a story from someone in my family, who works with am Eastern European man; he's been awarded a 4 bedroom house by the local council, in which his family lives... for 3 months a year. Rest of the time, they're in their home country.
I suspect there's more to this story than meets the eye. There has been caselaw about whether people can be classed as homeless if they have residences elsewhere that they can feasibly occupy, so if that residence existed at the time the Eastern European man applied for housing, I'd want to know how they overcame that hurdle. How long was he on the waiting list for housing, for example? How many family members does he have? Who was the person/people in priority need, and why? (I have come across council tenants who've regularly travelled abroad for medical treatment, for example.) Provided this man was correctly assessed and housed as a result, and his home is being used as the family's primary residence, why should he not be able to travel abroad for as long as he wishes?
Even were all this true, I'd want to know what council area your sister lives in and which this man lives in, because I can't from what you've said if the comparison is valid.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-08-09 03:58 pm (UTC)I suspect there's more to this story than meets the eye. There has been caselaw about whether people can be classed as homeless if they have residences elsewhere that they can feasibly occupy, so if that residence existed at the time the Eastern European man applied for housing, I'd want to know how they overcame that hurdle. How long was he on the waiting list for housing, for example? How many family members does he have? Who was the person/people in priority need, and why? (I have come across council tenants who've regularly travelled abroad for medical treatment, for example.) Provided this man was correctly assessed and housed as a result, and his home is being used as the family's primary residence, why should he not be able to travel abroad for as long as he wishes?
Even were all this true, I'd want to know what council area your sister lives in and which this man lives in, because I can't from what you've said if the comparison is valid.