Please note this has also appeared as a Guest Blog on The Barnet Eye blog dated 13th January 2014.

I did not spend my days in high school dreaming of living in council accommodation, and certainly did not dream of ending my days in council managed sheltered housing.

Unfortunately, however, I fell ill and what with one thing and another, found myself unable to work, and not fully able to look after myself. Initially, Barnet Council Housing department declared that it was okay for me to be homeless. They didn't use those words, but that is what they meant.

As anyone who has tried to find rented accommodation in Barnet can tell you, there is almost nothing available for anyone receiving housing benefit. Something which is now acknowledged by all, including the council. For a variety of reasons, landlords have decided they no longer want to take part in providing social housing in this area and so I was not able to find cheaper housing. I did try... really.

Consequently, I had to pay the balance of the rent from my savings as the housing benefit did not cover the full amount due and the council refused my pleas for help. After a while my savings were gone, and I had to sell my Premium Bonds, ISA, and even the largest of my Pension Funds (at a cost of fifty percent of its value). I even started selling my books, CDs and DVDs, although gave that up when I realised just how little I was getting for them. Eventually though, the council accepted that my medical condition was severe enough and offered to provide a home for me.

Before I forget, let me make it clear that I am very grateful that I am being housed at a time when I can't look after myself. I really am grateful, but I don't believe this should stop me from pointing out some difficulties I encountered.
I won't go into detail about the process of finding council accommodation through Barnet Homes, beyond saying that I was quite unprepared to be thrown into this world of social housing, and the council offered me no support whatsoever.

The nightmarish process should have ended when I finally moved in, but it took a great deal of persistence and effort over several weeks before I got all the finances sorted out.

It was at this point that I discovered that Barnet Homes is effectively subsidising the rent by pushing up the cost of the utilities.

In my privately rented two-bedroom flat I had been paying £58 per month for combined gas and electricity, and £11 per month for water, making it £69 per month for these utilities. In my new council accommodation, I am paying £58 to the council for just heating and hot water, and another £40 to a utility company for electricity. The council also takes about £36 per month for water (up from £11...), making a total of £134 per month, an increase of £65 per month - which has to come out of my benefits (ie my food budget).

Given that I no longer have a washing machine, and only have a shower in my new flat, both the water consumption and the electricity should have gone down, not almost doubled.

It seems to me that it is quite simple. Part of the reason for the higher costs, is probably the burden of having to pay for communal lighting and heating - although I can't see where the communal water costs get to be so high. Surely though, such communal costs should be included in the rent which already has charges for service and support.

Again, it seems simple to me. If these charges were included in the rent, then the council would have to pay for it through the housing benefit. By keeping these charges out, and payable by the tenant, the cost is not passed on to the council, but has to be carried by the tenants, who is some cases are already suffering difficulties.

Towards the end of my stay in private rented accommodation, the council did grant me additional financial assistance to cover the rent shortfall, although it took until all my savings and other resources had dried up completely and when I was really desperate. The same financial assistance is now not available to cover the excessive utility bills, so I find myself financially worse off now that I am in council accommodation; sheltered housing no less.

£65 a month may not seem very much if you are earning a good salary, but for someone who is genuinely unable to work, and is struggling to make ends meet, this seems rather unfair.