Keeping a UK Council property for life even though you no longer live in the UK

[Vintlet]

This story has just been released
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyxkeny8x6o
It seems so unfair given the lack of social housing in the uk that the First Lady of Sierra Leone expected to be allowed to keep her London social housing property as a pied a terre. Surely we cannot be expected to house the world. No one in authority would have realised given that she was still paying the rent if she hadn’t boasted about keeping it on a radio interview. I wonder how many people keep and sublet uk council properties when they no longer have a right to keep it.

‘Poor struggling taxpayers’?

You know what, they are, poor and struggling with ever increasing tax and NI and COl.

There are some real struggling people out there, taxpayers, who subsidise the rent for this woman.

You ought to be ashamed of yourself for this..

I do like this idea.

But it washes up against the view that some people have that the benefits and subsidies they have should be permanent rather than a helping hand out of poverty.

Unfortunately many people are not aspirational and don't need to be because we don't have rules like this.

He owns it so can do what he wants.
This thread is not abut him.

The owns it? It’s not a council house

That's shameful. Those properties are not meant for people like you, you're stealing.

Tax payers doesn’t subsidise her rent.

common misconception. Social rents aren’t subsidised. They are regulated rental values. Not subsidised.

I mean, don’t you ever think there are some real people paying for everything?

This. It’s such a persistent myth.

Do you agree with the ‘poor struggling taxpayer’ mocking ad well?

I can't see anything wrong with paying private rent if you can afford it. In this case you really don't need a council house and could pass it on to someone else who is unable to pay for a private rental.

Or, if you feel that you are paying someone else's mortgage, then this should be motivation to get onto the housing ladder yourself.

It would be better if everyone paid social rent though wouldn’t it? Woop woop.

Hello Toe!

Long time no see!

The ones I'm thinking of have issues with subsidence, asbestos, antiquated plumbing and electrics... though of course it may well be it's just that those are the ones that haven't been bought as they're a bit crap, and maybe the ones that were any good are all long gone. But we also seem to have quite a lot of new developments which is probably why they seem keen to get rid of the old ones. Especially as the rent's so much more on the new ones, and they can't be bought. I do think higher rent and no right to buy is a much better system so I'm surprised that other areas don't seem to be doing the same.

Ha, because everyoneis capable of getting on the housing ladder 🙄

And not many people can pay private rents and also save to buy.

Would you be including disability benefits in that?

Thanks, I’m not.

Like I said. I don’t think she should have kept the flat.

I don’t know whether the level of rent paid on council houses covers the cost of repairs or other direct costs to the council, ie to what extent taxpayers in any area are covering those costs, or if the rent at “council levels” does cover it.

ETA poor struggling taxpayers was a phrase in the post I quoted. Not a mockery.

So what? It’s still wrong!

She used to work for them (supposedly anyway) so I'm sure she knows how to go about scamming the system. It's probably how her daughter got the house in the first place.

Tax payers don’t subsidise social housing at all. The rents are set at a level that covers the costs you mention

Is he a dictator? Im not sure he is
Not that that makes the council house situation any better.

You can’t really scam a legal contract though can you? It’s not like you just persuade them to let you go against it

Council housing accounts are kept separate from the general account. There’s no cross subsidy at all.

Thanks for clarifying - I thought so but wasn’t 100% sure

@XenoBitch I agree, where are all the threads full of outrage that there is so little affordable rental these days? Why should people aspire to be homeowners or to pay for someone else’s mortgage? My grandparents and their entire community were proud council tenants. Everyone on their estate that I know of worked and they were proud of their work and their small but well kept homes. It was a sustainable way of living. All destroyed by Thatcher and now we seem to have even forgotten that was what social housing was… you didn’t need to pass on the property to your children because they’d already have been housed by the council just because they put their name down for a house. Not because they were desperate or unemployed.

It’s more than that. The localism act means it can only be spouses that can succeed (and you have to die to be succeeding to a tenancy). You can assign it, but same criteria for who is eligible. The PP thinks they’re going to do this but in reality it’s probably not going to happen.