thing you need to do is contact the Council and get an Environmental Health Officer out to inspect the property. They will decide if the landlord must do work to rectify the situation with the dampness or if there is something that you as the tenant are doing to bring on the dampness.

As previously stated 6 years is not a long time to be on the housing list (when you look the amount of prople/ length of time they are on it) so you need to try and get a properity to increase your chances.

Under medical you need to show what the medical conditions are and how they will be made better by moving address (an extreme case I know but if you have cancer the majority of time it will not help medically if you move address, whereas if you have walking impairment and can't use stairs your doctor can write about your illness and the benefit of ground floor accom/ lifts) And then if there is any Welfare circumstances you should talk to a Housing Welfare Officer.

As the list in DCC now works by length of time it is not a case as some people have stated that "men are bottom of the list" or if you are not on their radar you won't be looked at", it is simply a matter of are you high enough on the list to be considered.

SDCC will be out unless you are looking for HAP as you are only on their list from last year (they won't allow you to carry your time from DCC as this would be unfair on applicants you would then skip who have spent years on SDCC's list)

Finally make sure you are noted for Voluntary Housing as this can sometimes go to people lower on the list so not everyone has marked their interest.

riclad

I think the council goes by how many points you have ,in the process
of deciding who gets a house first .
The points you have are calculated by how long you are on the list,your
medical status , is there any special medical issues that might merit
a large house, a house with a bathroom designed for an older person.Houses
are usually given to familys with 2 or more children.
My friend had one child ,after 7 years on rent allowance she got a new build 2bed
apartment in finglas .With such serious medical issues you can go to
your doctor and get a letter and bring it to the housing department
to explain your medical problems and the issues with the present accomodation .Go to threshold and crosscare for advice.
http://crosscare.ie/index.php/information-advocacy
Crosscare Housing and Welfare Information (CHWI),and, are based in Sackville Place and Cathedral Street. The projects provide direct information and advocacy services in the areas of housing, homelessness, social welfare, health and wellbeing

Cathredral st is just off o,connell street , past the burger king, and the tax office.Dublin 1
The crosscare office is opposite the church there .

caitlin12

Thanks a lot .I really appreciate everyone for the advice.
I have an appointment with my doctor for next week and I'll ask him to issue a letter related to all medical conditions that we have.
Just a quick question.I'm not sure what Crosscare will be able to do.Do they get in touch with DCC or SDCC?
And about the TD's,will Him/her be able to help me to get a proper house for my kids and a stable one.
I really hope that all this what we are going through to become just a nightmare.

athtrasna

caitlin12 wrote: »

Thanks a lot .I really appreciate everyone for the advice.
I have an appointment with my doctor for next week and I'll ask him to issue a letter related to all medical conditions that we have.
Just a quick question.I'm not sure what Crosscare will be able to do.Do they get in touch with DCC or SDCC?
And about the TD's,will Him/her be able to help me to get a proper house for my kids and a stable one.
I really hope that all this what we are going through to become just a nightmare.

Tds can't get you a council house. They can get you an update on your position but can't influence the allocation of houses.