Council house waiting list?

DoireannK

Do any of yis have an idea of how long a single person would wait for a council house in Fingal?

A single person. She has no kids, its just herself.

Basically she (my cousin) is on disability allowance and is having no luck finding anywhere to rent. She can get rent allowance of course but even then she has had no luck finding anywhere for the past 3 years.

I've been helping her look constantly for the last 3 years and it was either that they wouldn't accept RA or the place was a dog box. Literally the plce would be the size of a boxroom and if she was lucky she would have her own bedroom.

She cant live in a place like that because it would be really hard on her health which is bad anyway. She is most days too ill to leave the house, now you could imagine basically living your whole day every day in one tiny dingy room. She needs a proper place with more than one room so for the days when she is too sick to leave the house at least she can move from room to room. Also its her illness is not a temporary thing, she would be facing living in a place like that for the rest of her life, the places you can afford on RA (they have to be €520) are not suitable for living in for the rest of your life.

She never put herself on the housing list because neither of us know of any single people who get offered houses so she didn't think it woudl make a difference.

We have tried so many charities that help people with long term illness and I'm constantly in touch with various places (Hale housing, Threshold etc) but unfortunitly theres always someone who doesnt quite qualify and falls through the gaps. They've even admitted to us that they cant help most people who need help and she seems to fall through every gap there is.

It seems like unless she has kids she cant get any help at all. Which is rididculous really because she cant have children, she would be completely unable to care for a child and would never have a child she couldnt care for.

At the moment she is living at home with her parents (not a good situation) and every now and then she will stay with me for awhile but then she has to go back home.

She is goginto put her name down on the list in Fingal.

Do you have any idea how long a single person with no kids waits on the list?

Do Fingal even have anything for single people?

She really is desperate (she really is suicidal desperate not taht that will move her up the list quicker).

It really winds me up when I go around Blanch (where she is) and see council houses boarded up etc because she would take anything.

Thanks.

Weyhey

As far as I know everyone is entitled to council housing it is just that the waiting lists are a lot longer for single people. Of course disabled people would get preferential treatment on the housing list and your friend should have added her name to the waiting list years ago. Doctor’s notes and/or TD’s help explaining the details of illness and the problems with current accommodation and finding suitable housing should also be sought. Do in now!

I can't believe you have waited 3 years to do this - your cousin would have been 3 years up the waiting list and I am amazed that Threshold or other organisations did not tell you to first get on the housing list with your council.

seahorse

Single people are accomodated by Fingal. For some councils, her medical condition would not speed her up the list at all. All that'll do in most cases is ensure she eventually gets accomodation that is suitable for her i.e. somewhere ground floor if she had trouble with stairs etc.

By the way, I know a single man who was rented a lovely large one-bed apt in Swords last year after an eight year wait. I also know several single mothers who've been waiting with their kids literally years longer than that, and are still waiting.