Council Tenancy??

[Notveryhappy]

I live with my partner and 2 year old child.

The council house we live in has been in my partner and his brothers name for ten years.
His brother no longer lives there as moved out three years ago.

Myself and our daughter are down as occupants.

We went to the council to request that my name be put on the tenancy agreement. They have said no and that if we wanted to put it on, we would have to go to court.

They said that If we re applied for the house in both our names, we could lose it as we were ending the contract my partner and the council have on the property and that then the council can decide whether we stay or leave.


Is this right? We simply want my name on the tenancy, so that if anything did happen to him, myself and my daughter wouldn't be turfed out.

[tamborine]

Why cant you marry ?

[Notveryhappy]

We cant afford court, this is my point..

So before I can keep the home we have spent loads on, I have to pop out loads of children.. Great :-)

I am actually keeping the unplanned pregnancy, so maybe 2 kids will benefit me after all!! (joke)

On a serious note, I'll probably just leave it as it is till we buy it, as we plan to do this in the next few years.

Redhelen, we are not 'needy' or too badly paid. Lots of people live in and buy council houses.. Doesn't mean we're all poor you know.

[cazzz1975]

"Lots of people live in and buy council houses"

and this is exactly why there is a critical social housing shortage for the needy and desperate.

[New Judge]

I think the rules are there to prevent a situation where somebody not eligible for social housing could end up being housed.

Hypothetically, you could move in with your partner (who is entitled to the tenancy), gain joint tenancy as you wish, then he could move out - leaving you with sole tenancy to which you may not be entitled.

Even if the three of you were to apply for social housing now (from scratch, so to speak) it is unlikely you would be accommodated immediately. By doing what you wish you would be effectively jumping the queue and that is what this rule is designed to prevent.

[society]

I think sometimes some people are able to live a reasonably comfortably life because they are living in council housing. If they were to rent a flat or pay a mortgage they might be scraping the barrel's bottom to survive, or may not be able to make ends meet at all.

[arwyn]

Where I live if you down size i.e from a 3 bedroom to a 1 bedroom you get £1,000..So for every bedroom you loose you get £500.

[cazzz1975]

I think there is nothing wrong with council housing, however it should never be "right to buy" it defeats the purpose for what it was intended for. the discount alone is scandalous!

[Jemisa]

The Council moves in mysterious ways, - Be prepared to lose.

If you're on a low income why not apply for Legal Aid.
Go to the C.A.B they will point you in the right direction.

jem

[milly143]

I'm a bit confused to be honest, you were about to be made bankrupt the other day.

[bednobs]

At the end of the day, the council are just a landlord, but they have limited housing stock to work with (for example i find it amazing that your bloke has a 3 bedroomed house as a single tennancy) It's up to you whether you spend money on it or not, but it's just like spending money on any other rented house

[craft1948]

I'm with Milly.............the other day you were going bankrupt and asking about renting privately.

[arwyn]

It's not just the ^right to buy^ a chunk of council houses had to be given up to asyum seekers, Where I live certain houses will now always be for them, the goverment made them do it.

[DavideMexia]

now council tenacy are given a contract valid for a year. After 1 year i dont know if the council renew the tenacy agreement or if they give you a right to buy option. You have to be legally married by civil registrar so you can have the house in both names. You have to be bound by law

[cazzz1975]

agree arwyn, our housing waiting list in birmingham has increased by 15'000 people in one month, we are too small a country to accommodate so many people.

[factor-fiction]

The council has to prioritise and should be the ones who decide who gets a council house. The circumstances have changed so it needs to review things

[factor-fiction]

.... but just because they need to review it doesn't mean you'll be thrown out- based on what you've told us I suggest you have a reasonable chance of being allowed to stay

[Notveryhappy]

Myself and my partner were going to split up, so I was wanting to privatelt rent to save me going onto a rough estate with my daughter.

I have found out i'm pregnant which is why we have agreed to try and patch things up.

We are getting by, but due to my ar$e of an ex partner, he got loads of debt that I had to pay off. Some was mine, but nowhere near as much as his.

This is why i'm going bankrupt. As i only work part time, i couldn't afford to pay back what was being asked, so the best option for me was bankruptcy.

We do get by with a struggle most of the time, but myself and my parner both work, we don't really get any help, which is fine by me really.