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.

Totally agree, other benefits are reviewed, why not this one? Good to learn that there are MNers proud to fiddle the system and leave others in genuine need to fend for themselves.

My mum is a new widow in a council house. If a tenancy is not allowed to be passed on, then please tell me where she is meant to live?

It is just one of the many crazy news swirling around ....

My comment was related to the post I have quoted really.

I know this happens. My parents live in a council house and a few doors down they couldn't understand how the 2nd of an adult couple have died, but the house wasn't being cleared and put up for new Tennants. Turned out the son had moved in, he had been put on the tenancy a while back even though he had never lived there.

Totally understand in the case of a spouse moving in and had been living there. But any family member like the post i have quoted, it is just wrong. It was in the news not long back that these tenancy can be passed down to children.

My parents obviously have no money, and us adult children have morals so would never play this game. If we did 1 of us at least would be passed a life tenancy for ourselves instead of paying out on a mortgage each month. Is our parents owned a house and ended up in care, there would be no chance of that.

I am sorry for the loss of your dad 🌷

You are saying she was a tenant so that’s lucky. But I stand by what I said. Where is a widower of an owned home supposed to live if they can’t afford if the house is not paid outright/ they can’t afford to live there.

It is not fair that people who have made their way without help are put in a worse position.

Yes, I have seen a lot of news articles about children being evicted after a parent has died... that wrongly assume they can stay there.

The whole system is rotten now. The nearby council trumpeted that it had bought and refurbished three houses for Afghan families. These houses would be £1m each on the open market. I simply can’t compute…

Someone in a council house has nothing to do with someone in a mortgaged one. Apples and oranges.

What do you mean it’s relatively easy to check with Royal Mail as a regulator?

What is a red brick flat and are bricks bad?

Ha I am in a red brick house Do I need to move? 😅

They do. My husband's auntie has a council flat. Last year her friend had a heart attack abroad, but wasn't fit to fly home. Long story short, lots of pissing about by the insurance company and in the mean time he deteriorated and ended up passing away over there. Proper shocker as he was really healthy and active. His long term partner, was in a right state. She's a perfectly capable woman in most ways, but the shock and the grief of it just knocked her. My husband's aunt ended up staying with her for a while as she was trying to sort everything out. There was a right faff with repatriating him, getting a death certificate, etc., as they'd been together for 40 years but were unmarrried. So she stayed, helping her and looking after her and her three grieving dogs, for a few of weeks, went home for the odd night and then went back to her friend's.

Anyway, a neighbour reported her to the council. Someone popped round and asked to come in. They did briefly and then said, Oh! It's fine, we don't need to! Basically, they'd seen her living room and kitchen, saw the Christmas decorations, and saw that the flat was clearly being lived in, or sublet

So, if someone shops the daughter and someone comes round and there is no sign of the daughter or her child(ren) living in the property, just her brother, then that's the risk you run.

If she buys with her husband, then does she go on the mortgage? If she does, will she have to declare her rent for the mo ths that she will be pretending to live there? That will impact affordability. If she doesn't go on the mortgage, as an adult occupier not on the mortgage, she will have to sign a waiver as an adult occupier. Looks weird if they are married and they say that she isn't living there.

Lying to your mortgage company is mortgage fraud. If caught out the lender could request immediate repayment of the mortgage and getting a mortgage may be impossible if you're blacklisted. You could be fined and go to prison for upto 10 years.

Lots of lies at lots of different levels and lots of unneccessary risks if the end goal is keeping a council house. They risk losing both and not getting another.

Yes apples and oranges. Apples have worked their arses off done all the right moves to pay for their home. Plus interest. Oranges have been given cheap housing for life. Both need care in eldely age. Apples then has fuck all left to pass on to children, despite paying xxxx. Oranges gets state funded care and as long as they have played clever, gets to leave life long use of the house to them. Oranges wins. Even if they don't need care, if Apples have only been able to afford a house of an equal value of Oranges, then Oranges still wins

We have a joint lifetime tenancy. The rules are that if either of us die, the other is classed to succeed them. Then there are no further rights to succession. We can't pass the house down to our children.

That is a really bitter way to view people TBH.

I think that is how it is everywhere now. No passing to a child that does not even live with you.

It's because of the lack of available affordable housing..People are in a scarcity mindset. And someone who is "lucky" to get a council house will be resented by the person that didn't. Even if the lucky person is also deserving. Basically we need more social housing.

Have you got a link to this trumpeting?

Yeah thats not how it actually works 🤦‍♀️

Is it really?

You have no comment to add as to why 1 child would get the house and the other doesn't if care was needed?

I have no stakes in this game. My parents live in council housing. I will inherite nothing. Suppose I do have a stake in that i hope my daughter will inherite my house, but unlike council housing Tennants now, that is not guaranteed, so what is the point in what I am doing really?

😆

Why was she not on the tenancy agreement? Of course a spouse, an adult child, or a sister who actually lives in the property and hence is on the agreement should be allowed to stay. They should not be allowed to pass it on to their sister, brother, or grandchild who doesn't live there.
Public assets are not a private inheritance. It completely morally bankrupt and selfish. So sick of this.

She is. But passing from one to the other is still classed as a succession of tenancy.

No they're very nice, there's plenty around Royal Albert hall and other places. Would need win the lottery to rent one.

I'd have LOVED to live in a house like that. Instead I had to privately ret a tiny run down one bedroom flat that I was only able to just afford as dh then boyfriend and I were sharing the rent and accommodationHad to move out of London to afford a 3 bedroom for our family. Don't we all have to cut our cloth and all that? Council hosing should go to those who need them the most. Not hogged by those who can afford private rent.