Why do people look down on council houses

[Easystuff]

Just that really why do others look down on council/social houses. I don't understand. There's no special treatment. It's not unusual, it's been about for many years. It's now pretty hard to get social housing. There are thousands of family waiting lists, being made homeless. Through no fault of their own. It's pretty awful out there.

Did anybody see that Council House Swap programme? Might have been channel 5, not sure.

People were trying to swap for various reasons and it followed certain tenants as they tried to arrange a swap.

I'm not sure I saw a successful swap the entire series...

Anyway, there was one very smug, annoying, "we're so bohemian and whacky" couple in their 60s.

They lived in an absolutely phenomenal flat in London (can't remember where, but was very desirable). It was a beautiful period property on a lovely, very expensive street.

They basically viewed a load of properties with a view to swap, but just smugly rubbished every single one of them

They viewed the living room of one woman's flat and were all "ohno! This is so much smaller than ours! We can fit 3 writing desks in ours!"

They mentioned the 3 bloody writing desks any opportunity they good get.

Anyway, they'd lived there for years and talked smugly about how they could afford it even when they didn't want to work and just busked for money.

They were nauseating and I felt so bad for all the other tenants who they'd led on pretending they wanted to swap.

They were horribly privileged and they knew it.

I meant that neither of them are free. People in social housing pay rent. Private renter pays rent

😂😂 no worries.

We can’t know everything and it’s one of those things that won’t be taught in school and not really something that would come up in conversations with family or friends.

I just asked someone what a civil servant is because I had no idea but most people probably know.

@oioicheeky I've watched a few diff eps of that show. There's some lovely houses in nice areas. People often pulled out I think it was 2 women in London, I'm not surprised her house was small but nice. I think I know the couple you are talking about too.

I think it’s from the stigma of rough estates

Yes, that's very true.

It's very difficult for people now with housing. Where I am it's extortionate.

Unfortunately, with social housing here being for lower income households there is a stigma attached.
The MN myth, even better I read it's for people with MH problems, unemployed and out of prison.
Anyone can apply, you are not asked your income(not in my area) it is based on need, so middle class
mum suddenly in need because rich DH flung her out, can be housed.
The utter snobbery and ill informed on MN regards SH disgusts me.

Have to argue that social housing is as costly as private. A single relative earning 45k got a 2 bed flat in zone 1 in London last year for £700 per month. Way below private market value.

It was an interesting programme.....frustrating though that I don't think there was a single successful swap.

Which made that couple all the more infuriating because they clearly had no intention of swapping and seemed me to doing it for the (weird) ego boost of showing off their own house. They knew they had it good.

The woman in particular was so desperate to come across as artsy and bohemian.

She had piles of books on every stair on the way up the stairs (still plenty of space - the flat was huge) and she couldn't help herself pointing them out and saying they were there waiting to go to charity shop.....they were clearly there to show how many books they read and how intellectual they were

Growing up we had a local council estate and it did spawn some unsavoury behaviour from a few people living there. However we also had family that lived there that did not in any way display unacceptable behaviours. In the same way we had a few council estate kids who were nightmares in school but also some kids of quite well off families who were just as nasty.

I think the thinking of 'you are living off everyone else's taxes' is the biggest issue.

Bank doesn't own my property. Lots of people own outright you know.

@KatherineJaneway as this thread demonstrates "the biggest issue" is lack of understanding and outdated knowledge from around 30 years ago. Some clearly are living under a rock and others are pretending they didn't know council rents are cheaper than private 😅😅 as if! Do you all just have wealthy friends all on the same income as yourselves?

I think this sums it up for a lot of council/social housing, the council estate in my town is like described above, some people keep them beautifully with lovely well tended front gardens, I feel so sorry for them having to live next door to Steptoe’s yard. The council built a new section of the estate in the past couple of years, really nicely designed contemporary homes, they looked really stylish, however it wasn’t long before abandoned furniture etc appeared in some of the houses making the area look tatty and unkempt.

Coming from a council estate I never used to. I get annoyed now because social housing is integrated into expensive areas and new build developments that most working people not on benefits can’t afford. Even working in a good job full time - it took me decades to be able to afford this lifestyle.

So rightly or wrongly, I don’t look down on people but I do get pretty peeved by it.

Not as much as private renters. It’s heavily subsidised.

Oh I liked watching that but I think there were only a few showings of it? Unless I missed them ?

@CBAanymoreTBH it absolutely is linked to income where I live. You need to earn under a certain amount

The council houses in my area are huge- bigger than my house!
I'd live in one!!

I love my housing association house.

It's 3 storeys, 2 reception rooms, 5 bedroom and I pay £480 a month.

I'm grateful for it everyday!

Because here some of the most chaotic families people with addiction problems and youths involved in anti social behaviour live in a few notorious small parts of “council estates” and so all the other people and families around them suffer not only from having to live beside them but the bad reputation by association.

@Easystuff yes there weren't many episodes.

Shame, as it was interesting

I have no idea what you are trying to say.

I am simply saying I've seen both sides of the arguments about council housing estates. Some good, some bad.

And no, I grew up without an abundance of money.

Also it’s down to rapidly diminishing standards and anti social behaviour which is tolerated now, I bet years ago when council houses were built in the 1950’s that there was a real sense of community, people would have taken pride on their homes, children would not have been feral, drugs etc were not around to the same degree, people with mental health issues were not put into the community and abandoned, there would probably have been Bobbies on the beat who would have been respected and trouble nipped in the bud. I’ve probably painted an idyllic idea of days gone by council house estates, but I bet I’m not that far off the mark.

Are u having a laugh
god I’d of loved the privilege of a council house
every penny has gone on a whopping mortgage,never took the kids abroad,no satatlite tv ,no luxuries at all
having to take a loan out to pay last years gas and electricity bill.
look down on people in a council house …I don’t think so ,

We have a problem with flytipping. When I asked why the council won't write to everyone in the area to remind them it's illegal, anti-social and potentially dangerous they said they won't as loads of people just gave them loads of abuse when they last did it. And they've removed a couple of bins as people used them for household waste.