The Labour Party are bloody hypocrites

Er, people don't live in social housing because they aren't 'intelligent' enough to do otherwise.

They do it for a secure tenancy and reasonable rent.

So she hadn't graduated when she applied for council housing. Social housing seemed to almost be her first choice for housing and as a method of buying.

I do get why the withdrawal of rtb is upsetting for the OP. But presumably rtb wasn't originally intended for teenagers to buy heavily discounted homes which they could then resell for a profit.

Right to buy is fine. Great idea. What is not fine is not ring-fencing the money to build new council homes. You can tell round here who rents and who owns. The renters have been insulated.

Council Properties were being sold to tenants well before Thatcher. A dd bought an ex council where the previous owners had lived for 60 years - they had bought it in 1971 - for almost exactly 1% of what dd paid. As we found out after dh had a good old nose on the Land Reg.

Of course at the time, houses were much more affordable generally. I doubt that anyone foresaw the stratospheric rise in prices - not just in the U.K., either.

I've got more good news for you if you really find yourself unable to buy a house by the time you're 50 you only have to wait til you're 60 and you can cash it in. Lots of interest earnt by then means a tidy sum as you head towards retirement.

There is a certain irony that you think its a problem for people to be under-occupying council houses eg your mum and your aunt. But often there aren't the number of smaller eg 1 bed properties to move to, so thry are stuck.
But you want to buy your 1 bed flat which takes another one away from council stock...? (That people like them could have downsized to)

If you have the intelligence level to get a degree, surely you have the capacity to earn more and get out of the social housing system?

People should not be relying on right to buy or being a permanent social housing resident. Find a way to stand on your own two feet instead of taking from those who don't have that privilege.

You can’t keep building houses just to sell them off. Then you have to build more and more. Right to buy has killed off council housing.
and the point of it was to allow people to own homes they were settled in, not sell them to upgrade on the profit.

I'm delighted that RTB is ending. It has decimated housing stock availability for those most in need and is partly to blame for the mad situation where councils are spending eye-watering amounts on temporary accommodation for homeless families.

My parents lived in council housing and were also very much opposed to RTB. And I'm glad they stuck to their principles, even though it meant that my brother and I lost out on an inheritance of around £350k.

This is incorrect.

They can pay a one off cash incentive to a private landlord in lieu of a deposit to help persuade the LL to take on a council tenant.

They do not have any remit to, as a long term situation, pay above the local housing allowance.

They may be able to use a discretionary housing payment as an interim top up to cover the short fall, but it's extremely unlikely they would do this at the start of a tenancy. It's more for situations where a rent increase or benefit decrease has left an existing tenant in financial hardship, and it won't be permanent.

The council has to do everything in its power to reasonably house someone in borough, but it's not an absolute mandate. If they can demonstrate that they have exhausted their options, then they absolutely can, and do, house people out of borough. Especially from London as the demand is so insanely high.

To the tune of the Red Flag:
”The working class can kiss my a**e,
I’ve got the Foreman’s job at last!”
What, exactly, did you expect when voting them in???

i didn’t say that. I believe their asylum claims should be heard quickly and they should be fed and sheltered whilst waiting, yes. Because I believe in basic human rights. Stop blaming the most vulnerable for the problems the most powerful have created.

To be fair, while I don't agree with RTB, OP hasn't "worked the system" she wouldn't have been offered the property if there was somebody who needed it more at the time.

At 25 she was apparently studying while working pt.

Yes, but as @Opentooffers said, why was that almost your default? - You mentioned that you applied for council housing at 19 and remained on it until 25, when you got a council flat.

You must not even have finished your degree at 19.

But this is an unusual definition of subsidy. They certainly are subsidised in the sense that a valuable income-generating asset is rented out at below market value. The local authority could make more money for the public good if the flat was rented out at its true value. There is a substantial "opportunity cost" in tying up public assets in this way.

The rents aren’t subsidised. Local authorities that still own social housing have to maintain housing finances completely separately. Housing associations don’t receive any public funding to their rent account.

Never been a fan of the scheme - it’s outdated and unfair - plenty of private renters who haven’t benefited from subsidised rent with no entitlement to buy a property at a subsidised price who will be locked into paying extortionate rent forever with no hope of buying a property.

Keir Starmer living rent free in No 10.

It’s part of the PM’s remuneration package to help compensate for the entirely inadequate salary, Starmer claims less than his entitlement.

Keir Starmer living rent free in No 10

This is such a laughable criticism that it can't be serious, even though the rest of the post did read as a serious complaint.

I worked with a young man years ago. He bragged that he registered to live with his nan when he was 16. He never did, then age 21 he bought her council house for 30k (a gift from his parents). That house was worth at least 100k at the time. Nowadays nearer 300k.

He was delighted with himself.

That's right to buy for you.

A lot of people don't work the system as well as you have, and get to move out by 25, so well done for that. You weren't homeless, and had a 3 bedroom house with your mum you could of chosen to stay in while saving. Your need is not desperate unless your DM was abusive or unbearable to live with.