to think that elderly people living alone in 3/4 bed council houses should not have a choice about whether they want to stay there?

[BlessYouToo]

In fact, they should be moved into one bedroom accommodation as soon as the kids leave home (this should have happened years ago of course). Having a 'spare' bedroom in case the grandchildren come to stay should not be an option when they are in state owned properties.

I have today been to view a council property with a friend of mine who has been homeless for 3 years (in temp accommodation) after finally getting to the top of the bidding queue! She was called to see a 4 bedroom house and it was absolutely rank, the smell made me want to heave. Plaster was hanging off the wall and the whole place was damp as the previous tenant either, did not or could not, heat and ventilate it properly Apparently the house was in a much worse than the state we saw it in today but the council had done some remedial work on it to make it safe so it was a bit better. The garden was also just a sea of brambles.

We were told that an elderly person had been living there and had just been moved into a nursing home. T

I was shocked that the council could rent out a property in this state. I would have expected that they would have made sure the property was up to a decent, clean standard before renting it out as any other landlord would have to do (all my friend will get is a paint allowance if she is eligible) but I am even more shocked that this elderly tenant was allowed to let the property get into this condition. Why do councils not carry out inspections to ensure their properties don't get into this state? Obviously the house was too much for the previous tenant to cope with and surely they would have been better off with a smaller property that they could keep clean?

We were told that many of the properties coming available after elderly tenants have either died, or gone into alternative accommodation, are left in a similar state. How many families with young children are left crammed into tiny flats while elderly people are living in houses much too large for their needs, letting them decay around them? I find it unbelievable that this has been happening.

I feel gutted for my friend as she has been desperate to get a stable home for her DCs and will now be going into a total shithole without even carpets on the floor, just cement. It's a bloody disgrace! AIBU?

Hecate

That happens here with any new tennacys the right to home for life gas gone in most cases .

Am watching and wondering what effect that will have on areas

Question lithlemusssarcastic

Are you in private rented or owned or waiting for a council/h/a house because I have found those that are in need if council h/a places can infact have stronger ideals ( which I can understand as nothing Luke being desperate to make things seem more unfair )

Call me silly, but I thought council houses were a temporary solution, for unemployment, disability, single mothers with small kids etc. I didn't realise once you get a council house you have it for life.

Whilst that may sound fair, it also means that many people will have their HB slashed, and if they can't find a suitable smaller property to move into, will run the risk of losing their home, through rent arrears, because there are no other suitable smaller homes.

What will happen to the disabled people and their carers...who brought their DC's up and their DC's have left home, leaving them with a house that is too large according to HB officials? They will find it very difficult to top up the HB and could get into rent arrears, at which point they will not be permitted to swap to a smaller property, until they have cleared the rent arrears...which will keep increasing with every week they can't afford to top up their HB, and thus a cycle is created, where they are getting further and further into debt, with no opportunity to move, but an increasing risk of being evicted due to rent arrears.
Their only other option is to squeeze their finances even tighter whilst they look for a suitable property that is smaller to downsize into.

My point is that if OAP's can remain in their homes for as long as they want, surely every single social housing tenant should also have that opportunity?? Why should pensioners be singled out to be the elite group that never has to downsize if they don't want to, while families, disabled people, children are being moved on, possibly into different areas to live, and pensioners are allowed to remain where they are??

Pensioners weren't born OAP's.....as someone else said upthread, there are many people whose DC will have flown the nest by the time the tenant is in their 40's or 50's. These people have also raised a family in their homes, why can't they stay??

My XP's mother has a enviable 4 bedroomed large house....in easy commuter distance from london....it is in a much sought after location. Rent is £125 a week. She had 5 DC living at home, although now she only has 1 DC living at home, who will possibly be moving out next year.
Under the new rules in 2013, she will have to pay a heavy subsidy to prevent getting into rent arrears, yet she has lived in this particular house for more than 20 years. Should she be asked to downsize? She is only in her 40's. She wants to stay there until she dies. Why shouldn't she? What is different about her situation and that of a pensioners?

No they are not Pekka

many people who live in council houses work

yanbu
to someone who comes from outside of the uk the concept of renting a property for life seems ridiculous.

but if that is the contract, thats the contract.

imo, abolishing all council houses but instead introducing more sensible renting regulations would make more sense.
as in: longer more secure leases, the right for tennants to decorate, etc.

TheHumanCatapult I am in HA. I was not on the waiting list for very long at all so consider myself very fortunate.

Pekka most new tennacys no longer for life the regional idea is communities were built by people having home for life different generations in the area to help each other ( hmm Mr Cameron you want the big society thing yet he is now going to discourage it as people will no longer know their neighbours

Litlle miss sarcastic here there us sons leeway for houses etc with adaptions . Know because am about to move into one and let's face it when 3 of my dc move out ( ds3 less likely ) I'm only going to be one bedroom over and will cost them Sam site more to adapt a house

I suspect some older people don't really want the hassle of a really big house but have no idea that they can swap and downsize and think they will just be made homeless. There needs to be a lot more assistance to help people to move if it's what they want

Perhaps I should also mention that I am fortunate enough to have an assured tenancy too, so my opinion isn't because I have a personal crusade.

Plus that's what they were promised and is in writing and ok being brutal eventually people with older type tennacys will die /move out trade up or down and that's infact when they do it is automatically a new tennacy

So it is not infinite .

The new proposals do not mention that there will be any exemption of any kind for disabled people and their carers though. It simply divides people into 2 categories....working age claimants (which carers of disabled will fall into, as well as many disabled people) and people who are not working age claimants...so everyone apart from OAP's.

I have got mine life time and in writing tyvm and trust me I'm not ever planning on moving again unless I want to and anyone try's to get me out is in for a fight

I kind of agree with the OP. My grandparents own their 4 bed home with a big garden. They should have moved out ages ago but said they loved their home and they could cope with it and the garden.

Now they are in their eighties and have too many health issues to contemplate moving and trying to maintain the house is beyond them.

There needs to be a general consensus that people whose kids have left home and finish uni should start to think about getting older and what kind of property will suit them when they are less able.

This would benefit both the elderly and the families that need these larger houses. The only group you can force this on is the council tenants but in the long run you may be doing them a favor.

pekka I tink that's what emergency temporary accomdation is for ?

but will we're on the house is too big for you thing, why should private owners be allowed to stay in a 7 bedroom house when the could easily downsize and let a family get further up the property ladder

Pekka anyone can go on the council housing list. Council houses were meant to be a home for life and don't think it's fair to start changing the tennancies now. There is a lack of council housing so more should be built. It sounds like the house mentioned in the OP wouldn't meet 'decent homes standard', I would encourage the woman to accept it but get on to the council to bring it up to decent homes standard. Moving is stressful enough for most adults let alone the elderly but I agree everyone should be made aware that they can swap for a different house if they want.

The problem is that council tenants have been encouraged to treat the houses as their own when of they are not. If you live in private rented homes and are likely to for a long time it seems madness to hear of people investing in council houses they have no ownership of. It also seems strange to attach so much to the concept of a home as oppossed to a house. In my opinion council houses should be for people who cannot live without one, dont force people to move on if its too much but do force them to pay market rents when they no longer need such a large house or when they increase income beyond a certain level.

My grandmother had to move to a one bed flat when she could no longer afford the upkeep on the house she owned - she inherited from her mother and had lived there since the day she was born she was upset but had no choice.
When i dont need to rent a house with so many bedrooms i will move somewhere cheaper and when i am a pensioner if i am still renting i imagine a one bed flat will be all i can afford.

With the increase in people unable to afford to buy during their working life there will soon be two sets of people, those elderly people in large council houses and those elderly people who are stuck in bedsits in private rentals.

No idea of a solution to this.

Check with your LA it is down to them or h/a they set own rules as regards the tennacys like said here 5 years is the normal . Tendring now only give 12 months at a time !!

Adaptions easily cost £30k plus in some cases so is not cost effective

My gran is 85 and lives in a 3 bed council house. She had 6 kids in their at one point, been there for years, model tenant, looks after her house, still has her youngest daughter living at home. Should she be moved out to a smaller property? No. Absolutely not.

This is her home. Her community. her friends. Her neighbours. I would not vote for any government that suggests the elderly should be moved on from council houses.

I do however take issue with councils who do not inspect council houses and who do not penalise tenants who live in a shit hole. I grew up on a council estate. My Dad was chairman of the HA who controlled the largest social housing stock in Teesside and I have seen first hand the damage some tenants do to their homes.

Also littlemssatcastc

Not meaning to be rude but blunt speaking it is very easy to say it should be like this or like this as your not going to be affected by the changes

So if I am going to be affected by the changes, then my points are borne out of a personal crusade, and if I'm not going to be affected by the changes, then it is easy for me to say because it doesn't apply to me?

Just because it wont affect me for the foreseeable doesn't mean I can't see how horrifically unfair it will be for many many people. I don't have to be a victim of the new proposals to see that they will affect many many people in a negative way and that is unfair.

Or is my opinion invalid unless it personally affects me?

no person should be moved from their council home especially if they have lived there for 50 + years

Creamola What about the OAP's who haven't lived in their homes 50 + years?

No your opion is valid as is mine or someone else's but personal experience can alter what we feel that's all I'm saying

When your desperate for h/a or a bigger place then it can seem even more unfair that elderly people are in them , But then again if IRS your parents facing loosing their home , then your view be different .

Hence that the least we can do is ghat those that have thenlife time are allowed to finish them of .

Least if you know your only getting 5 years when you get council/h/a house your forewarned . Though still think be intresting to see how this works with camerons big society ideals he has

Were fortunate we gave secure homes so we know 5 years time were not facing moving away from everything we know