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?

[cheesesarnie]

agree about 2nd homes.

some councils do offer incentives to downsize.

[ninah]

come on this is a stupid argument, the presnet climate seems to thrive on the poor scrapping with the poor
it's simply illogical, if we're talking about making sacrifices, to start with the elderly and poor when there are empty houses out there by the score
we have people in our soceity with plenty in the bank, let them go first

[OriginalPoster]

So to keep a house a tenant could pop out a baby or adopt in their 40s?

Or

What if the children can't afford to move out, or find a jobs? Do they all get to stay on? What if those children then have children, do they get to kick out granny?

There are holes in your system OP.

Do agree that council housing should be maintained to a decent standard, though. It's cheaper to look after a house than do a lot of work periodically due to neglect.

[ninah]

jasper sorry to hear that

[marriedinwhite]

I disagree with you OP because a family has brought up their dc in that house and have memories and have funded the rent, etc., so on that basis YABU.

OTH we own a 6 bed house and have two dc. We are 51 and 49. This house costs a lot to maintain and to heat - we do not intend to stay here indefinitely after the dc leave home. We do not wish to spend our capital maintaining a home that will become too large for us and very expensive. We have more sense than that so YANBU too. The other side of me cannot justify living in a large which is too expensive to maintain, especially if others are expected to pick up the bill.

The fence is becoming spectacularly uncomfortable.

[gaelicsheep]

Still can't get over the fact that people who can afford an extension/loft conversion are allowed to take up a council house.

[tethersend]

My Grandma is 95 and lives in the same council house she has lived in for the past 63 years. It has two bedrooms now (did have three, but they knocked one out to put a bathroom upstairs 10 years ago). She had all three of her children in the upstairs bedroom. Her and my Grandad worked all their lives.

But, if she is to blame for the massive shortage of affordable housing and not the woefully inadequate investment and selling off of housing stock, then I'll pack the selfish old cow's false teeth myself.

[jasper]

Dad is still in their 3 bedroom house , (which he happens to own - it's not a council house ) , but he has no intenion of moving, even though a one bedroom flat would , theoretically make practical sense.

IT"S HIS BLOODY HOME.

DO YOU GET THAT, OP?

[randommoment]

Do all Housing Associations/Local Authorities have the same policy as yours about encouraging older people to move to somewhere more suited to their current needs fortyplus? We're having a bit of a time of it trying to shift our mum from her current home (only two bedroom bungalow, but out in the sticks and she's rapidly becoming unsafe to drive).

[LittleMissFlustered]

OldGrey Does that council not have a hereditary tenancy scheme? I'm not sure if they still exist. If more than one adult was living in the property, and both named as tenants, one could move out and the other keep the tenancy. I'm not a particular fan of them to be fair, but I can see why they are attractive to families. My neighbour has her home through that scheme. She and her dog live in the three bed house, I'd say she is in her fifties and has no intention of leaving it.

[IneedAbetterNickname]

gaelic My friends neighbour married a man who owns 2 houses, but he moved into her council flat, and rented out the other places! Apparently this is allowed!

Re extensions/loft conversions, I didn't think council tenants were allowed to do this kind of thing? Nannie isn't even allowed to grow a hedge without permission!

[jasper]

ninah, thanks .
it's a sad part of life, but we had untold joy in the last few weeks of being with Mum. Never laughed AND cried so much in years !

[gaelicsheep]

It sickens me when I think of the amount of people who can't get a council house and are struggling so so much. Seems like once you're in the "system" you've got it made. Not to mention all the people who bought their council house for peanuts years ago and are now half millionaires. Sour grapes? Maybe.

[MynameisnotEarl]

My ex MIL is in her 80s and lives in a 3 bed council house. This should be made available for a family and I agree it's not fair, OP. But she should have been rehoused 30 years ago when her children left home - and she hasn't paid any rent for 20 years.

She has lived in this house since she was born (it was her parents' before her), so how could she be expected to leave it? She knows all her neighbours and local shopkeepers and is a well-known member of the community. I hate to think what it would do to her if she had to move.

And the stubborn old witch refuses to let her grown-up children buy the property on her behalf (because she's lived in it for so long, she could have it very cheaply). On her death, it will be re-let and inevitably someone else will buy it.

I also agree the right to buy was a very bad idea - social housing should be a stepping stone to your own house (if you can afford it), not a permanent home.

[nancy75]

There are people I would throw out before the elderly - Bob Crow the union leader that earns over £100k a year and lives in a council house springs to mind.

[DioneTheDiabolist]

gaelicsheep he worked and they took out loans. Do you have a problem with working class people in council houses spending money on them?They are their homes. Everyone I know in a council house has spent money, putting in flooring, upgrading windows and doors, sorting out their gardens, and making other improvements.

Why is my BOLD function not working?

[gaelicsheep]

That was regarding extensions and people who already own 2 houses btw, not old people. I don't think the OPs point is exclusive to old people, it's about making sure the best use is made of limited housing stock.

Totally agree about the appalling condition of the houses that councils are quite happy to rent out. But then, unfortunately, a strict economic options appraisal would never come out in favour of doing places up between tenants, as so many would get wrecked again.

[Minus273]

I think they should maintain the properties, eg there should be plaster on the wall etc. I do think it is more likely the previous tenant couldn't afford to heat the property, many can't these days.

TBH I doubt very much there would be enough smaller properties for older people to move to. My Uncle lived in a 4 bed house. He applied to move to a 1 bed 'on the level property. This would have freed up a bigger house for a family. However when he died he had been on the list 8 years.

[OriginalPoster]

So if a young woman had 3 dcs by age 20, and youngest left home when she was 16, the mum aged 36 should be sent to live in a one bed flat? There seems to be an incentive to have more dcs to keep the house under this system.

[DioneTheDiabolist]

Oops, it is now.

[gaelicsheep]

Yes I do Dionne as it happens. Because council houses are for people who can't afford any other type of accommodation. If you can afford an extension because you don't pay a market rent, then you shouldn't be in a council house. Sorry if that's an unpopular opinion.

[usualsuspect]

Council house envy ...hahahahaha

[gaelicsheep]

How much is the average rent for a council house compared with average private rents, out of interest?

[ninah]

jasper it's intense. Wish your dad, and all of you, the very best.
Now back to the thread - why don't you leave off 'council tax millionaires' and start on the real ones (if you think you're hard enuff)