Housing List Position, What does it mean?

RobbingBandit

I got a letter this past week from DCC Housing, I am 532 on the list in one area and 1,245 in another and 1,467 in the final area, anyone know what this now means and also if say for the first there are 531 people ahead of me how many do they house a week, if it is one as someone has told me then I am looking at 10 years for the first one and 30 years for the other two.

Gatling

RobbingBandit wrote: »

I got a letter this past week from DCC Housing, I am 532 on the list in one area and 1,245 in another and 1,467 in the final area, anyone know what this now means and also if say for the first there are 531 people ahead of me how many do they house a week, if it is one as someone has told me then I am looking at 10 years for the first one and 30 years for the other two.

How long are you on the list ,
Have any kids,

The current wait in dublin is around 8- 10 years depending on circumstances

riclad

if you have 2 kids,
you might get offered a house,
200 of the 532 people on list,
might be single,no kids, no chance of them getting offered a house.
MY friend got apartment 2 years ago,has 1 kid,
was 7 years on the list.
SAY you have 1kid, you might get a 2bed apartment.
i,m presuming The list is a mixture of single, people, no kids,
and couples, or single mothers with children.

Thomas D

I can never understand the mindset that applies to go on a housing list. Surely you have to assume you will have a better future where you can stand on your own two feet. You might have a bad year job wise but I'd fear that by putting yourself on a housing list you're resigning yourself to a life of dependence.

Gatling

Thomas D wrote: »

I can never understand the mindset that applies to go on a housing list. Surely you have to assume you will have a better future where you can stand on your own two feet. You might have a bad year job wise but I'd fear that by putting yourself on a housing list you're resigning yourself to a life of dependence.

A lot of people seem more interested in Rent allowance then getting social housing due to the fact they uses the excuse ohhh I can't afford to work because I'd have to pay several hundred euro pm on rent so I won't work attitude starts and stays for life

Shark

RobbingBandit wrote: »

I got a letter this past week from DCC Housing, I am 532 on the list in one area and 1,245 in another and 1,467 in the final area, anyone know what this now means and also if say for the first there are 531 people ahead of me how many do they house a week, if it is one as someone has told me then I am looking at 10 years for the first one and 30 years for the other two.

When you applied for housing you have pick 3/4 areas of preference when filling out your form. Each area has their own waiting list which is why you have 3 different numbers, one for each area.

You could be waiting any length of time depending on your circumstances. I would expect even at 532 you would be waiting another 4-5yrs unfortunately.

Victor

To get Rent Allowance, you must go on the housing list.

Gatling

Victor wrote: »

To get Rent Allowance, you must go on the housing list.

Some are saying other wise ,

riclad

MOST of the people on the housing list, do it to get rent allowance, they maybe working, part time, or students. If they get full time work, or a higher income, they may drop off the list. No one forces you to stay on it, unless you are on welfare or rent allowance.

They are not doing it to get a house.

You can get detailed info, from crosscare or citizens advice centre, as to how it works.

And alot of the people in council housing, are working full time, paying tax, income levy, etc. The rent is based on all the income of residents in the house, I would not call that dependance. You could be earning 50k and live in a council house.

riclad

I think its alot easier ,to get rent allowance if you are on the housing list.
ALOT of people when their income rose ,
bought their house from the council,
so the no of houses avaidable for rent by the council is much lower than it was in 1990.
SOME council estates are now 90 per cent ,owned by the ex tenants.
Rather than paying rent for 50 years,
many people choose to buy their council house .

Mrs OBumble

Thomas D wrote: »

I can never understand the mindset that applies to go on a housing list. Surely you have to assume you will have a better future where you can stand on your own two feet. You might have a bad year job wise but I'd fear that by putting yourself on a housing list you're resigning yourself to a life of dependence.

Ya, I would have had that mindset too.

But then I learned a bit more about how housing support works in this country.

Firstly, there are a significant body of people who grew up in council housing, and who have no aspirations beyond getting allocated a house "of their own" and making their own babies. This is a failure of the education system to open their eyes to the possibilities.

Second, in many larger cities, a low paid worker will never earn enough to buy a house, or even not to struggle with the rent. This isn't an issue for the up-and-coming youngster who can see their way clear to getting a better job as their career progresses. But for someone with a very average leaving-cert who's a receptionist, bank-teller, cleaning supervisor, tradesperson-without-the-drive-to-go-out-on-their-own, etc, there comes a point when they realise that they will never score that well paid executive job and will simply have to raise their family on lower than the average industrial wage. When these people are working, they aren't eligible for any housing support apart from council housing. So they resign themselves to the council list as the only option open to them. Many people think that this is social housing working at it's best, and that it is not a state of dependence because the rent is income-related (to an extent). Personally I'm not convinced - I see it as encouraging a very unhealthy dependence (especially in their children - see my first point), lack of choices and lack of labour-mobility (lose your job in the sticks, know that there are jobs up in Dublin, but not able to move up there to get one because your council house is in Ballywherever and the Dublin council isn't accepting transfers. But other people think that these issues are outweighed by the benefits of stable long-term tenancies without having evil landlords making money from property.

Thirdly, just because someone is on the list doesn't necessarily mean that they want a council house, or would take one if offered. Some people go on the list to get rent-allowance.

fussyonion

riclad wrote: »

if you have 2 kids,
you might get offered a house,
200 of the 532 people on list,
might be single,no kids, no chance of them getting offered a house.
MY friend got apartment 2 years ago,has 1 kid,
was 7 years on the list.
SAY you have 1kid, you might get a 2bed apartment.
i,m presuming The list is a mixture of single, people, no kids,
and couples, or single mothers with children.

You're wrong there.
Myself and my partner were waiting 10 years for a house and we got ours last year.
It all goes by your priority.

Gatling

fussyonion wrote: »

You're wrong there.
Myself and my partner were waiting 10 years for a house and we got ours last year.
It all goes by your priority.

Did you get a house or an apartment if don't mind me asking

Victor

fussyonion wrote: »

You're wrong there.
Myself and my partner were waiting 10 years for a house and we got ours last year.
It all goes by your priority.

But you have a partner, you aren't single.

riclad

my friend was on the list got apartment ,
She was told only people with 2 kids get offered houses .
Single people or couple can also get a council loan to buy a private house or apartment ,if your income is under x amount .
35k approx,
ie people working full time with a low income.
you find a house ,or apartment for sale,
IF the council think you can afford to pay the loan
and it passes a survey ,
they,ll give you a loan .
you won,t get a council loan for 200k.

THERES a limited amount of council houses ,
you need x amount of points to get one.
IN dublin , single people get offered a council flat or
apartment.
most council houses have been sold to ex tenants ,
BUT they still have 1000,s of council flats .
various issues ,
insurance, maintenance issues stopped them from
selling council flats, apartments.

MOST council houses are 2 or 3 bed ,
makes no sense to give 1 to a single person.
Most people who apply for ra , do,nt expect to get a council house.

I would expect a parent with 2 kids to get a house before
a couple with no children.

riclad

IT goes by your priority, no of points,
so the council gave you the house as a couple.
i know a single person, living in a council house,
his father passed away,
they told him to move out.
AS a single person does not need a 3 bed house.
A family is now living there.
I,D agree with the council in this case.

Shark

riclad wrote: »

AS a single person does not need a 3 bed house.
A family is now living there.
I,D agree with the council in this case.

I totally agree with you here. Currently 3 of my neighbors are in houses that exceeds their needs, and as the council do rent reviews every year I'm sure they know about it yet they allow them to continue living there. A waste of resources if you ask me. Surely they should rehouse them into flats or something. But then maybe there's none available.

riclad

IF you drive round council estates you,ll see loads of boarded up units,
the council refurbish them before renting them out.
i,d say at least 1 per cent of council flats is empty boarded up.
MANY houses are rented out,3bed house,
1 person living there,
the kids are gone, grown up.
THE council policy seems to be wait til the tenant passes away ,
rather than asking him to move to a 1bed flat.
this seems ridiculous to me when theres 1000s of people with kids on rent allowance.
I presume the council have limited staff to do repairs.

RobbingBandit

Thomas D wrote: »

I can never understand the mindset that applies to go on a housing list. Surely you have to assume you will have a better future where you can stand on your own two feet. You might have a bad year job wise but I'd fear that by putting yourself on a housing list you're resigning yourself to a life of dependence.

WTF, Really WFT are you posting on this thread for with such a mindset, you don't have a clue about my situation, I posted here for advice not to scrutinized.

Thanks for the advice guys, I went into DCC today they said I will be waiting a couple of years at least.

As regards the points system it is now gone, you are allocated a number based on your situation.

RobbingBandit

Can a mod close this thread now please.