Down sizing property's

[Angienoonoo123]

Hi everyone what are people's views on people under occupying there council homes , I no of a couple of people that are over 65 that live in 4 bedroom houses by there self they have to pay no rent the state of the houses are disgusting as they are to fragile to clean the houses they are in surley the council should In force a law that just because these people have lived in these houses for years dosent mean they should keep them they both have 3 spare bedrooms just sitting there shouldn't they be made to downsize ?? To a 2 bedroom or something it's not fair that these young couples with 3 -4 kids have to keep them in a flat with no garden while these oaps can't Evan take care of them selfs properly let alone a massive house !!

[TakeMyEyesButNotTheMulledWine]

Phone went crazy for a moment. Excuse the typos.

[TakeMyEyesButNotTheMulledWine]

My FIL lives in a big 3 bed council house alone. He won't move to a smaller place, DP and his sister have been talking to him about it for ages as he struggles with cleaning it due to health problems. DP and SIL both go to help him clean and cutt
he grass etc as he can't manage.

He won't consider a one bed ground floor flat because he likes where he is living.

I love him to bits but it is wrong that he can stay there. Mentally he is well so no reason why he shouldn't move.

He just refuses to.

[OodKingWenceslas]

Both. I think it needs a re think in each area.our area seems to work on turning down as many as possible and eventually backing down and accepting they need to house people. Fingers in ears appears to be the policy regarding overcrowding.

[Anniegetyourgun]

Or, we could just have more social housing.

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

Round here there are small bungalows in supported schemes sitting empty because OAP's (and I'm talking 65-75, not really elderly people) are refusing to downsize from their 3/4-bed properties.

Meanwhile I have a friend living in ONE ROOM in a bedsit with her, her DH, and their 3 DC's, as their house was repossessed when he was made redundant.

Why should the 65yo who flies abroad for a holiday each year (so not exactly frail) be allowed to sit in a 3/4 bed house when whole families are crammed into single rooms?

There's just no reasoning behind that other than selfishness.

They won't give up their house so someone else can enjoy raising their family in the larger house like they did.

If Social Housing is based on NEED, then the family of 5 has a greater NEED for the 3-bed property than the single 65yo!

Frailer OAP's could be allowed to stay in their property if a move would make them sicker or kill them by applying to the medical needs board that every LA has, and get special dispensation that way, as they will be able to prove their medical issues mean a move would be detrimental to their health. Simple.

Not unfair on anyone, nobody frail is made sicker by being downsized, yet the less frail, fitter OAP's are freeing up larger properties for young families that NEED them more.

Job done, satisfactorily for all.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

Pessary they already are given that support the problem is a lack of small property's

[PessaryPam]

I agree CouthyMow, but they should be given as much help to do so as possible as downsizing is a big and scary task to do, and often elderly people are not in the best health and maybe recently bereaved. It should be done sensitively and for their benefit too.

[FlourFace]

What was it about Panorama that makes you think OP should "fuck off", stuffing?

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

And when it comes to social housing, I can't see why this can't apply.

I originally had an old tenancy for life. I happily have that up in order to have a larger home for my DC's. and equally, when my DC's have left home, I will be quite happy to downsize, because I already have limited mobility, and at the point that I no longer NEED the extra bedrooms for my DC's, the size of the house will be like a millstone around my neck, especially wrt cleaning.

I don't see, AS a Social Housing tenant, what is so wrong with enforcing the same rules on all but the frailest of pensioners, on a case by case basis. If moving house would kill that individual pensioner, they could be allowed to stay on medical grounds, surely. Then the rest could be made to move to free up the houses.

The problem with Social Housing is that the chain is broken - there is enough social housing IF people move up and down the chain when necessary. But there is a stall at the top end, which is stalking the whole system, because OAP's aren't being made to downsize.

Social Housing should be based on NEED, and they no longer NEED a property that large!

[Stuffingballs]

Did you watch panarama last night? it was heartbreaking, so Fuck off OP.

[FrothyOM]

They do pay rent.

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

Why are you being rude about the OP's spelling. Yes, there are plenty of people with dyslexia who spell this badly - my 14yo DD and my most recent Ex for starters. DD's dad is functionally illiterate. He couldn't even write a letter to DD, he had to dictate it to his wife.

I don't think it's kind to mock someone who obviously has a problem.

And I agree with the OP, anyway.

When you are in a B&B with two DC's and only a single bed, and you can see an OAP letting their house go to rack and ruin, it DOES get frustrating.

My Nan has bought her own home, but has sold, downsized and moved in her 80's as she couldn't keep up with the housework. Hasn't killed her, even though it's the house that she brought up her 5 DC's in, and spent most of her life in.

And she's very frail, and very ill too.

It's a state of mind - she wanted someone else who has a large family to enjoy the benefits of the house that had turned into a bad thing as she got older. Having lots of bedrooms and an upstairs is great when you have a growing family, not so great when you have limited mobility...

[Dawndonna]

Trust me, the OP doesn't have dyslexia, there is not one indicator of such in the OP.

As has been stated, the deleted post was pretty grim, you know what they say about the whole story......

[Arisbottle]

If you have a problem with the OPs views fair enough, but to mock someone's level of literacy is cruel and unnecessary

[Loveweekends10]

Do make a habit of laughing at people with dyslexia? Lovely all of you. Not.

[FlourFace]

Start with this one, grammar nazis paintingthegreyarea.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/literacy-privilege/

[FlourFace]

Literacy privilege, or, why grammar nazis are dicks boingboing.net/2012/12/13/literacy-privilege-or-why-gr.html

[FlourFace]

No reason to believe op isn't genuine so I agree with Pen. What a load of rude hags you are.

Social housing is broken. In fact, all housing is. And baby boomers have benefitted enormously from good housing and making profit on property.

So something needs to be done. Maybe the days of a council house for life are over.

Some councils offer a deal - down grade from your big house and we'll give you a new, smaller flat with free care and a few quid thrown in.

I'm open minded about it.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

[lightbulb] Are you Iain Duncan Smith?^

Can't be, if the op was then they would already know that oap's who want to downsize get money to do so,

He would also know that its the tenancy that is currently lifelong ( assuming they do nt breach it) rather than the house, he would also know that councils and ha's have to charge rent and do not just give them out for free.

Iain Duncan smith may be a fool but popular legend has it that he can actually read the current policies he is piss arsing about with.

[kittyandthegoldenfontanelles]

Thanks I tried. It is more of an aural joke though I suppose..

Always makes me think of Eliza Doolittle.

[Pandemoniaa]

Nicely punchlined, kitty

[kittyandthegoldenfontanelles]

Sorry pandemoniaa

[kittyandthegoldenfontanelles]

You carnt wash your faice in a buffalo!

[Pandemoniaa]

I'm sorry but I cannot allow all this talk of bungerlos and buffaloes to continue without wanting to tell the dreadful old joke about the difference between a buffalo and a bison.

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

That rings a bell, thanks. :)