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Question

who can rent a council flat?

can an individual not on any sort of benefits rent a coucil flat instead of a private landlord in london? if so, how does it do that?, what are the procedures?

2 months ago - 2 answers

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Chosen by Asker

basically anyone is entitled to rent a council property, but be aware that you may go on the end of a very long waiting list, you may not get what you want or where you want. priority will go to people with children or people with disabilities,single persons are more likely to get single person accommodation be it flat or bedsits. Go to your local council and ask about registering on the council home waiting list, and you will not be rejected if you are working and not on benefits

by badwolf_got_suspended

2 months ago

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Other Answers

In order to get a council flat, you need to put yourself on the housing register of your local authority. Anybody can do this, whether you're a millionaire or barely have two buttons to rub together. You don't need to be receiving any benefits simply to put your name on the waiting list. The difficult part is actually being allocated a home. In London particularly there is a severe shortage of council housing and a lot of people waiting for it - the council I work for has a register of over 10,000 households. This essentially means that only those with a priority housing need have any likelihood of being allocated a council property. Your housing need is decided by the council on a points-based system - you get points for having dependent children, points for being statutorily homeless, points for facing homelessness, points for currently living in poor quality housing, points for ill-health or disability, points for being vulnerable, points for being a care-leaver and so forth. The more points you collect, the more urgent your housing need, the quicker you get allocated. Presumably if you aren't entitled to any benefits you are in paid work or in a relationship with someone who is and are not disabled or incapacitated, which means the council will consider you able to finance your own housing in the private sector. Somebody who can afford to rent their own home will wait for years on the housing register, behind all households with points given for all the above situations. Single, healthy individuals with no dependents are very rarely housed at all unless there are extenuating circumstances.

by La Comtesse De Whippet- 2 months ago