1 bed Accommodation Wanted

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
.. that's more your preserve.

I remember when it used to be 'New', whatever that was supposed to mean..
 

Lunar Scorpion

Anarchy in the UK
cookie_monster said:
i use to pay £300 pcm all bills included for an unfurnished one bed flat opposite the chippy on stone road....but we are talking about 2003.

if i remember rightly there were some relatively cheap bedsits around park street and over the other side of wolverhampton road when i was looking....but again, that was along time ago so i have no idea about the current rents.

you may also find that you dont get offered better properties becuase of your dss status. im not saying it to be harsh, just that many private landlords wont accept dss because of the issues with getting paid.

have you tried getting in touch with one of the housing associations? are you on their books for a property?


x
I am a Stafford and Rural Homes tenant and I am employed "full time".
 

Lunar Scorpion

Anarchy in the UK
MyCult said:
Seek gainful employment, then reward yourself with modest yet suitable accommodation + a lifestyle you both deserve & have a right to.

(not a dig lady)
I am no more than £20-25 better off for working 25 hours a week, and according to the Rowntree Paper I'm receiving just over half as much as I require for a "basic but acceptable" standard of living - I would have to work 48 hours a week or be earning in the region of £10 an hour. Neither of these is ever going to happen... On the positive side, I won't have to sign on till 25 December at least.

I didn't take it as a dig (and I ain't much of a lady!) - I know what kind of lifestyle I deserve and have a right to but it will not happen in the current state of affairs due to low wages and a disability that limits the number of hours I can work: I am comfortable with 25, I could probably do a couple more if I really wanted to (though not whilst I don't get paid overtime). If I worked more than that I'd probably still be based at St George's but not as an employee.
 

Lunar Scorpion

Anarchy in the UK
basil said:
DSS often pay rent direct to the landlord, however as they're usually at home all day the property gets more wear and tear and in my experience..... Trashed!...........
I don't need to trash my place, SARH and probably the council before that have done a good enough job already...
 

cookie_monster

Well-Known Forumite
Lunar Scorpion said:
I am a Stafford and Rural Homes tenant and I am employed "full time".
by dss, i meant your housing benefit payments which you refer too multiple times.

i havent been on for ages, so i didnt know your employment status and that wasnt the point of my earlier reference to dss.

can SARH not find you a different property if you are having issues. is it the property or the neighbours that are the problem?

im not trying to have a go, i was genuinely trying to be helpful with my very limited knowledge of lcoations and approximately prices that i had experienced. im just wondering what if any advice can be offered, or places/people where you may be able to get advice from without having to resort to moving...especially if you are suffering problems.


x
 

Vault_girl

Well-Known Forumite
You will be hard pressed to find a suitable property to meet your needs in the price range you have specified. I only knew of two properties at my old agency which would be within your budget. They were _small_... two people in those places was crowded! It is also true that benefit payments are made to the tenant nowadays. If a tenant becomes two months in arrears with the rent then the landlord/agent can apply to the council to get the rent paid directly to them rather than the tenant.

The best advice I can give is keep scouring Rightmove and if you do find something be completely honest with the landlord or agent about your circumstances. Good Luck!
 

Lunar Scorpion

Anarchy in the UK
cookie_monster said:
i havent been on for ages, so i didnt know your employment status
I can't remember whether I've mentioned it before now to be fair.

can SARH not find you a different property if you are having issues. is it the property or the neighbours that are the problem?
Mainly the property. Due to the choice-based lettings system you have no choice unless you are homeless, severely overcrowded/underoccupied or your personal safety is threatened - there are 4 bands and unless you can get into one of the two highest priority bands it's unlikely you'll ever be successful for any of the properties you bid for.

In two months I will be entitled to enough LHA so that I could afford upto about £100 per week rent so I might be able to go private if I can find an understanding landlord.
 

Lunar Scorpion

Anarchy in the UK
Lunar Scorpion said:
cookie_monster said:
i havent been on for ages, so i didnt know your employment status
I can't remember whether I've mentioned it before now to be fair.
Speaking of which, has shoes seen this? He can't have, he's posted since then so clearly hasn't died of a heart attack.
 

shoes

Well-Known Forumite
No, I'm staying well out of this. I said my piece at the top, that's all I have to offer on the subjet - afraid I can't be more helpful :(
 

cookie_monster

Well-Known Forumite
Lunar Scorpion said:
Mainly the property. Due to the choice-based lettings system you have no choice unless you are homeless, severely overcrowded/underoccupied or your personal safety is threatened - there are 4 bands and unless you can get into one of the two highest priority bands it's unlikely you'll ever be successful for any of the properties you bid for.

In two months I will be entitled to enough LHA so that I could afford upto about £100 per week rent so I might be able to go private if I can find an understanding landlord.
hmm, thats doesnt sound very helpful for you. whats wrong with the property?

in sheffield there is a section of the council which deals with private and social landlord complaints regarding the state of their properties. i dont know if theres anything similar within stafford borough council though.

but, if there are structural issues with the property, or problems which may be affecting your health, or if the property is substandard in anyway, i would seriously recommend getting in touch with your local councillor to help you deal with SRH. i pretty certain that local councillors have helped with cases like this.

citizens advice could also be worth a punt, but from my experience of them in sheffield, they were bloody useless, and virtually impossible to get hold of if you were working (that was mainly becuase of their ridiculously random and short opening hours).


x
 

Lunar Scorpion

Anarchy in the UK
cookie_monster said:
hmm, thats doesnt sound very helpful for you. whats wrong with the property?

in sheffield there is a section of the council which deals with private and social landlord complaints regarding the state of their properties. i dont know if theres anything similar within stafford borough council though.

but, if there are structural issues with the property, or problems which may be affecting your health, or if the property is substandard in anyway, i would seriously recommend getting in touch with your local councillor to help you deal with SRH. i pretty certain that local councillors have helped with cases like this.

citizens advice could also be worth a punt, but from my experience of them in sheffield, they were bloody useless, and virtually impossible to get hold of if you were working (that was mainly becuase of their ridiculously random and short opening hours).


x
What's right with it?! It's in a handy location, it's shelter from the wind and it's dry, during the summer at least...

Serious damp and mould problem, and the condition of the walls shows that it is an ongoing problem. I had water literally running down the walls and blisters forming in the paint during winter, and when the damp inspector came he thought there could be a leak from the bathroom next door. When their gas engineer came to do the annual gas check a couple of weeks ago he commented on the dampness of the air inside my flat. My bedsit room (where I spend practically all my time) has three external walls (luckily there is an old chimney breast that is dry) so you can imagine what a pain in the arse it was to get the furniture away from those walls to stop mould growing behind (the bottom corner behind where my bookcases were was completely black).

There's no insulation, poor ventilation and I'm expected to make up for these lacks by opening windows and keeping the property heated to 18 degrees - which would cost a f'king bomb in gas during the winter. Nothing has been done, except a promise of an extractor fan in the kitchen which has yet to materialise, although I have had an inspector round who says I won't be able to have one in the bathroom, which is more of a problem because if I have a bath I have to open the window instead of just having it on the first notch and a couple of times I have forgotten to close it before I go out - I'm on ground floor...

I've had someone from the council round as well but I doubt anything will ever be done as it's due to the building being a concrete block and "there's nothing they can do about it" because it would cost too much, yet one of their employees has admitted that he would not live somewhere like that - so why the feck am I and all the rest? (Other people have similar problems.)

There's also a couple of other things not related to the damp and mould, but I think that's enough to be getting on with...
 

cookie_monster

Well-Known Forumite
to me then sounds if nothing can be done about it, then it is not fit for purpose.

contact your local councillor, your local mp, invite the newsletter round (with a photgrapher), name, shame and get those responsible to take responsibility.

just because you are living in social housing does not mean that you should be living in those sort of conditions...im sorry but i do feel that that is unacceptable.


x
 

Lunar Scorpion

Anarchy in the UK
cookie_monster said:
to me then sounds if nothing can be done about it, then it is not fit for purpose.

contact your local councillor, your local mp, invite the newsletter round (with a photgrapher), name, shame and get those responsible to take responsibility.

just because you are living in social housing does not mean that you should be living in those sort of conditions...im sorry but i do feel that that is unacceptable.


x
You've hit the nail on the head, but when it involves approximately 55 households I can't see them admitting this publicly as they would have to reduce their housing stock by this number, at least in the short term. I don't have the time, energy or will power to kick up enough of a fuss to get anything of consequence done - it's easier to move out to somewhere that doesn't resemble a cave with windows (although I wouldn't mind living in a cave if it didn't take so much effort to keep it dry and warm).
 

Gerry Melon

artist fka G-Unit
lunar, in doxey road stores there is a card on the add board for a 1 bed flat for £80 per week. Only noticed it today so dont know how long its been there. Check it out young lady may be just what your after.
 

Lunar Scorpion

Anarchy in the UK
G-Unit said:
lunar, in doxey road stores there is a card on the add board for a 1 bed flat for £80 per week. Only noticed it today so dont know how long its been there. Check it out young lady may be just what your after.
Thanks, will do.
 

cookie_monster

Well-Known Forumite
Lunar Scorpion said:
You've hit the nail on the head, but when it involves approximately 55 households I can't see them admitting this publicly as they would have to reduce their housing stock by this number, at least in the short term. I don't have the time, energy or will power to kick up enough of a fuss to get anything of consequence done - it's easier to move out to somewhere that doesn't resemble a cave with windows (although I wouldn't mind living in a cave if it didn't take so much effort to keep it dry and warm).
all the more bloody reason to kick up a stink....55 households means potentially over a hundred people shouting about this!

you wouldnt be on your own and you would probably have less to do than you think. im quite sure there would be others who dont have you campaigning experience but have the ability to shout up and make themselves heard, but lack the confidence to do so because they just dont know where to start.

tek-monkey said:
If you don't, who should?
im afraid tek has a point....you cant complain about it if youre not prepared to do try and do something about it.

just out of interest, whereabouts in stafford is this? i dont mean street name, just generally.


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