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Child Item

Can you swap council houses?

dark crystal

Hi all,

I have been living in my council house here in the city for around 7 years. About 3 years ago, we started having problems with a certain (well known) family on the estate.

So far, their kids have broken into our house, vandalising it and killing the kids' pet goldfish, stolen bikes from our back garden, thrown eggs at our house, give our daughters constant verbal abuse to the point they barely go outside anymore and it culminated yesterday when their scummer of a daughter kicked my daughter in the stomach.

Now, there's only so much I can take and I gave out stink to her and threatened to call the police on her if she touched my daughter again. Suffice it to say, her mother took umbridge at this telling off and stormed up to my house to threaten me with violence if I ever went near her little darling any more.

I can't count the number of times I've had to deal with sh!t from this particular family and to make matters worse, in their infinite wisdom, the city council decided to put a family of settled travellers next door to me - the best part is, they're related to the same family and their kids have now started on my daughters too. It's a total nightmare.

I've reported the incident to the anti social behaviour unit, but have told them I don't want them to tell the family in question about my complaint, as I believe it would only escalate the abuse and harrassment. I've already been threatened with having my house burnt down, my kids beaten up and my car stolen and burnt out.
I reported the break-in to the police at the time and they organised a liaison officer to get the families in question to cough up a small amount of compo for the stuff they stole and destroyed, but we got a load of abuse from extended members of their family afterwards and it seems no matter what we do, this family don't intend to stop hasseling us any time soon. My kids are in an awful state, at this stage and I just want to get out now.

Anyway, to cut to the main question, I was just wondering if there is an option to privately swap your council house with another council tenant, as it doesn't seem the council will rehouse me if I'm not willing to make an official statement.
If you agree to swap houses, do the council allow it or are you at risk of losing your house altogether? I've looked at the council's website and there's no info about house swaps at all.

Has anyone else here had any experience of house swaps, or any information on it?

Much thanks - sorry for the long post

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Bards

Yes Boss wrote: »

Why should we be discussing a transfer (the victim should move). Put the scum out on the road!!!!

The Zoo would be a more appropiate place for them - IQ levels of some of them would make monkeys look like einstein

goat2

Yes Boss wrote: »

Why should we be discussing a transfer (the victim should move). Put the scum out on the road!!!!

i fully agree

this is bullying

Smiley Burnett

itsonlywords wrote: »

No1 Contact the Gardai immediately and tell them to help you.
No2.. Yes and in the meantime she is harrassed even further. This poor woman is desperate and needs help now and not in 6 months time.
No3 Contact David Cullinahane SF representative. No TD in Waterford is worth a damn and they could not care less anyway and have no influence with the city housing office nor should they have.
This lady needs the help she is entitled to and the housing office should be reported to the papers and named and shamed if they do not give immediate assistance.

Maybe DAVID CULLINANE can help! (but i'd doubt it!). After all he is Chairman of the TRAVELLER ACCOMMODATION COMMITTEE!! Maybe he knows the family????? "Ireland of Equals" and all that!!

wmpdd3

I know someone living beside a person who assaulted (police involved but person was under age) their son 3 years ago and have been looking for a transfer since, they have been to councilors etc.....

AdMMM

The advice that Smiley gave is probably the best. It's very difficult to evict families from a house and I know that some Councillors have been campaigning for powers to make it easier because as it was pointed out, it's not the victim that should have to move. I'd recommend you contact a local representative that you would feel comfortable talking to and take it from there.

seanybiker

Dont know how easy it is to be honest. there is a family of little bastards up the road from me. The neighbours have been making complaints the last 2 years and they are still there.

Finnbar01

How do I make a complaint ?
It is always a good idea to keep your own personal diary of anti-social incidents, especially when the behaviour is persistent. In the first instance consider calling the Gardaí. This is particularly important with regard to criminal behaviour. If the Gardaí attend, get the name of the Garda, an incident number or a pulse number. Then call the Anti-social Behaviour Unit on 051-849781.

What happens next ?
The unit records, monitors and investigates all allegations of Anti-social behaviour. At the end of the investigation you will be informed of the result. The result could be a verbal warning or a written warning. In cases where the complaints are proven, are of a high priority and are persistent and where all other steps taken by the Council have not resolved the issue, we will serve "Notice to Quit" and will pursue the matter up to and including eviction.

If you want to report any incidents of Anti-social Behaviour by a council tenant please call the Anti-Social Behaviour Unit on 051-849781.

The complaints procedure is confidential and every effort will be made to protect the identity of the complainants unless the complainant specifically states otherwise.

http://www.waterfordcity.ie/housing/asbo.htm

Remember always get a crime reference number when reporting an incident. As the number of CR records grows in relation to your case, they'll stick out like a sore thumb and the garda will be forced to act.

snuggles09

i know for a fact that you will not get a transfer if you site unruley neighbours as your reason for moving..that doesnt fix the councils problem as the next tenant that goes in their will have the same problem and on it goes so they only option they have is to sort out the trouble makers (not give you a transfer if you know what i mean)...you'd honestly be better off to give a different reason like you need to move to (further from where you are now) X, as your family are there and you need them to mind your children when you work or something like that..the council wont swap you if you put down your neighbours as the reason for moving..its not right i know but thats the way it works in there

wmpdd3

I heard that as well, or that you need an upstairs or down stairs toilet for a medical reason, or an extra bedroom for a child.

Madness but that seems to be the way it works.

Yes Boss

Political Correctness gone mad!! If the Council is not implementing laws that are in place, ring the Ombudsman and you will see them moving. I can guarantee you that no one from the Council are living close to these buggers....

gscully

AdMMM wrote: »

The advice that Smiley gave is probably the best. It's very difficult to evict families from a house and I know that some Councillors have been campaigning for powers to make it easier because as it was pointed out, it's not the victim that should have to move. I'd recommend you contact a local representative that you would feel comfortable talking to and take it from there.

At least if the victim moves on, the perpetrator won't know where they now live. If the perpetrator gets evicted, they'll be looking for retribution and will know exactly where to go.

tc2010

Its very easy to say the neighbours should move but put yourself in the same situation. Some of these scumbags think they run the estates. If by any chance they were thrown out it will lead to a world of hurt

It would be better all round if the OP moved. Im assuming they dont have some kind of vandetta against the OP. the OP is simply in the wrong spot. The scumbags would probably torment anybody

The whole situation could be elevated if its the scumbags that are moved

itsonlywords

tc2010 wrote: »

Its very easy to say the neighbours should move but put yourself in the same situation. Some of these scumbags think they run the estates. If by any chance they were thrown out it will lead to a world of hurt

It would be better all round if the OP moved. Im assuming they dont have some kind of vandetta against the OP. the OP is simply in the wrong spot. The scumbags would probably torment anybody

The whole situation could be elevated if its the scumbags that are moved

I am not advocating that the OP folows what I would do as to do so takes nerve and be prepared for a mother of all battles. I have many friends and I can tell you that I would gather them and deal with the pests for once and for all but that is my way to deal with tramps like them.

Kanoe

my heart goes out to you OP but someone hit the nail on the head re transfers, citing medical reasons is your best bet. I'd be sitting down with my doctor and contacting local representatives before approaching the council. best of luck

Yes Boss

So you are suggesting that the victim has to move their family. At what stage do the perpetrators pay for their act?

This is our legal system in a microcosm. Don't challenge the perpetrator because:

It would cause too much hassle
That it's not their fault
They had a hard life
They are disadvantaged

It is about time we sorted this kind crap out and allowed honest people to live in peace!!!!

sydsad

This sort of thing would be one of the worse situations to be in i would think.Absolute disgrace.

I dunno how i would react and i hope i never have to find out to be honest.

Hope you get something sorted ASAP.

SillyMcCarthy

I would in your position make some contact with people who will sort out this problem for you! You know who I'm talking about!

SLOOPY

Yes Boss wrote: »

Political Correctness gone mad!! If the Council is not implementing laws that are in place, ring the Ombudsman and you will see them moving. I can guarantee you that no one from the Council are living close to these buggers....

Is there an Ombudsman for this sort of thing?

if so,anyone have a number/link for them?

Have had 2 1/2 years of it from the scum next door
and the bloke we're dealing with from the council has'nt done much.
Just how much do the council expect people to put up with before they act?
Have found them to be totally spineless.

Say's he's had a word 4/5 times now and though it's not as bad as it was
it's still a total pain in the hole being stuck next to this lot.

Dreading the summer as the junior scummers will be off school.
Won't be holding my breathe waiting for the CC to do anything
about it though.

Yes Boss

The contact details for the Ombudmans office:

18 Lr. Leeson Street,
Dublin 2.

Tel: 01-6395600
Lo-Call: 1890 223030

Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.ie

dark crystal

Had another incident with the 11 year old yesterday evening.

Had gone off to collect my fiancee from work (only gone approx. 20 minutes), came back and two of the neighbourhood kids came over to tell us that this girl had been ringing the doorbell and banging on the door, knowing full well we were out. She then went through the broken side gate into my back garden.
When we went into the kitchen, we noticed our daughters Nintendo ds was missing from the table.
My fiancee went down to this girls house for an explaination and was told she wasn't in our back garden. When he said there were witnesses, she still refused to admit it. The mother of the little girl who witnessed it then came out and started hurling abuse at my fiancee, saying she wasn't getting involved.
Anyway, called the police who called out later that evening and reported the incident. Same old story - as the girl is under 12, there's nothing they can do. The two Gards that called out were very nice and sympathised with us, told us to keep reporting any incidents, as it was the only way to get the council moving.

So, that's two burglaries committed by the same child and nothing the police can do about it.

I honestly don't know how much more of this I can take.....

itsonlywords

dark crystal wrote: »

Had another incident with the 11 year old yesterday evening.

Had gone off to collect my fiancee from work (only gone approx. 20 minutes), came back and two of the neighbourhood kids came over to tell us that this girl had been ringing the doorbell and banging on the door, knowing full well we were out. She then went through the broken side gate into my back garden.
When we went into the kitchen, we noticed our daughters Nintendo ds was missing from the table.
My fiancee went down to this girls house for an explaination and was told she wasn't in our back garden. When he said there were witnesses, she still refused to admit it. The mother of the little girl who witnessed it then came out and started hurling abuse at my fiancee, saying she wasn't getting involved.
Anyway, called the police who called out later that evening and reported the incident. Same old story - as the girl is under 12, there's nothing they can do. The two Gards that called out were very nice and sympathised with us, told us to keep reporting any incidents, as it was the only way to get the council moving.

So, that's two burglaries committed by the same child and nothing the police can do about it.

I honestly don't know how much more of this I can take.....

As Sillymccarthy said there are people who can help. Contact them and forget Ballybricken as they dont give a damn. Ask the representative in WQaterford City Council who may have some contact with people who CAN help. The normal route is not working and so use the alternative. Give those people the message that they WILL understand.

nkay1985

Sorry to hear about the incident but are you saying that you left for 20 minutes and left your back door unlocked, knowing the trouble you've had and also that your side gate is broken? If I'm reading it wrong, then I apologise but if I'm not, surely that's highly irresponsible given your situation.

dark crystal

nkay1985 wrote: »

Sorry to hear about the incident but are you saying that you left for 20 minutes and left your back door unlocked, knowing the trouble you've had and also that your side gate is broken? If I'm reading it wrong, then I apologise but if I'm not, surely that's highly irresponsible given your situation.

Yep, my bad. I did indeed leave the back door unlocked (it's normally always locked, so I didn't even think to check - seems one of my daughters left the cat out and forgot to lock it after her)

As for the side gate, the lock has been broken on it for 5 years now. We've been on to the maintenance department to fix it countless times, but they've never bothered to come out and fix it. They promised me someone would be out within 3 days in November last year, after a stray dog pushed it in and killed our kitten - we're still waiting.

Anyway, that's a whole other thread!

SillyMcCarthy

itsonlywords wrote: »

As Sillymccarthy said there are people who can help. Contact them and forget Ballybricken as they dont give a damn. Ask the representative in WQaterford City Council who may have some contact with people who CAN help. The normal route is not working and so use the alternative. Give those people the message that they WILL understand.

It worked for me!

Yes Boss

dark crystal wrote: »

Yep, my bad. I did indeed leave the back door unlocked (it's normally always locked, so I didn't even think to check - seems one of my daughters left the cat out and forgot to lock it after her)

As for the side gate, the lock has been broken on it for 5 years now. We've been on to the maintenance department to fix it countless times, but they've never bothered to come out and fix it. They promised me someone would be out within 3 days in November last year, after a stray dog pushed it in and killed our kitten - we're still waiting.

Anyway, that's a whole other thread!

Sorry again to hear about your troubles, however, I cannot understand why you are waiting on someone else to fix a lock on your gate. I think you may have to review your priorities!!

anplaya

gotta agree with the above poster,5 years?if my lock was broken id fix it the same day,cant be depending on anyone,only takes a few mins sure.
esp after a stray got in and killed yer kitten too.

on the other stuff my sympathies,must be a nightmare

dark crystal

SillyMcCarthy wrote: »

It worked for me!

Can you tell me what course of action you took? Would be interested to know how you got your problem resolved.

Do you mean a local counciller got it sorted for you?

Elzer

Hi just seen your post you can apply for mutual tranfers through gumtree just go to home swap and add a advert saying Travelers welcome, but if i where you i would get your neighbors sorted first that way you get where you want to go... You can take out a anti-social behaviour order on these people By applying to the District court :(and this should force an eviction from the council (but could also escalate your problem):mad:. The councils will not bring a tenant to court for this you must:eek:. To force the issue you must have police reports, these and the police/guards should help in a eviction/tranfer Goodluck. Elzer eire (Make sure you take police names and numbers also and that info entered into their Systems with traceable ref nums)....

dark crystal wrote: »

Hi all,

I have been living in my council house here in the city for around 7 years. About 3 years ago, we started having problems with a certain (well known) family on the estate.

So far, their kids have broken into our house, vandalising it and killing the kids' pet goldfish, stolen bikes from our back garden, thrown eggs at our house, give our daughters constant verbal abuse to the point they barely go outside anymore and it culminated yesterday when their scummer of a daughter kicked my daughter in the stomach.

Now, there's only so much I can take and I gave out stink to her and threatened to call the police on her if she touched my daughter again. Suffice it to say, her mother took umbridge at this telling off and stormed up to my house to threaten me with violence if I ever went near her little darling any more.

I can't count the number of times I've had to deal with sh!t from this particular family and to make matters worse, in their infinite wisdom, the city council decided to put a family of settled travellers next door to me - the best part is, they're related to the same family and their kids have now started on my daughters too. It's a total nightmare.

I've reported the incident to the anti social behaviour unit, but have told them I don't want them to tell the family in question about my complaint, as I believe it would only escalate the abuse and harrassment. I've already been threatened with having my house burnt down, my kids beaten up and my car stolen and burnt out.
I reported the break-in to the police at the time and they organised a liaison officer to get the families in question to cough up a small amount of compo for the stuff they stole and destroyed, but we got a load of abuse from extended members of their family afterwards and it seems no matter what we do, this family don't intend to stop hasseling us any time soon. My kids are in an awful state, at this stage and I just want to get out now.

Anyway, to cut to the main question, I was just wondering if there is an option to privately swap your council house with another council tenant, as it doesn't seem the council will rehouse me if I'm not willing to make an official statement.
If you agree to swap houses, do the council allow it or are you at risk of losing your house altogether? I've looked at the council's website and there's no info about house swaps at all.

Has anyone else here had any experience of house swaps, or any information on it?

Much thanks - sorry for the long post

Elzer

Elzer wrote: »

Hi just seen your post you can apply for mutual tranfers through gumtree just go to home swap and add a advert saying Travelers welcome, but if i where you i would get your neighbors sorted first that way you get where you want to go... You can take out a anti-social behaviour order on these people By applying to the District court :(and this should force an eviction from the council (but could also escalate your problem):mad:. The councils will not bring a tenant to court for this you must:eek:. To force the issue you must have police reports, these and the police/guards should help in a eviction/tranfer Goodluck. Elzer (Make sure you take police names and numbers also and that info entered into their Systems with traceable ref nums)....

Also Take photo's and plenty of them video's if you can..... Put up cameras to prevent further attacks and report report report................... please contact me as i am having similar problems and would be great to sort the council in question out.........

Elzer

dark crystal wrote: »

Hi all,

I have been living in my council house here in the city for around 7 years. About 3 years ago, we started having problems with a certain (well known) family on the estate.

So far, their kids have broken into our house, vandalising it and killing the kids' pet goldfish, stolen bikes from our back garden, thrown eggs at our house, give our daughters constant verbal abuse to the point they barely go outside anymore and it culminated yesterday when their scummer of a daughter kicked my daughter in the stomach.

Now, there's only so much I can take and I gave out stink to her and threatened to call the police on her if she touched my daughter again. Suffice it to say, her mother took umbridge at this telling off and stormed up to my house to threaten me with violence if I ever went near her little darling any more.

I can't count the number of times I've had to deal with sh!t from this particular family and to make matters worse, in their infinite wisdom, the city council decided to put a family of settled travellers next door to me - the best part is, they're related to the same family and their kids have now started on my daughters too. It's a total nightmare.

I've reported the incident to the anti social behaviour unit, but have told them I don't want them to tell the family in question about my complaint, as I believe it would only escalate the abuse and harrassment. I've already been threatened with having my house burnt down, my kids beaten up and my car stolen and burnt out.
I reported the break-in to the police at the time and they organised a liaison officer to get the families in question to cough up a small amount of compo for the stuff they stole and destroyed, but we got a load of abuse from extended members of their family afterwards and it seems no matter what we do, this family don't intend to stop hasseling us any time soon. My kids are in an awful state, at this stage and I just want to get out now.

Anyway, to cut to the main question, I was just wondering if there is an option to privately swap your council house with another council tenant, as it doesn't seem the council will rehouse me if I'm not willing to make an official statement.
If you agree to swap houses, do the council allow it or are you at risk of losing your house altogether? I've looked at the council's website and there's no info about house swaps at all.

Has anyone else here had any experience of house swaps, or any information on it?

Much thanks - sorry for the long post