Greenwich council

I’m pretty sure if you choose to private rent without their help, they assume you don’t need their help anymore and take you off the list x

That’s what I’m thinking! But how will they know I’ve chosen to rent privately if I don’t change my address with them ? 🤦🏽‍♀️

That’s always an option but not sure how they take it if you get caught for whatever reason. They do offer to help people look into private renting, have you been allocated a housing officer? x

Theyl probably find out. Youl have bills in your name. Only way you’d get away with it would be if you do it in someone else’s name x

@Sian my housing officer was absolutely useless & only helped when I said I’m homeless & they put me in Travelodge which is inconvenient so I opted out of it

@Demi Yh your right, I was just going to have the council tax in my name & leave my address the same as I’d still have access to it. I’ve been waiting since 2017 , i honestly can’t wait anymore

Oh really, did you look for private properties yourself? If you find any you can view it and forward details onto the HACTRAC department and they will contact estate agent to see if they can get you in the property x

@Sian yup did all that & I whatever they said to the landlord of the private properties they basically said no 😫

Oh no 😭😭 that’s so frustrating, honestly only option for most of us now is to private rent but it is so expensive! x

@Sian right! Exactly my point & id have to declare this with UC so I’m scared Greenwich council find out. I’m thinking to just take this risk tbh

Council tax is associated to the council you live in. You are quite likely to get caught id think. I know you said the travel lodge was inconvenient but you should’ve stuck it out cause they would’ve housed you so much quicker as it costs a lot of money for them to pay for you to be in a hotel x

Also, If they didn’t house you permanently and a flat became available for temporary housing they’d move you into it as again, it’s cheaper for them x

@Demi I was paying for it! £75 week 🤯 I stayed there as long as I could. It was all the way in Woking 🥹

Right letter to your local mp,I was in a hostel with my son and I wrote to my local my and within a month I was offered my temporary accommodation which I was in a year before being offered my permanent.

No they are unlikely to house you if you rent privately. Currently the waiting lists in the whole of London are very long due to an extreme shortage of housing. They will see it as if you can afford a private rental then you don’t need social housing. It is a disaster that we are in this position as personally I think social housing should be available for most people but with such a shortage it just isn’t the case anymore. It’s not that they don’t care about you it’s that there are so many people who don’t currently have somewhere to live or who have disabilities etc which puts them into a higher band. I think you can stay on the housing list if you rent privately but you’d be on the lowest band.

@Siobhan I second this. I was also in a hostel and wrote to the Mp and a local news paper. I was told I could be waiting two years to be moved to somewhere suitable for my daughter (there was only just about enough space for a single bed and a travel cot. Couldn’t have a buggy in there either). I spoke to the MP and paper on a Monday. I was offered a temporary place on the Wednesday! I’d had health visitors and drs contact the council as there was no where for my daughter to play. They ignored them. As soon as the mp got in touch, they magically moved us x

@Siobhan what should I say if I write to him ?

It depends on your situation and how long you've been in it,what your current property is like if your living alone or with children if it's overcrowded,but you just put it all down in an email and stress to them how long you've been waiting and how it's having a direct impact on your life.

@Siobhan thank you babe. Appreciate this, il give it a go now

Greenwich council have no properties, I’ve been on bidding list since 2017 for one bed and need a two bed for myself and son. Luckily I meet a priority which is under assessment at the moment. But the policy stands that if you are to move (which you organised and found yourself) in or out of the borough you need to re apply within 6 months of moving. See the allocation policy. However, if you are to move out of the borough you will be backdated if you re apply within the 6 months but my understanding is you will be put to bottom of the list (despite the years) as you are classified as out of borough ).

@Siobhan hiya can I ask you how long was you on the bidding list for? As I'm having a nightmare trying to get my permanent place. I've been on the bidding list since 2014.

@Danielle I've been bidding since 2014 for a 2 bed. Can I ask how you got them to assess you for a priority banding? I feel like I'm not getting anywhere 😕

@Shelbs that's terrible that's one of the longest waits I've heard of,it depends on your situation what your living arrangements currently are,I was in a hostel wrote to my local mp and then was offered my temporary accommodation which was a studio flat and then after a year was offered my permanent which was a 2 bed,My advice is write to your local mp.

@Siobhan, thank you for your advice.. that will be my next step. What council are with, if you don't mind me asking? I'm greenwich Council. I'm currently in private rented accommodation but I've just been given a section 21. So I'm really worried.

I was with Croydon and their notorious for not having a care for the people,that's why you wasn't getting anywhere bidding because you was privately renting the council don't see you as needing help,however when you leave your current property your banding will change but don't leave until the bailiffs turn up otherwise the council will say you've made yourself intentionally homeless

@Siobhan thank you. I will keep trying. That's all I can do. X