Council Housing Agreement

My fiance lives in council housing. He pays full rent with no assistance from the government. We are trying to get a housing agreement to send off for my fiance visa with no luck. He has left countless messages and talked to many managers in the department and the only thing he has gotten is promise of a return phone call which never happens. This has been going on for 3 weeks now and it is the only thing we are waiting on so I can send in my application. Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone have any suggestions on what we can do?

I am presuming he has lost the agreement that he must, by law, have signed and been given a copy of when the tenancy started? If so, he should go in person to the Housing Department and ask why he cannot have a copy agreement. Phone calls don't always cut the mustard. If they fob him off when he calls in person, request an agreement in writing; send the request recorded delivery addressed to the councils' Chief Executive. Better yet, get Citizens Advice to write a covering letter to send with it. Report back please after doing these things. I am wondering about the copy he should have. Is the tenancy legal? Do you know he has made the phone calls? Why didn't he write?

Thank you! We will try that.

See my edits...

He cant seem to find the original copy since it was about 4 years ago. He has called repeatedly for 3 weeks and they keep promising to call him back but never do. His tenancy is legal. We are going to do the written letter now and hope that works. He is also going to stop by the housing department when he gets a chance. He works about 20 miles away from home so that is kind of hard for him to do during business hours. What is Citizens Advice by the way?

What is Citizens Advice by the way?

Every area has a Citizens Advice Bureau which is an independent organization not connected to the government that can help people in various ways if they have legal entanglements, debts, problems etc. Despite the name they are not only for UK citizens. They can write letters on behalf of, and advise, people who are not used to dealing with courts, local or national government departments, banks, etc. Or who have tried and not got a result.

The tenancy agreement alone won't suffice for the fiancee visa.  The OP needs a letter from the owner of the property, in this case the council, saying that they are aware she will be taking up residence and it is OK for her to do so.  

So I need to get both the tenancy agreement and a letter?

So I need to get both the tenancy agreement and a letter?

Yep. 

Thank you! This is an absolute nightmare to get this information. Everything else has been fairly easy and Im not sure why this is a disaster.

For some reason, this is something that seems to cause trouble for people.  There have been people on this board whose landlords flat out refused to write them a letter or help out in any way.  Do you have any other options for accommodation?  Your fiance's parents, siblings, friends, anyone? 

Yes we have several options and it would actually be much easier. Would you suggest that I use someone else's address and get them to write us a letter even though we would still be living in the council housing?

Yes we have several options and it would actually be much easier. Would you suggest that I use someone else's address and get them to write us a letter even though we would still be living in the council housing?

No that would be deception.

No that would be deception.

Absolutely. Don't go there! I repeat: DON'T GO THERE! Is there anything fishy about the council tenancy that would make it difficult or impossible to get a Council letter? Is this simply a case of slow bureaucracy?

I think you should do whatever's necessary to get the letter and agreement from the council (writing to them as Tremula suggested is a good idea), and if they refuse to play ball then you might have to take drastic action.  Which probably means moving out.  It is essential that you don't lie on your application, but you need to prove that you have a place to live and permission to live there.  So if you can't get the necessary permission from your fiance's current residence, then you will need to find someplace else.  There's no requirement for you two to live together for the fiance visa, so it would be OK if he stayed in his place and you stayed somewhere else for the duration of the visa, but you have to tell the truth on the application.  When it comes time for you to apply for your FLR(M) the same things will be required, so it's best to get all this sorted out now.  

IIRC, the person on this board whose fiance's landlord refused to write a letter ended up staying with her in-laws until she and her fiance found their own place.  Not ideal, certainly, but unfortunately sometimes necessary.