Mumsnet Talk

All this talk of neighbours...

When I lived in council I knew that if my council neighbours behaved really badly I could complain. If they were very racist towards us or otherwise abusive they would get a warning and could, in theory, be evicted.

When I moved out of council and into ex council I was really anxious about what would happen if my private neighbours turned out to be rotters.

Feck all as it happens. I am pretty sure that if next door was still council they wouldn't have got away with building and living in a house in the back garden.

Council did sod all when my parents were threatened and harrassed by the neighbours. The whole process of eviction for nuisance is long, hard and difficult to prove.

My current house is ex council. We modernised it for minimal cost and it went up by value of 20k in one year. Front and back garden, 3 double bedrooms etc...

2 ex council houses for sale in my mum's village have just been bought back by the council. Possible due to their being only about 10 council houses left out of an original 100.
I wish they would buy mum's neighbours house as they are 2 semi-detached very individual wooden houses. Beautiful with large rooms, built in the 1940's so have downstairs loos, a coal shed and a shed and a back kitchen built onto the house. Mums has just been modernised with a new roof, central heating and a new wood skin. Next door can't afford all that so no-one is willing to shell out £150,000 plus £100,000 in essential improvements. It has been empty now for about 6 years and he won't rent it out because he won't know who is living in his house. If it was big enough for us we would move there.

Definitely - in a village close to where we used to live the ex LA house go for £350k because of the desirability of the village. We couldn't afford to live there council house or not.

In a word, yes! My mum's house is ex-council. It's a really great house - built to last and in a nice private street close to the school I went to. I would happily live in it (again!)

You are right nelly but a lot of wankers are cowards and a letter off the council can shut them up.

Not all but some.

And there is the option.
It is also useful for barking dogs and dodgy building in the garden, crappy fences etc.
In the past it has been useful to be able to say 'you do realise that if you do not stop your kids from doing that the council can evict you, dont you?'

If someone owns their property there is nothing you can do.

We have lived in an ex council house for the past 20 years, loved it, big rooms, big gardens rural views, in a National park, next door to local primary school. BUT we want to move but can't sell it because it has a 3 year residency clause and any potential buyers can't find a lender to give them a mortgage. We aren't asking over the odds, infact 4 beds and a garage else where in the area would be £100 000 more. We want to sell to other locals which is the point of the clause but now we are stuck here with a house which is unsellable. A self defeating covenant and banks with lots of money but will take no risks.

before our current house, either could either go for a new build, with one decent double bedroom and a box room and a psotage stamp garden, or an ex-council with solid walls, 2 double bedrooms and a long garden. It was a no-brainer. Really well built with loads of space.

I live in a nice 1930s end terrace with a decent garden in one of the nicest areas of my city, in the catchment area for excellent schools, with nice shops nearby. The other houses are a mix of privately owned, council owned and sheltered accommodation for the elderly. In the same area, for a similar price, the main alternative would be a small terrace with a courtyard and tiny galley kitchen and yearly rotation of noisy student neighbours. I don't think that selling would be a problem given the number of estate agents who regularly approach us to try and sell our house.

When I was really ill about 12 years ago we sold our house so that dp could give up work to look after me for 2 years and bought an ex LA flat. One of the nicest places I have lived lovely neighbours and really good experience all round.