offered apartment

channaigh

hi wondering if anyone can help have been offered a apartmment from the council its a new two bed top half of house bascially. but have been refused to be allowed see it till i accept offer. I would like to see it before i do. so what i'm asking is this the done thing you don't grt to see the place you are been offered. it could be a dog box for all i know

chump

channaigh wrote: »

hi wondering if anyone can help have been offered a apartmment from the council its a new two bed top half of house bascially. but have been refused to be allowed see it till i accept offer. I would like to see it before i do. so what i'm asking is this the done thing you don't grt to see the place you are been offered. it could be a dog box for all i know

A council house?
A brand new 2 bed for nawting. Sure try it out what's the worst that can happen.

Victor

channaigh wrote: »

but have been refused to be allowed see it till i accept offer. I would like to see it before i do. so what i'm asking is this the done thing you don't grt to see the place you are been offered.

It seems a bit strange alright. Have they given you any information? Location, local services, schools, transport, etc.

What happens if you say "I might be interested, but need more information".

channaigh

i either accept or don't bascially. i know where it is but they won't allow me to see inside it. its not protocall i was told must accept first and then i will get to see what the inside is like. So could i then turn around and say no see i have a feeling the kitchen and living room are all in one with the bathroom off the sitting room. which i think is weird. so if i accept and it is like that could i turn around and say no. my head is recked don't know what to do. if i could just walk around it . sorry for going on

January

Where is it? You can look some of the places up online and see if the apartment is living/kitchen together, although most are these days... what would be wrong with that?

channaigh

nothing wrong with that its the bathroom in the sitting room thats the problem. its outside kilkenny.

RoryW

is is possible to knock on the door of the person who lives downstairs ? They may be able to tell you what it is like and also you will see what they are like and what the state of the building is like.

Otherwise take a ladder and quickly climb up it and look in the window when no one is looking

channaigh

no one lives downstairs yet and the gate is locked for the back so can't get around to the back. Just think its strange that they don't let you see it. that you have to decide to take something that could be a box. I'm not ungrateful please don't get me wrong just think its wrong that i have to decide on a place to live that i could be stuck in for a long time without seeing it. you wouldn't even rent a place without going to view it

gurramok

That sounds very suspicious OP. I'd get it in writing that if you accept the place, it must suits your needs without a viewing.
I had always thought viewings for council housing are the norm(i do know of one person who got a house and she had to view it first)

Maybe get a solicitor involved if your unsure?

pigeonbutler

Sorry if this is a bit harsh. But Beggars can't be choosers.

If your need for housing is so dire that I (Joe Taxpayer) have to provide it for you I don't think you should have a right to pick and choose.

snubbleste

Get on to a local councillor for the area and ask them to accompany you to the flat to view it, they should be able to liase with the housing section.

That's odd, the council not allowing you to see it first.

wyndham

Not odd really, they are not estate agents. Presumably it at least conforms to the minimum housing standards as proscribed in the relevant legislation.

The council are quite right, do you want a place to live or don't you?

AARRRGH

pigeonbutler wrote: »

Sorry if this is a bit harsh. But Beggars can't be choosers.

If your need for housing is so dire that I (Joe Taxpayer) have to provide it for you I don't think you should have a right to pick and choose.

I'd say that's why they have such a policy.

I recently read an article which talked about there being a glut of empty council houses because the poor have become extremely picky about where they live.

Victor

dublindude wrote: »

I recently read an article which talked about there being a glut of empty council houses because the poor have become extremely picky about where they live.

Council officials have been saying its because they haven't been able to get contractors to renovate.

channaigh

i am also a tax payer and don't need to be spoke down to because i'm a single parent who couldn't afford a house the way the market went. I am no begger. MY POINT WAS I WOULDN'T RENT APARTMENT WITHOUT VIEWING IT. Would you PIGEON BUTLER??

Tony H

channaigh wrote: »

no one lives downstairs yet and the gate is locked for the back so can't get around to the back.

Are there similar homes on the estate that are occupied ? if there are why don't you just go up and knock at one of them and ask for a look , at least that way you will see what your new neighbours are like ,

If you do accept the house , the best of luck and happiness in it

channaigh

no all the other homes like this they are two and three bed houses. this is an upstairs of a house with a one bedroom flat underneath it. so god knows who they'd put in that. JUst trying to think whats best for my 3 year old daughter. Have till tomorrow to decide. Just don't know what to do.

channaigh

channaigh wrote: »

no all the other homes like this they are two and three bed houses. this is an upstairs of a house with a one bedroom flat underneath it. so god knows who they'd put in that. JUst trying to think whats best for my 3 year old daughter. Have till tomorrow to decide. Just don't know what to do.

You obviously don't need it too badly. So stay wherever you are now and wait for something else. I'm sure there's other people who need it more.

pigeonbutler

channaigh wrote: »

i am also a tax payer and don't need to be spoke down to because i'm a single parent who couldn't afford a house the way the market went. I am no begger. MY POINT WAS I WOULDN'T RENT APARTMENT WITHOUT VIEWING IT. Would you PIGEON BUTLER??

Of course not. But then I pay my own rent and don't rely on the State to provide it for me.

Are you aware of the consequences of refusing an offer of housing?

First time: Your place on the housing list is suspended for a certain period. Second time: Suspended for longer and your entitlement to rent allowance can be reviewed.
Third time: You are suspended from housing list for really long (can't remember exactly) but i'm thinking at least 5 years.

These measures might seem harsh but they are in place to ensure that people who are getting by well enough to be able to afford to be choosey don't get provided with state housing.

Finally, you may be a tax payer but if you're going to be availing of social housing you are a net beneficiary from the State. I.e. the money the state (i.e. me and everyone else) is giving you is greater than what you're contributing. Now I've no problem with the State providing housing to those in dire need.

But I do have a problem with people who avail of State benefits so that they can have an extra few quid for themselves!

Moonbeam

Not everyone choose to end up in the position they do and, even though they are being funded by the state I can still understand the apprehension of moving in to a new home that they have never seen with a small child.
"Free" or not not everywhere is suitable for a small child.
I know nothing about council housing but I do find it a bit strange that you can not view it.

faceman

State funded housing that has been completed in recent years has been to high standard so i wouldnt be overtly worried if that was the case.

Bally8

I am a council tenant and when I got my house I wasn't able to look at it first. To be honest I was so relieved to get a place it didnt matter so much. I was able so sneak a peak in the downstairs windows long before I moved in though. I was never given the option of viewing the house first before I decided it was more like 'here is a house if you need it accept it' and I was in major need (had waited 3 years and couldnt wait 3 more). I would worry about refusing accomodation. They might look at you as less needy. Also you could look at it as a stop-gap place. If you are earning, a council tenancy is a great way of saving money for a deposit for your own mortgage in the future

Best of luck

astrofool

I'd say just take it, you're being offered accommodation by the state because you can't afford your own, unfortunately you don't get to choose that property, but all council property should be up to a certain standard, and if this isn't, then you can lodge your complaint.

As literal as it may be, beggars cannot be choosers, and the risk is that you end up waiting another 5 years for another property.

snubbleste

What did you decide to do Channaigh?

channaigh

i refused it because i found out through a councillor that they had placed a single man with alchol problems below me in the bottom half of the house.i don't think that is right a girl by herself with her young daughter and a single man god only knows what he is like. I was advised by the councillor to stay where i was. Am really mad with the housing officer cause he tried to convince me that that there was a two bed underneath me.
have been on the list for four years they lost my apllication for two years.
As for paying your own rent pigeon butler I'm glad you do i just persume you are not raising a child by yourself. My rent that i get paid for by the state is €280.00 per month i pay the remaining €500.00 from my wages from work as well as that i travel to dublin every monday to do my masters. so don't talk to me about trying to make money off the state. If i wanted to do that i'd sit at home. But I will not accept somewhere that is not right for my daughter and that half a house is not the place for us.

snubbleste

Good call on going to your local councillor.

AARRRGH

Moonbeam wrote: »

Not everyone choose to end up in the position they do

I disagree. Everyone has a choice.

I chose to get an education, work hard, and not get anyone pregnant. As a result, I am doing ok.

I never had a hand out - I worked hard for everything I have.

Just like I have chosen my lifestyle, others chose theirs. Unfortunately a lot of people make a lot of bad choices.

EDIT: I still have sympathy for people in difficulty, but people need to start accepting responsiblity for how their life has turned out.

faceman

dublindude wrote: »

I disagree. Everyone has a choice.

I chose to get an education, work hard, and not get anyone pregnant. As a result, I am doing ok.

I never had a hand out - I worked hard for everything I have.

Just like I have chosen my lifestyle, others chose theirs. Unfortunately a lot of people make a lot of bad choices.

I dont really want to drag this thread off topic but i do have to pick up on this post. I also worked hard and made the right lifestyle choices to get here.

However it is naive to assume that everyone is born into the same boat. While there will always be spongers, they dont account for everyone. No one can chose their parents or their upbringing. No one can decide to prevent parents becoming seriously ill. Nobody can decide whether to be born with a disability.

Victor

dublindude, go away and stop browbeating posters looking for help.

AARRRGH

faceman wrote: »

No one can decide to prevent parents becoming seriously ill.

How does having an ill parent result in you not getting an education, not working hard, and not understanding contraception?

faceman wrote: »

Nobody can decide whether to be born with a disability.

Obviously I am not talking about people who are born disabled. :rolleyes:

/We can start a thread in humanities about this if you wish. I don't want to bring this thread too off-topic.

channaigh

I would just like to thank everyone for their postive comments and to Dublin dude and pigeon butler I hope that your lives continue on the smooth path they are running and that you will never have to look for help.

Also by the way dublin dude i work hard maybe you didn't read that i'm also doing my masters while working full time and being a mother. My husband died when i was pregnant. Everything happens for a reason and you need to open your mind a little bit and not persume that not everyone is out to get what they can from the state.

But to everyone else thank you

Climate Expert

channaigh wrote: »

i refused it because i found out through a councillor that they had placed a single man with alchol problems below me in the bottom half of the house.i don't think that is right a girl by herself with her young daughter and a single man god only knows what he is like. I was advised by the councillor to stay where i was. Am really mad with the housing officer cause he tried to convince me that that there was a two bed underneath me.
have been on the list for four years they lost my apllication for two years.
As for paying your own rent pigeon butler I'm glad you do i just persume you are not raising a child by yourself. My rent that i get paid for by the state is €280.00 per month i pay the remaining €500.00 from my wages from work as well as that i travel to dublin every monday to do my masters. so don't talk to me about trying to make money off the state. If i wanted to do that i'd sit at home. But I will not accept somewhere that is not right for my daughter and that half a house is not the place for us.

Nice assumptoin that the man is obviously a paedophile because he drinks and is a bachelor. I'd say he's lucky not to have you living over him.

January

She didn't brand him a paedophile she said god only knows what he is like which is correct. I wouldn't like to live above a man who has a drinking problem because he could go off the rails at any time. What if he tried to break into her home one night and tried to cause her and her daughter danger?

She was right to turn down the apartment.

AARRRGH

channaigh wrote: »

Everything happens for a reason

That's my point. For example, the person who doesn't get an education and has a bad work ethic will end up with nothing. The reason they end up with nothing is because they didn't get an education and have a bad work ethic, i.e. everything happens for a reason.

channaigh wrote: »

you need to open your mind a little bit and not persume that not everyone is out to get what they can from the state.

I don't assume everyone is trying to get what they can from the state, but I also don't think people who are homeless shouldn't be picky when it comes to what free house they're going to get.

It's common sense really.

However it sounds like you already have somewhere to live, and you are in no rush, so you probably don't really need us to pay for your house?

Climate Expert wrote: »

Nice assumptoin that the man is obviously a paedophile because he drinks and is a bachelor.

Yeah, I also thought that was a very odd conclusion.

gurramok

dublindude wrote: »

That's my point. For example, the person who doesn't get an education and has a bad work ethic will end up with nothing. The reason they end up with nothing is because they didn't get an education and have a bad work ethic, i.e. everything happens for a reason.

Hold on a minute, education ain't free no matter how much a politician says so.
Some families are so poor that when the eldest reaches 18, he/she has to goto work to help bring money into the household. Spending that time in a college is a non-runner as state help is inadequate.

Some of us didn't have a silver spoon in our mouth at childbirth.

dublindude wrote: »

I don't assume everyone is trying to get what they can from the state, but I also don't think people who are homeless shouldn't be picky when it comes to what free house they're going to get.

And put their kids in possible danger from an alcoholic who does NOT work?(it looks like he got the place for free on social list)

If OP was short of cash, the father should be paying maintenance, take your frustration out on the runaway fathers.

AARRRGH

gurramok wrote: »

Some of us didn't have a silver spoon in our mouth at childbirth.

I worked 35 hours a week when I was a full-time student.

Currently I'm doing an MSc at night and work full-time during the day.

I believe in hard work and earning your way through life. Simple as that.

I don't believe in hand-outs unless they are absolutely necessary.

The fact that the OP is in a position where she can turn down a free house and feels she should be able to pick and choose shows she is not desperate or living on the edge of society.

gurramok wrote: »

And put their kids in possible danger from an alcoholic who does NOT work?(it looks like he got the place for free on social list)

Eh reality check, she's applying for social housing. It's highly unlikely she's going to be surrounded by teetotal familes who are into meditation and prawn sandwiches.

The_Conductor

People- you are all jumping to totally irrational conclusions concerning the OPs motivation for turning down the apartment. Yes- she was offered an apartment, part funded by the tax-payer. Yes- she refused it. She had very valid grounds for refusing it, and to be quite honest while I've no idea who she is- I'd be worried if I heard of a 3 year old being put in a situation like that.

There are tonnes of people out there who are very happy to sit at home and allow the taxpayer to mollycoddle them. The OP on the other hand is working, is studying, and is also bringing up her daughter on her own. I can only imagine how she manages to juggle these very time consuming things- and hope she is managing ok.

I'm closing this thread- as it has gone its course.

This is the accommodation/property forum. If you want to bash single parents or rant about the social welfare system- take it to afterhours or another forum- not here. Any more totally OTT comments will result in people being banned.

Regards,

SMcCarrick