to think i would be better in a council house rather than Housing Association?

[MoodyDidIt]

am in a HA house at the moment, and i have the chance to swap with someone for a council house

its same area, so still near dc school, my friends etc. similar size, maybe very slightly bigger. the rent is a bit cheaper (about £17 a week). However, is very scruffy and needs a LOT of work doing to it. it would probably cost at least £1000 to get it to a decent standard. i am talking new carpets, new flooring and painted throughout as a bare minimum. and things like new blinds and curtains, and possibly a new bathroom and kitchen as soon as i could afford it.

i am on a secure tenancy now and if i moved, i would also be on a secure tenancy (how it works is you basically swap tenancy agreements).

however, since i have been in my HA house, the weekly rent has crept up substantially every year. and i am very concerned that, with all the changes afoot at the moment, HA rents will keep on rising - as at the end of the day, housing associations are for profit, and i believe they will keep squeezing the tenants for more money. and i also suspect they will start moving the goal posts for existing tenants - ie if you earn too much you have to leave. even though they say they won't, i can deffo see this happening.

am i being naive to think that council rents won't? or if they do, not as much. also being in a council house will be my only chance to ever buy my own home, in my area, you can still buy your council house once you have been there a certain period of time - but you can't buy HA houses. and i know its only about £70 a month cheaper but to me, thats a lot of money.

so what do people think?

Private rents have to cover mortgages and mortgage companies add more interest to the loan if you let out the property as it raises the risk level for the mortgage company. Landlords aren't making huge profits from rent - the profit lies in keeping the property for long enough to see the loan to value ratio to fall coupled with house price increases (which isn't happening at the mo).

Moody why not ring the Council and ask to speak to the Housing Officer for the road where the house is situated?

You can then ask them about whether that Council has any plans to sell their housing stock to a HA, many have no plans to as they have enough money for the upkeep of the houses they own. They will also be able to tell you whether there is a kitchen/bathroom replacement plan for the house, you might find it's due to be done soon. You can also ask if they are able to tell you of any neighbourhood problems in that road.

The RTB is enshrined in law, Council's haven't stopped doing it in England because the law would have to be changed first. But the Council will be able to tell you about how they deal with RTB.

Base your decision on proper information from the local Council not the opinion of people on MN.

If you are keen to do a mutual exchange why not advertise by putting a card in a shop in the area you want to swap to, I assume you are registered with whatever home swap list exisits in your area? If not you'll also be able to ask the Council housing dept. about that. There might be a nicer house where the tenant wants to move.

Good luck with your decision

I live in a council house. About 40% of residences in my LA are council housing (as opposed to owner occupied/private rent/HA rent), not all authorities have transferred their stock to HAs, many councils do still have a lot of stock. My LA still has RTB and most councils in England still have it (in fact the maximum discount increased massively last year) but I think it's more restricted in Scotland and Wales. 4,000 homes were sold under RTB in 2010/11.

A few HAs have Preserved RTB from when they were transferred from councils. You'd have to check with your specific HA as it varies across the country.

I have done a few mutual exchanges since I was first given a council house. I've viewed HA and council houses and I think generally council housing tends to be cheaper than HA for the same type/area. But it's true that HAs tend to have more modern homes or keep them maintained to a higher standard. HAs aren't for profit but they tend to pay their chief execs very handsomely. Also HAs in our area are building a lot of new properties so they need income for rents to do so.

I've always repainted and re-floored the property when I moved in, as I've tended to stay in them for quite a few years and it's much nicer to personalise it to your own tastes, so it is worth it imo. When money was tight, I'd just do a room at a time - it is not too expensive if you do the work by yourself and shop around. My current home had the bathroom and kitchen replaced under Decent Homes as well.

We recently moved from a council property to a ha and I really am regretting it.we have had to fight for every little job to be done, billed for a blocked sink that wasn't our fault,and am fighting a battle with them about the extensive mould in the property, which was not here obviously in the summer when we swapped.the council home I had had repairs done faster and with no quibble or recharge or threat of recharge.i do like the house and area and would be hesitant to move again but if the right council home came up I would seriously think about it.as for spending money to do it up, you will need to do that watever property you go for even if you brought one.

Around here council rent rise every year. new tenants have to wait several years before they are allowed the right to buy, are you sure your HA doesn't allow a right to buy?
I'd seriously talk to both the council and HA before going to the trouble of moving and redecorating.
I'd check with the council what the rent would be if you moved into the house, just in case the information changes with a new tenancy or the lady wishing to exchange has got it wrong.

If you are intending to pay for and refurbish the kitchen and bathroom yourself check with the council that they will allow this, they may have restrictions on what they allow you to do
If you are counting on the council refurbishing you may have to wait a long time

I'd also be wondering why she has left it shabby rather than painting and decorating herself.
Id have a walk or drive along past the house at the weekend and evenings to see if theres noisy neighbours, (I'd do that if considering moving anywhere )

moonhare

thanks for that, thats very helpful. yes, ringing the council is a very good idea. i was going to do that anyway re checking the rent was correct etc but never thought to ask anything else really!

also just to correct my OP yes i should have said my tenancy was an assured tenancy not a secure (not even sure there is such a thing as a secure tenancy...?)

we are going back again tomorrow to have a proper look at it and take measurements etc, so will try and ring council today

:(

I'm in a council property and my rent is so much lower than my friends who are in HA properties..
I have also had a new kitchen and bathrom fitted 6 months ago.
The RTB scheme still exists here too.
There is also loads of council stock where I live.
Good advice from sweetlies and Moonhare : )

Just remember if the rules regarding tenants being given shorter tenancies start happening it will be for new tenants only, I've been told they can't change my 'for life' tenancy by my friend who works at the council in housing..

I would imagine she just wants a nicer property (I've been that single parent struggling to make a place nice), as long as there are no nightmare neighbours etc you should be fine. Maybe knock on a few of the neighbours doors and get there view on what its like living there?

Good luck : )

oh thats brilliant jenious you lucky sod

do you mind me asking what area you are in?

and yes it is the case at the moment they can't change an assured tenancy, but i honestly would not be surprised if at some point they found a way to change this......i sincerely hope not though

anyway, might not be happening now as she seems to have gone off the radar a bit......

I'd be seriously concerned she has crap neighbours, tbh.

I'm in Exeter : )

Just to show the comparison I have just asked my friend in HA how much her rent is for her 2 bed house and its £110, mine is just over £70 per week, quite a difference!
Only thing I'd say that is better about HA is that they are newer, fresher looking properties. Swings and roundabouts I guess : /

ah right jeanious i am in the midlands

yeah mines about 90 quid a week and the council properties are about 65 - 75 a week. but mine is ex-council so its not one of those lovely shiny david wilson type new build houses that lots of them are. but they seem to be even more expensive, some of my other friends have those kinds of houses and they are anything from £100 - £130 a week. tbh i would rather have a council-type house anyway as they tend to be bigger, even though they are not as nice from the outside. also, i wonder about how the new-build type houses will age. not very well i reckon.

well she got in touch so we are going for another look and if dh likes it, we are going to contact the council on monday to ask a few questions ie the ones suggested upthread :) also been asking around and everyone i have asked has said its a nice quiet street.

I used to live in the midlands : )

Well it sounds like it's moving along, just remember as long as it's just the decor then that is easily fixed.. If I remember correctly when I was thinking of doing an exchange that the council will come out and do checks and I think if there are any major issues then they will say that it needs to be sorted out before the swap can go ahead (by the tenant).. So at least that will throw up any major probs.

I'm still weighing up whether to do a swap, we need a 3 bed but they are like gold dust, so maybe to another 2 bed closer to my girls school.

Keep us updated to what your dh thinks tommorow, exciting stuff : D

Ive swapped twice, neither time was it because of crap neighbours.

Do people assume that someone who is selling their house is doing so because of crap neighbours? or just because for one of possibly many reasons, they just want to live somewhere else?

It must be the council thing.

Do people assume that someone who is selling their house is doing so because of crap neighbours? or just because for one of possibly many reasons, they just want to live somewhere else?

It must be the council thing

^^ so true amberleaf :o

we're still deciding what to do at the moment, dh liked it. but we took measurements and the only problem is is that the big bedroom is a really weird shape, for some reason, its kind of L shaped which we will struggle to get a double bed in (well, it will go in but there won't be much space around it) and the smaller bedrooms would not be big enough to comfortably accomodate 2 adults.

but there are loads of plus points too.....hmmm

Maybe not assume, Moody, but they certainly rule it out before investing.
You should too.

i have done :)

sorry for random digging up of old thread :o but just wanted to come back and update on this in case any one else is in similar situations

its worked out really well

we have been here 3 months now and its great. lovely, quiet street with nice neighbours. in fact the lady next door has become a friend, and the dcs have made friends with her dcs. most people on the street have been here years and years and many are retired.

the house itself is fantastic. the DCS love their new bigger bedrooms and we have managed to get it looking nice on a budget (dh works in a builders merchants and gets stuff dirt cheap) . also the cheaper rent is really noticeable and we have been able to book a holiday because of how much we have saved.

as for the council, there have been a few jobs that needed doing by the council, a wall needed plastering, another (outside) wall needed re pointing and i needed a new radiator. all were done in good time and the service i got from the council was great, much quicker and more courteous than my old HA.

and as for RTB, it does still exist in my area and as i have had a social tenancy for the last few years my housing officer says i will have RTB in only 15 months. houses are only worth about 70k on this street but i will get a discount of 25% on top of that. so we have already started saving a deposit as we will almost certainly want to buy.

oh and the tenancy is secure rather than assured. i basically just signed over my tenancy to the lady who swapped and she did the same for me.