In thinking, if councils rent out their homes for

[Theincrediblesulk1]

80-90% of the market rate, they better get fixing them up! No more shall they be able to dump a family in a damp uncarpeted unfurnished close to ghetto standard homes!

80-90% of the market value of unkempt hell holes are roughly £10 a week so council tenants will be in an even better position than before!

What do you all think?

How much does it cost to rent say a two bed council flat or a three bed council house. Can't realy comment as don't know the facts. Also does 80% of the market rate mean the market rate for that type of property or for the area. For example the market rate for a 2 bed flat in a prestige block with gym etc., and 3mins from the tube is much higher than the market rate for a 2 bed Edwardian maisonette just a mile or so away but a 25 minute walk from the tube.

Its all different rent amounts for council housing. What i took from it was they were going to see the average price for a privately rented corresponding home types and charge 80-90% of that rent. Again depending on area, if you live in Richmond you are buggered. But Leeds you will probably be cool.

Genuine question.

To what extent is a council tenant expected to maintain and decorate and repair the interior of their home?

I'm just thinking that surely an 80% rent where you had to refurbsh and redecorate internally would effectively be equivalent to 100% of market rate on a private tenancy where everything is paid for by the landlord.

My Grandparents had a council house (the one my Aunt inherited then bought when she died) and they used to do decorating and fit new kitchens, bathrooms etc.

We did all our own decorating. Never had any interior repairs or refurbs done in all the years we were in council. Years ago they would do minor repairs but that stopped a fair while back.

Ok if you have the means to put a door back on but not very nice for those who cant.

Beenbeta some people walk into a shell! i know someone who didn't even have electric for 6 weeks!

I was 8mths pg with DD when I got my flat. I was so pleased and greatful I didnt think about how I was going to furnish it!

The condition wasnt bad but it was totally basic and all the decoration was black and grey so hard to cover up.

It was the first place I had lived in my whole 25 years that had central heating [well a radiatior in the hall and one in the front room]

It was bliss. Me and my big fat belly, a black and white tv and a bed.

I had been homeless, it was wonderful to have a home.

beenbeta, only one council/ha property i have lived in has been habitable from the off. and that was a newbuild flat.

the rest have needed completely gutting, cleaning, flooring, redecorating. i have been here 2yrs and am almost finished. just need to do that bathrooms, and try and keep the kitchen working and not fall apart for another 2-5yrs.

We live in council rented property and pay just over £60p/w in rent. We have had a window broken which wouldnt lock, the lock actually came off the window. Council was here and repaired within 30 mins. We had our smoke alarms go off at 4am in the morning, (as the information as to how to get these alarms off the ceiling had been painted over by previous tenants, we didnt know how to get them down to switch them off as they are attached the main electrics) we had to bash them to a silent death with the baseball bat! - Told council at 9am when i called htem what had happened and they were out and both replaced within 45 mins.

I cant fault East Riding of yorkshire council at all.

Private rented property - fully carpeted, good state of decoration, even fairly minor repairs are the LL's responsibility.

Council/HA - no carpets, possible awful state of decoration, kitchen units could be 30-odd years old, I've even moved into one where I was told it was my responsibility to get the garden turfed, as the last tenant had ripped all the turf up! Pipework got blocked under my kitchen floor, leaking raw sewage through the floor into my kitchen. It took the HA 9 months to repair the pipework, rendering the kitchen unusable throughout that time. They only fixed it when I threatened to take them to court because it was a H&S/ environmental health concern.

Private 3-bed - £1000 pcm

Council/HA 3-bed currently - £ 450 pcm

New council/HA 3-bed - £ 800 pcm.

TBH I think I'll take my chances in Private rent cheers!

I think that in the private market, the only thing you can get for £60 pw, is a bedroom in a house shared by students. With a bit of luck, you may even get a basin in your room.

So if I understand correctly then, new council tenants will be pretty much paying the equivalent of full private rent once their own costs of repair and decorating their council house/flat is taken into account.

I suspect if older residents who no longer needed a house were moved out to sheltered accomodation flats then council house waiting lists will shrink very quickly once the incentive of a big subsidised rent was removed although security of tenure would still be a big draw. If that could also be dealt with in the private sector then much of the pressure on councils to provide social housing would disappear. The demand would just move to the private sector though.

I would expect that a house in a bad shape is rented for much less, therefore they will be required to pay 80% of that.

If a house is in a lovely state of decor and the rent is high, the same 80% again?

i don't know chandra, but it seems impossible to figure out doesn't it.

misdee I do have a kitchen drawer I can't open because the cooker is in the way . The upside of LA property (my inlaws live in an old LA house) is the space! Big rooms and storage. Also huge gardens. I agree the security element must be a huge relief. It is to me with military accomodation at least I know I won't be homeless. Although my SIL did get evicted by the council for non payment of rent a few years ago - that she was getting HB for?? My DH and his other DSis clubbed together to buy DSIL's (second sisters) council house and the baby sister rents it back from us. We look after it very well , but I can see so much potential with it, I wish I could afford to do more.

stinkermink, i have a drawer that also doesnt open.

and one missing its front.

several missing handles.

space is not great here but a good size for a 3bed. garden is piddly small.

That's rubbish. But it's amazing what we'll put up with!

AGREE!

my housing association house was a disgrace when i first got the keys, filthy, bare floorboards, scribbled on, dirty walls, it was dreadful.

luckily i had my dad (who is good at house-stuff) to help me, he painted it, put wooden floors down in the lounge, kitchen and bathroom and my parents helped me out with the cost of new carpets.

i dont know what people who aren't lucky enough to get that sort of help do :( its disgusting, private rented houses wouldnt be allowed to be let out in such a state.

google' lettable standard'. every housing association should have one of these.

but who the fuck knows this shit when you move in.

in most cases you dont have a choice - its heres a house take or don't - there are plenty more people in the queue,

however if you knew the facts you could accept it and then ensure that the HA makes it fit according to their lettable standards.

in the very least it should be clean

but you can't complain if you don't know.

quite often the policies to protect tenants will be in place but tenants are hampered by piss poor staff or staff that are over worked and who are pushed to get the voids clear becuse their manager needs good statistics this month.

so ensuring you know whats what is important.

but you can't google what you don't know exists can you?

We have a housing assosiation flat. Gorgeous, brand new, 2 very good sized double rooms, lovely garden £76 a week.

BUT, a new build it may be, however, they rushed so much to get things finished it's already falling apart. This flat is 7months old. The windows seem to be coming away and letting a draft in, door handles are falling off, you're lucky if the patio door closes properly never mind locks, they had rushed the plumbing in the bathroom and we ended up with a leak, we had to get our own plumber out to stop the leak but we now have damp and mould in the bathroom from where the HA said they would sort it 4 months ago, tiles coming awy from the Walls etc.

I really wouldn't mind paying 80% of Market price for this flat if I had a guarentee that the HA would fix these problems without a fight but we all know that would never happen.

The security of this place is a BIG bonus though which they should address in private properties. Maybe making (by law)a rental agreement a minimum of 3yrs?

When I was younger we where moving into a council property with a completely unsafe kitchen. The council told my mum that a new kitchen would be fitted before we moved in. We got there and they had put one sink unit in. That's it. Not even a draining board, the unit wasn't even fitted ffs, just leaning against the wall.

actually, if the new build flat is only 7 months old it is likley to still be in the 'defects period' which is uner 12 months. this means that if the contractor has fucked up - they have to come back and fix it. well contractors dont like to do that as it costs them money - so often the HA are fighting with the contractors. What you must do is make sure that you report everything, and to be doubly sure, report it in writing.

I've lived in several council homes and visited lots of friends in council properties. I've never seen anything like the conditions of mould and infestations reported here.

It's true that council homes usually aren't carpeted or furnished, but I prefer it that way - I see it as a long term home and want to put my own stamp on it by decorating it to my own tastes.

Our council deals with reparis within two days and the same day for emergencies like plumbing. They deal with doors, fitted cupboards, dripping taps etc.

There is a nationwide scheme called Decent Homes which has been upgrading council properties in the past few years. It has given me double glazing and I'm also due to get new kitchens and bathrooms (which currently aren't faulty but just old-fashioned). I was quite surprised that the scheme wasn't cut by the Tories, but the Spending Review makes it clear that it will be going ahead.

Our council here seem really good - I emailed them about a broken extractor fan, leaky radiator pipe and a sticky back door and all 3 workmen were out within 48 hours. I have a 3 bed house and my rent is £75 a week (privately it would be £140 a week)

The house was uncarpeted and the walls needed repainting/wallpapering. They have a policy of ripping up carpets when tenants leave - cant work out whether its because of risk of infestation or risk of the house being torched/broken into when empty. I am still paying back the credit card over 18m later from all the decorating.

However, that has been worth it for a) cheaper rent b) a landlord which gets things done c) a secure tenancy which feels like my home d) no stupid inspections so my home is my own