Discrepancy between social housing rents verses private sector rents - how is this legal/fair?

We have a social housing problem.
We have a stagnating economy.
We have a lot of unemployed trades people.

I wonder if there is a way of lessening all these problems at the same time?

brabourne - there are an awful lot of threads on here that demonstrate plenty of people envy the poor, and are spiteful about the supposed (imaginary) advantages of being poor. They begrudge every penny that is spent on housing benefit, for instance, never stopping to think that perhaps the problem is the system or the market. They assume that unemployment is a personal failure, ignoring the economic situation - even in the middle of the biggest economic and financial crisis the world has seen for 70 years.

Very odd. If you are going to be envious, surely it would make more sense to envy those who have the biggest slice of pie, not those who have a few crumbs?

fair point - thehistory of social housing isn't something I know about, I am purely looking at the problems that are here today.

Much 20th Century council housing was built to far better standards than developers bothered to attempt, btw. The Parker Morris (IIRC) standards ensured decent construction, decent room sizes and decent storage. The market didn't always provide the same for people buying homes from developers. Maybe the state should have intervened more to stop developers building shoddy houses for sale?

The politics of envy, to me, refers to all those who look at what "the rich" have got and think how they would like a bigger piece of it. After all, how many people believe that, if the world were fairer, they would themselves be worse off?

Thing is, I believe we would be better able to "feed and house" everyone if those who are able to contribute do so, and those who need to "claim" (for want of a better word) take what only what they need. Not actually all that far from the Marxist doctrine: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need". Interesting.

not currently Blushing, but I believe it should be. (with a buffer zone to help people perpare to enter the commercial property market)
They have a house that they rent that has a waiting list of people who are in far greater need of financially subsidised housing.

So once again the people at the bottom are expected to solve the housing crisis.

Is this the big society then?

Neverknowingly - then I suspect you don't know much about the history and purpose of social housing or much about housing policy. It is not and never has been intended as the bottom of the heap, crappy damp miserable scummy homes exclusively for people on the breadline. Council housing was created to establish decent homes for workers - for ordinary people who weren't able to buy outright. One happy result was that people could avoid getting into debt - the rents charged were not affected by an ever-inflating property bubble and landlords chasing profits.

But they have a house that they rent , social housing is not just for poor people

Tilly - I'm talking £1m+

and fwiw nothing gives me the right to tell ordinary people to get out of their homes, but I do have the right to muse on how a system that seems to be broken could possibly be changed.

I think it should be seen as a natural progression into the mainstream housing market - it is a given that landords need to be fair and treat their tennants well - but in the same way as someone who is not in work makes the progression into the workforce, imo it should be the same with housing.

Do you live in social housing ? What gives you the right to tell ordinary people to get out of their homes because you don't like the fact they pay less rent than you?

This is a fucked up country for sure.

I am a bit confused. Long time ago I lived in a rented house for nearly five years. About 4 years into my tenancy, an identical house in my street was rented out. Those tenants paid double my rent and were on 6 monthly tenancy agreements. Should they have asked my landlord to double my rent as it was unfair?

So where will they go?

No blushing cow I don't but I do personally believe that it should be reserved for those who are. (I count wft and ctc within that)

Do you think all social housing tenants are on benefits then?

Why don't we just submit to a stalinist state and group people into homes, perhaps 4 families to a house at least no tax payer will then have to subsidise an empty bedroom

Bradbourne, I am a HA tenant and I get to stay home, (I work part time self employed and pay all of my rent, Iv'e saved tax payers £26,000 so far by not claiming the HB to which I am entitled, just wanted to drop by and say cheers

I think this all the politics of envy, "I'm better than you, I earn more than you, I can make choices to which you are not entitled, I can have a spare room, you can sleep in a box unless I agree my taxes should house you......."

It would be far better to consider ways in which we can feed and house everyone rather than keep bleeting about entitlement.

JSHM don't you think that MOST landlords are actually honest people, not trying to rip anyone off. However the ones (as in any business arena) who are wankers really do alot of damage to the public face of landlords.

I really don't think that social housing should be seen as "for life" it should be there as financially supported housing for those in need of it.

Talking about the way this way of thinking would affect an individual is not a good enough reason to not discuss the subject. If new tennants from today were made aware that once they no longer recieve benefits from the state, that they should leave the accomodation, it would free up the need to constantly be building social accomodation.

Social housing allocation is stuck in the last decade it seems. But I think rather than knocking it you should instead be targeting overcharging landlords.

The government needs to step in and stop this profiteering by renting companies who are gouging tenants left, right and centre. Also I suspect there is collusion among them as you'll often find they will raise their rents and charges year on year for no reason whatsoever.

I'm a private landlord of many properties and I charge about the same as a council tenant would pay. Yet some of these companies are charging almost double for in some cases horrible/unruly tenants. So they neither do the checks or the find proper tenants just whoever is crazy enough to pay their charges.

Onnie - who is jealous of what?

No offence but to be honest I think you're just jealous.

Pattimayor - New build council (social) housing stock has been subsidised through taxation since it was introduced in the early part of the 20th century, so we all have an interest in how it is used and allocated. Apart from that, it's true that there is a only a tiny new build programme now, nevertheless there is one. Therefore I do have a point. I can't be bothered to look up where they're being built but you can do that if you wish. Just a simple google will do.

Thanks Albar1d. My grandparents were immigrants too.