To think that there is a misunderstanding about social housing.

Yeah, so you make your tenants pay for YOUR ownership of the asset you're renting to them, and will continue to own more & more of as you keep raking in the rents. You're making them pay your mortgage.

I don't suppose you'll be reducing your rents as your debt decreases?

A colleague rents her one bed council flat in Lambeth for £600 a month. Average rents for a one bed flat in Central London privately are £1600 a month plus.

I support social housing. But we need more of it.

Its cheaper than private renting, it’s more secure than private renting, and there are rules regarding repairs and upgrades which don’t exist in private renting. So yes, I can understand why some people get frustrated when it seems to be used/ allocated ‘unfairly’

Social housing for those who need it is extremely important. But I really think we need to look at sensible schemes of moving people out of it or into smaller homes as appropriate, in order to free up homes for those who need it now. And we absolutely need to stop selling it off. Right to Buy was a terrible idea.

The shortage of social housing is a huge issue. In the past most working class people lived in social housing and most worked. Now due to right to buy there is very little social housing and so people are inevitably fighting over it. Meanwhile slum landlords make a killing off both the state (if they are paying rent), vulnerable people and in much of the SE the large numbers of adults and families not on the housing ladder. It was one of the worst policies ever invented because it's so hard to undo.

Council house rent is usually about 50% of the market rent. So it is a lot cheaper. And most people in council housing will be using housing benefit to cover some or most of that already reduced rent. So the individual is most likely paying an awful lot less from their own pocket than someone completely independent of any financial assistance.

I hugely support council housing. Would like to see much more of it.

Yep the child free are always considered last

Exactly as a single woman with no kids I’ve been in terrible situations when private renting which led to me being homeless numerous times - all the while working full time and paying taxes .

I appreciate I’m not as vulnerable as a child but my life and safety matters too.

Let’s all push for more social housing for all, instead of a race to the bottom where
we think it’s only the destitute who should receive affordable housing.

Thankfully friends took me in but I had a single friend in a similar situation who ended up in some dodgy hostels with people with severe drug problems when she lost her job. she was told had she had kids she would’ve been housed.

Single people are low on everyone’s priority list and when things go wrong in private rentals there is often no-one to help. They should never feel bad about taking social housing and getting some security for themselves.

oh it gets worse. On an ITV report that Daniel Hewitt did a single mum living in a hotel was offered an SH place. She had to turn it down cos her ex vetoed it as it was too far for him to have to travel for contact.
Yep you read that right. Selfish bastard.

Quelle surprise.

You have a point!

why does @wheredidthetime owe that single mothers kids more than the childs OWN FATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Classism AND misogyny. Women in SH owe a kid they dont even know more than the fucking penis owner who helped to create the kids.

The point is there aren't enough two bedroom properties to go around because very little new social housing is being built. Plus once the children reach the age they shouldn't really be expected to be sharing a room anymore comes. Then they're not just going to magic up a 3 bedroom house for them to move to instead. So you still end up with families placed in an overcrowding situation. Or moving into a property where they need to pay the bedroom tax from the offset... For someone who apparently works in the housing, homeless, benefits sector you don't seem to actually gained that much knowledge from it.

The government now states that single parents are expected to seek employment once their children reach the age of 3yrs old. So unless either the parent/child is disabled in a way that would prevent the parent from gaining employment. Then it's highly likely that as a family they would be in receipt of some element of WTC, and some HB if they are eligible based on income.

So essentially the actual criteria/length of timeframe for a single parent in the UK to be expected to not be able to work is supposedly quite low. If you look at it from that perspective. Then supposedly there shouldn't be that many people in desperate need?

I know of course there are, and I'm not downplaying the fact at all. But in theory shouldn't we then be moving along these single parents/families out of social housing as soon as work is gained to free it up for those who cannot?... The point is the argument doesn't work because not everyone neatly falls into the boxes of "who is most deserving"? The point is that the UK is screwed in regards to there not being enough affordable housing to go around. Which again isn't an individual problem it's a government one.

This is a completely pointless post. Who says the single mother should be offered a 3 bed council house if she is only entitled to 2 bedrooms?

Anyway, I have worked in housing, homelessness, benefits and other areas of social welfare law for close to 20 years so I do have a pretty good idea of what’s happening at an individual and policy level. There are different points of view and I can only speak of mine, from all the experience I have gained

Don’t be silly- you only get benefits for the size of housing you need in the private sector

They are more easily able to make a profit than private landlords because they don’t have to pay taxes and they get government grants, often quite generous grants too

I am not trying to guilt trip anyone, just showing a different perspective for people who feel that they are ENTITLED to social housing once they stop being vulnerable and in need.

If the poster can’t afford private rent then nor can the single mother with children. If she cannot work due to childcare responsabilities, she wouldn’t be entitled to working tax credits, and any child tax credits received are for her children, not to top up her rent shortfall

Social housing comes with the bedroom tax, which private rental does not. So, depending on the age/sex of the single mothers kids, she wouldn't be necessarily any better off in social housing.

Yep, the development I live in actually generates a small profit for the council. The problem is inflated private rents.

I remember paying £750 back in 2013 to live in a Brixton flatshare. My now former Landlord who lived abroad and had bought this ex-council home heard rents were rapidly increasing in my area in Brixton hurried to raise the rent as well. I know this because the landlords dad who lived local told me. They had no additional costs and weren’t planning any renovations, it was just a money grab, they seen an opportunity to get more money so they did. Thankfully I had a friend who was travelling for a year and I was able to sub-let her flat at mates rate.

Sad to think a couple of decades back that Brixton home was social housing and now a landlord who bought it for super cheap under right to buy, was raking in 750+ per tenant. Not their fault but the government really messed up with selling off all the housing stock in prime areas!

The Housing benefit/ ie local housing allowance in private accomodation is capped and, especially in London, it doesn’t always cover the actual rent. So that single mother who cannot work will have to cover the rent shortfall from the little benefits she gets to feed herself and her kids.

https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/

Rents in social housing don’t have the same cap (I am not talking about the ‘benefit cap’ here).

Completely agree @Poppyseeds79

Everyone needs to ensure this and future governments starts to replenish the housing stock thatcher sold off but that’s not on Individuals - many who are working hard - to put themselves in a worse position for the “good of others”.

I paid private for years and struggled to save or even find stable housing while seeing many friends who weren’t working and had kids very young get housing benefit to pay for most of their rent and/ or get social housing .

I didn’t begrudge them that but I’m not going to pass up on a chance to give myself a leg up either just because I’ve always worked or studied.

I only wish I had been in social housing earlier. No-one will guilt trip me out of it.

Err, because unlike the poster the single mother will probably be likely entitled to some additional working tax credit or similar that will assist her in renting that property unlike the poster?

Have you not read the bit where they stated they cannot afford to move into a different property themselves? The housing shortage is a government issue not anybodies personal one!

If the government hadn't sold off all the council property in the first place, and/or used funding from it to build new property then we wouldn't be in the current mess in the first place! It's bloody daft to try and guilt trip individuals who can't do anything much about it... It's shaming the wrong people 😒

exactly, very well said.

I live in a 2 bed housing association for £750 pcm. Private rents in my area around £600- 950. You probably wouldn’t get a flat as nice as mine for the same price though.

I work full time, actually work two jobs and indeed it was a requirement of the housing association back in 2021 when it was built that anyone living in this building has an income above 24K. Most people here are young professionals or young families who work and a few middle aged and older people. It’s very quiet here during the day, I know this as I WFH but most are out.

Not all social housing is designed for the unemployed/extremely poor etc nowadays. Housing associations are recognising a range of people need more affordable housing.

Why should I move to private and pay a couple of hundred more because I’m not on any benefits? Pfft!

That ‘single mother’ Will be entitled to housing benefit (amongst other benefits)…. The person in the 2 bed flat works so gets nothing

everyone has a roof over their heads