hi everyone, i am totally new to this so bear with me. i am having a massive issue with trying to move my mum she has primary progressive ms. and is really struggling to live in a house, she has a 2 bed council house and we have put her on the council list to move. however the council bungalows that are coming up in the area we want them are all 2 beds and they have said that she cant have a 2 bed as she is living alone and doesn’t yet have a overnight carer. she is having frequent falls ( every month or so) not serious ones but they could be. there is no one immediately near her to help or phone if there is an issue i am there everyday but its mainly in the evenings that she falls. i am at a total loss in what to do. the council haven’t seem to taken mums condition into consideration at all. they just see the extra bedroom not the fact its the bungalow she actually needs. does anyone have any advice on what to do or been though the same thing?
Citizens Advice. From personal experience they seem to be the most helpful.
Google for your local MP and their email address and send them an email asking for help that’s what they are there for.Our local MP helped my daughter and my disabled grandchild to get a suitable house after i wrote to her as she was getting nowhere fast and within 3 months she got offered a brand new house with an housing association.The only thing though just now, is this covid situation it might hold things up a bit,but i would give it a try.Its only thing that helped my daughter at the time.
Hi, what you could do is say you do sleepover sometimes when mum isnt doing too well and therefore a 2nd bedroom is needed.
Does your mum have a care plan?
If not why not request one from Social Services and try to make provision for a night carer?
Boudsx
Hi thankyou for your replies. I have tried mps and local councilors and none of them reply. I shall try social services and see if they can help. As it is at the moment they are saying that even if the bungalows are hard to let they can let it to single people. Great we thought. Until they said she had to be over 60. If anyone in that age group didn’t want it it goes down to 55 then 50 my mum is in the last group even with her disabilities. I don’t understand how they can put an able bodied 60 year old above a disabled person that cant manage stairs! The whole thing is ridiculously frustrating.
Hi Lauralou,
Your story is a disgrace and traumatic to read. I really relate as I lived in a bedroom houseboat, when I was diagnosed with MS, as my kids were 8 + 10 and all the rooms were used.
Sadly, soon after my diagnosis, my husband decided to have an affair so I told him to leave…I couldn’t live in my home, with rr MS, just diagnosed, my job, lost and with him ‘carrying on’ and my 2 beloved sons to raise!
So he left and my kid’s grew (super stressful time!) but, somehow, I did it and they grew to university age age and went live on their campus’
As soon as this happened, a woman in a trench coat came to my 4 bedroomed houseboat and inspected all the bedrooms, making comments such as
‘Mmmm, lovely boat…mmm so there’s just you here, now’?
she then said,
‘I’ll have to go back to the office and report, three unoccupied rooms and issue a ??? report’
‘What’s that, I asked’?
‘Well, you are living in a property with 3 unoccupied rooms and …blah blah blah’
‘This is my home’! I replied ‘My son’s will be returning from university, in the holidays! So their room’s are, in effect, still occupied’!
I couldn’t believe my ears and was livid. Luckily, I still had enough energy, at that time, to plan…so one of my son’s, distraught at my illness and his father’s lack of care, had started his own business, whilst applying for uni and was doing exceptionally well! So he lent me the money to update my houseboat to a standard, well enough to rent out. God Knows how, but we renovated in to an acceptable standard - thanks to my amazing son - and needless to say…I rented it out, almost immediately and RAN for the hills!!
I began renting back then and was lucky enough to get a reliable tenant. I’m still renting 7 years later and have just been given 2 months notice on my beloved flat… so the wheel turns…
It was interesting to read your post as I thought the ‘Bedroom tax’ had all but faded away. It seems to be a hazy area and when I called an advice service, in the council that my houseboat is in, they didn’t seem sure if I could return and take up with benefits, once more. The lady advised, I don’t so, I could only surmise, that she knew it would be a horrible struggle to claim benefits, or if I was even allowed back to my 4 bedroom family home!
As I said, at the start of this message - it’s absolutely disgusting that people with a disability are not at liberty to live in their rightful homes. This is the twenty first century, after all, and not medieval times!
I though bedroom tax was a pathetic attempt to smoke folks out of their homes, that had failed dismally. I am depressed that it’s obviously, still persisting… and am so very sorry for you and your mother.
Jaydee’s advice is good and writing to your local MP is a must! I have written to in, here in Kemptown, Brighton, and Lloyd Russel Moyle has saved my bacon! So it is really worth it. My council is a Labour one and they do seem to really care about people, which I was delighted to discover!
Sorry that my email was so long…I’ve never told this story before and if you had the wherewithal to read it, it certainly was cathartic to explain!
I wish you all the very best for your mother’s living requirements and
thanks for reading!
Big love,
Naomi