To think if all your children have grown up and left you should give up your 5 bed council house?

[dilemma456]

The housing list are so long and especially for bigger properties.

I met someone who lives by herself in a 5 bed council house last night. Her children have all moved out. There are people who really need that house crammed into much smaller properties.

AIBU to think that if you're massively under occupying social housing you should be under an obligation to move out into something smaller and that the council should offer you support and encouragement to do so?

"The 18 year old would not be able to pay the upkeep of the home, nor the mortgage"

One would hope that their parents would have made at least some provision for them - if DP and/or I snuff it our mortgage will be paid off and ds inherits the house.

The situation for a private tenant would, I agree, be poor. It often is, ime.

"'Removing the automatic right to inherit property does make some sense

how? how does that help anyone?

generally people put the house on the market if they don't want to live in it.

or rent it out.

Although I suppose if their landlord was amenable, they could take on the tenancy (bringing in someone to share the rent perhaps).

YANBU! I have a real issue with this and dh and I often have blazing rows discussions about this very subject.

My MIL is in her 3 bed house 20 years after her dc's moved out!

The council have offered her a 1 bed bungalow in the next street and as in incentive to move from her desperately needed council house they have offered to completely redecorate the new property in colours of her choice, not the standard magnolia. Install new kitchen and bathroom (admittedly these do need doing anyway, pay for AND complete her packing and moving!

Imo it would be great for her and she was going to take them up on the offer but has been talked out of it by a 'helpful' family member - argh!

So their council is trying to do something but without serving her an eviction notice (can you imagine the local press??!!!) there's not much else they can do.

One would hope jenai. Some people dont think so far ahead.

(A father and pregnant mum, together with the visiting grandma, were massacred by their lodger last year, leaving their 13 and 15 year old sons orphaned. They had obviously not thought they would die so young, so no provisions were in place. This happened just 10 minutes from our house. Of course it is rare, but it makes you think. sorry for derailing)

Edgar Sorry if that wasn't clear; I meant to inherit a council/HA tenancy.

Katz - the estate i live n at the moment has 31 houses in total, all the same, ver large three bed semi's with decent fore and rear gardens. From my window i can see 10 of these houses, so with mine makes 11 in my bit, 1 has a young family, a couple and three children, mine has myself and DH with our two horros. the remaining 9 have 1 person in. well did have until last year when in one the daughter moved back i9n to get the house, and in another a grandson moved in as he had fallen out with his parents, hes 29!!!

I own mine, the rest are council. I have been told by next door that she pays £7 a week!!!

There was a 80 year old man in our local paper in this position: living in a 3 bed house on his own after the death of his sister.

He has my sympathies but, really, his family's argument that he should be allowed to stay as he is going to die soon is not a particularly strong one.

Christ. That's dreadful, QS.

We grew up in a 3-bed council flat in London (v. desireable area). I moved out about 7yrs ago and my mum and my brother continued to live in the same house until about 6mths ago when brother left to rent privately with GF.

My mum applied to the council to move and she received:

• high number of points to push her to the top of the list in the bidding system for a one-bed flat in the same area
• 50 quid per bedroom that she was giving up (2)
• moving service provided and paid for by council
• decorating job and new appliances in new flat

Some councils obviously do provide incentives!

I would bloody hate to live in some kind of young professionals/ families/elderly/student ghetto.

I live in a diverse neighbourhood (at least in terms of household makeup). It is all the richer for that.

Me too!
I love to live in a diverse community rather than everyone who was just like me
And how do we decide who are the same kinds opf people? Their ages? How many kids tey have?
Their hobbies?
Or as boringly as ever would it be by the amount of disposable income they have?
It all seems to come down to money which is dullldulldull

I wouldn't call sheltered accommodation for the over 55's a ghetto

The sheltered blocks we have are very well looked after, unlike some other areas. The gardens are looked after weeded etc by residents, the stairwells and walkways are swept regularly. If I am single at 55 I would be in one of those flats like a shot!

KATZ - As I explained near the start of the thread I have almost been made homeless when a LL needed his house back so I am very well aware that this property is not mine.

At least if I had a council property I would know it was mine as long as I needed it. I would happily move to something smaller when the time comes that the dc's have flown the nest.

Maybe private rental would be more attractive if the lettings market was properly regulated.

Private tennants have almost no rights and therefore no security, rents are extortionate, and answer me how a family with young children living on a modest income are suposed to finance a £3K deposit each time a LL serves notice.

I agree that council housing shouldn't be for life but I would let the current lot of over 80 year old tennants stay where they are. The stress of suddenly having to move after thinking their house was their home for the rest of their life could literally kill some old folk. Anyone under 80 as of this year would move over to a new contract where they may be required to move out, next year it would be anyone over 81, and so on.

The downside I can see with the whole thing is that if housing was allocated according to need, then there would be no incentive for tenants to improve their life situation. Perhaps unless a household member has a disability or fits some other specific criteria that prevents them improving their situation, the fairest system is to give council housing for a five year fixed term, with some support for finding alternative accommodation as the deadline approaches?

Can I ask, do councils pay housing benefit to people in properties deemed too large for them?

Eg can a single person in a 3-bedroom house have their rent paid?

If so, this is wrong and needs addressing.

Furthermore I would axe forthwith the 25% reduction in council tax for single people/OAPs.

I think if they are going to do this at all then they should make it anyone who is currently retired/on disability living allowance is exempt

I understand the desperate need for family housing but I also think it is easy for those of us NOT in social housing to advocate kicking people out of their homes

there is no easy answer

And i agree with whoever said that tenants in private rental properties need greater rights.

The downside I can see with the whole thing is that if housing was allocated according to need, then there would be no incentive for tenants to improve their life situation"

That is exactly the situation now though so it's no worse.
People look at their local paper see what rent they would be paying if they came off benefits and took a job and sit back down on their arses. You sometimes wonder who is the fool.

Yes Greensleeves, anyone over 80, or already retired this year would be fair.

I recently lost £1000 to a LL even though the house was basically a slum when I moved in (the house I eventually found 10 days before I had to move out of the previous property).

The TDS took £500 off his original claim but still gave him £1000 for decorating because he had provided a statement from a painter who decorates all his houses (80 odd of them) stating that the paintwork was in poor condition even though this guy commented to me when I moved in that the place was "dingy" and was obviously saying what he had been told to for the sake of his income. I also couldnt prove that the utility needed decorating due to water damage from the leaking roof as any receipts from the builders went direct to the LL who wasnt declaring it!

If the TDS are going to include statements from folk who he pays wages to as proof of damage then the little folk still dont have much chance.

Sorry my post was to oldienotamoldie - this thread is moving really fast!

In response to Bunty's point that people may have babies to stay then I can confirm that it does happen in real life, not just the Daily Mail. My ex-neighbours freely admitted they had another child to get a bigger house and I know another family who are TTC because it means the mother will not have to work (have no idea why but that's what they say). It may not be their only reasoning, obviously I am not privy to every conversation they have, but that's what they freely admit to anyone who (doesn't) asks.

There are some very odd people, not as many as the DM would have you believe, granted, butt enough to make you worry