Hi
Can anyone offer me some advice?
I currently live in a 3 bedroom (although 2 bedrooms are only slightly bigger than the size of a single bed) council house with my daughter who is nearly 3 and has cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis and a visual impairment.
Last May it was decided that we needed to be rehoused because this property is upside down, i.e. the lounge is upstairs and the 2 small bedrooms are downstairs. Her O.T. wrote a report to support this, which stated that this property was too small for her growing needs and equipment. She would need a through floor lift and hoist system as well as her current equipment - standing frame, supportive highchair, physio benches, shallow bath insert. We are also waiting for a high-little one bed and wheelchair.
In June there was a meeting (which I had to fight to be present at) involving the council, nhs and social services where it was decided that we needed a larger property with a more conventional layout and parking close by. They said that it should be an end terrace so that they could build the lift on to the outside and that there should be an extra room for physio and equipment storage. She is starting pre-school in April in a small town close by where she would be able to have more social opportunities than the very rural location that we currently live in (This town is where I have spent most of the last 20 years living). This poses a problem as the town is quite sought after and therefore more expensive than other local areas. Although they agreed that this was the best place for us both they also pointed out that council houses rarely come up here. So there may be a possibility that a property would have to be purpose built. We were put at the top of the housing list for this area.
At the end of January they offered me a temporary place (for a couple of years until they could build somewhere) in the right location, a central terrace of identical size but of conventional layout. The social services OT (who has never met my daughter or looked at our current premises) came to look at the property and decided that it could be adapted. They would take out the 3rd bedroom and downstairs toilet to make room for the lift, widen the corridors and put a connecting door from a bedroom to the bathroom. I was not happy about this as it would make the property smaller that my current one. My daughters advocate made some phonecalls and got the council to put it in writing that this was to be a temporary place so therefore there would be no adaptations made and that there was a possible new build coming up in a couple of years.
Since then I have had to sign a notice to quit my property in 4 weeks and accept this other property. So I started to pack. A couple of days ago ( a week before the 4 weeks were up)I phoned to get an exact moving date and they said that they had had a meeting 2 weeks ago and the Social services OT had said that they should make it permanent and make the adaptations, so I would not be moving for another 3 months or so.
Now I don't know what to do. I feel that they have gone against all the recommendations that were agreed in June and also that this has happened behind my back. They have agreed to hold another meeting in a couple of weeks.
Am I being ungrateful? I hear of so many other people that are needing to be rehoused in worse situations than me. Should I just accept it because it's in the right area.
Are there any minimum space requirements for somebody who is in a wheelchair and also registered partially sighted? Can I argue for an extra room to do physio and store the standing frame, physio benches, nappies etc.
Do I have any ground to stand on considering that they had assured me that it was a temporary move. The minutes from the original meeting have aparently 'gone missing' so I only have the notes that my daughter's advocate made to outline their original recommendations. What do I say at the meeting? Making all these decisions about the future and knowing how much to fight is very daunting as a single parent.
Please let me know what you think about my dilemma. Sorry it's been so long winded.
Thanks
Doon

Can i just check its just you and your daughter living in the property?
Also do you know the sizes of the bedrooms in the proposed property at all?

couple of questions,
if they adapt it to be a 2 bedroom if you had a carer to help where would they sleep?? thats why we got a 3 bedroomed house with only one child.
i am also sure daniel has some specs on here about how much space/rooms you require by law so will find that

and maybe daft but rather than fitting a lift and extra bathrooms and stuff wouldnt it be easier for you if they just built you a bungalow? and i thought when you daughter got older it would be better to have a wet room and that has to be on the ground floor, also as she grows she would need a bigger lift (had a friend with son with c/p and she had to move again when they needed a bigger lift as he couldnt turn in his room and the lift was too small to fit him in with his bigger chair)
corinne

(02-24-2010 10:25 PM)Daniel Wrote:  Can i just check its just you and your daughter living in the property?
Also do you know the sizes of the bedrooms in the proposed property at all?

Yes, it's just me and my daughter ( and my dog!). The 2 new bedrooms are roughly the same size about 3mx4m I think with the 3rd (the one to be removed) about 2mx3m.
I forgot to say that the council also tried to get me to pay for the electricity whilst they do the work. They also wanted me to move in first then do the work after, which I flatly refused due to her CF and they would have to be working in every room.

In regards to room sizing there isnt all that much of a legal argument because of your daughters age as such.
Its a tricky area because legally once you accept the property they would legally be within there rights to leave you there without moving you in the future as it would be adaquete in there eyes and in the eyes of the law.

There was a possible case law a few years back in relation to rooms for carers but it related to council tax but i remember the summary stated it allowed a possible legal challenge for housing applications in the future if it was challenged.
Ill dig out that case law tommorow morning for you and see what loopholes there are there.
Storage is a thing that needs addressing but again i dont think there is a set law in regards to this so you would need written clarification what they intend to do to resolve this.
Obviously the council have the make the property suitable for wheelchair access both inside and out and make it easy to navigate.

The other grey area we have here is that the council only need to make so many offers before withdrawing them and if the property they are offering was suitable they have a chance of saying that you have turned one down and there is not an immediate rush to offer another.

I know you are most likely in a very desperate postion to move and i know i was there a year ago and we luckily got a good move however ask yourself this:

Hand on heart do you think this property is what is suited to you and your daughters needs as i sense there is major doubt on your part.
At the moment believe it or not your hold the Aces as you have a 3 bedroom property and they are like gold dust so will do almost anything to get there hands on it including offering you a better move.
I personally understand your desperate and it would be a tough choice,when we took on this house it was in a very bad state of repair and we had to put in our own bathroom and replaster the whole property and remove an old stairlift that didnt work or wasnt needed but we took it because we were desperate at the time and looking at my house now i dont regret a thing.

However this is a house that may not suit your needs for very long so its a big choice for you and if your not really wanting to move there dont feel pressured!