to ask a question about council houses?

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I'm not wanting to get into the rights and wrongs of benefits etc but I just have a honest question about council houses.

If someone is granted a council house, is it like renting a private house, but the landlord is the council that they pay rent to, which may be covered by housing benefit?
If they then get into a position, for example finding work, where they are no longer entitled to HB, do they cover the rent themselves or do they lose the house?

I have no reason for asking this other than curiosity. I've claimed HB in the past but I was in a private rental then.

We have spent thousands on this house and it is highly unlikely that we will ever afford to buy our own house - the amount we could borrow on a mortgage combined with the amount of deposit we could pay would barely buy a decent rabbit hutch sad. The thought that some people think that the HA should be saying "oh, look, you earn a smidgen above peanuts - now go and private rent" is quite scary really!

yep same, although with us its not the deposit that's un affordable as we live in the midlands we would only need 5 - 10k as house prices are not that silly. but its whether we could actually get a mortgage, due to past debts / bad credit etc. (dh owned a small house before he met me but lost his house in his divorce and during the divorce ended up in arrears etc long story)

and yes to the last bit too - where is the incentive to better yourself if "they" are just going to send you private renting :(

as others have said its private rents that are fucked and need looking at, not ooh lets make the fucking social tenants as miserable as private renters, who would that help exactly. no one that's who. I have said it a million times on these kinds of threads

Rents are not set by local councils. Whilst there are many variables there is a fair rent Formula which is followed and this is based on a affordability if one were earning a low London wage. The reason being the gap between low wages and rents are biggest in London.

This does mean that in many parts of the country there is only a small difference between social rent and private rent. However in London this is very big. Central London rents are around £90pw but you'll find in touristy hub areas (covent garden kings x etc) social housing is often pretty unpleasant, so it's not as desirable as a non Londoner might expect.

"Affordable rent" is not designed to replace social rent. As there is so little property left under which you can charge social rent "affordable rent" is nothing more than a form
Of affordable housing (for which you generally must be employed to qualify)

People in social housing (whether hA or council) are entitled to very little in the way of redecoration and will generally take on a house with no flooring, wallpaper, white goods- none of this is included in the rent as it is with private rental.

When we moved in here we had no carperts no whute goods curtain rails most counucl ha propertys are stripped done to bare bone took 4 months to get a carpet in the lounge which was from freecycle we on the list for a upgraded bathroom which will be 2015 the counicl want us to have a meter but we cant till bathroom leak sorted which we being told isnt dramtic enough to repair having being made homeless and sleeping on friends im grateful to have a roof over my head we dont claim benfits and just hard working low paid workers

Every Council house i've ever seen anyone move into has been maintained to a sub-basic level.

I remember the first time, helping a friend move, and being only familiar with the private rental market, I was so aghast, I kept asking her if she was sure about the move (not helpful when she was pregnant in a studio flat with a toddler and we were supposed to be unloading the van). She had no idea when she would even be able to afford floor coverings, but knew it was her best option.

I've never known anyone accept social housing unless a personal crisis had severely curtailled their options (be it disabled child, divorce, bankruptcy) but that might just be my (mostly graduate, different shades of MC) circle.

This myth of beautifully maintained and equipped housing is laughable, anyway.

I was speaking to one council tenant whose only loo has been cracked and leaking for 2 years, the repair team keep patching it up with mastick!

I can't fault our local council when it comes to maintenance and repairs and in my experience, council properties have just been like any other property.

I think I ended up in council housing because I didn't do well in school, got pregnant young (wouldn't change it though) and could never see an affordable way of furthering my education and ultimately, developing a decent career. So I've worked and paid tax in MW jobs which just would not cover private renting costs. I'm grateful to live in this place but obviously would rather have my own.

I'll probably be the pushiest mother when my kids are older because I want them to have more options available to them...

"So I've worked and paid tax in MW jobs which just would not cover private renting costs"

That's what's criminal. The NMW-paying jobs are often the most essential to the country/community. The people in them SHOULD be able to pay for decent, readily available housing, rather than having to hope against hope they win the social housing lottery.

Maybe the poor maintainence is a London thing?

The NMW-paying jobs are often the most essential to the country/community. The people in them SHOULD be able to pay for decent, readily available housing, rather than having to hope against hope they win the social housing lottery.

Exactly this.

My mother's family all lived in council accommodation and most of it was crap. This was in a midlands town.

I think the envy kicks in when it comes to London. Most people - even those earning quite a lot - do not have a hope in hell of being able to afford any kind of accommodation there, and when you see people like Bob Crow sitting pretty in their council flat - not paying market rent - it does stick in one's craw.

Likewise I saw someone on Escape to the Country who had bought their council flat in Fulham and had just sold it for £1m or so. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

I think central London council accommodation needs a major rethink.

Agree that MW workers should get priority.

There was a girl at my workplace who had a fab flat in Clapham - period property, not in block. She said the norm was for mother to write to council to say daughter was being abused by mother's boyfriend. Bingo. Automatic flat. All this girl's friends had their own flats.

There are plenty of horrible council estates around the country, but I have seen many very nice ones indeed in London. Those little properties just behind the South Bank towards Southwark? Peabody Trust ones in Bethnal Green? Very nice flats in Pimlico - know a few people in those.

Social housing is virtually the only way "proper" Londoners can stay in London and honestly, a lot of it is very poor housing (and very unfavourable estate situations) compared to the rest of the country.
Right to buy discounts are next to useless now- nowhere near enough to allow most tenants to buy (where they're available which is rare now)

Also, social mobility in inner London estates is extremely poor. It's perfectly possible to find a 15 year old child who has never left their estate- their whole family live their, their schools are within the estate, their community centre, everything. They can be 10 minutes bus ride from amazing world landmarks, museums, galleries ect and have never been- never been on the tube even. That's not even unusual. So there is no real advantage to them from
Being in London over say, Manchester, Nottingham, Berkshire, wherever.

Oh, those Peabody Trust places, so lovely. The ones in Bethnal green are indeed beautiful. I used to live next door to the Peabody Estate in Victoria Park, it's not quite as pretty but it's still a lovely place to live.

I was paying £850 a month for a 2-bed flat at the time...

Yes if you write to the council to say your daughter is being abused the daughter automatically gets given a flat.

Yes of course that's how it happens.

That was in the late 1980s, to be fair. Probably has changed now.

I live on a council estate in central London. I was a single parent and still just a teenager when I got it, but most of my neighbours are families who have lived there for decades. There is a real sense of community there. It's true that there are a lot of families there whose lives revolve around the estate, and don't travel anywhere much further than walking distance. I find that a bit strange as it's not money that's stopping them - I used to be on benefits but took my dds out all over London as they travel for free and most museums etc have free entry.

I like my estate, it does look a bit grotty but the grounds are cleaned daily, the lift always works, and the council are quick to do any repairs (but not for things like internal decorations which are the tenants' responsibility). I grew up in a council house as well so was used to the idea of having to sort out my own flooring etc. I got a decorating voucher and a community care grant when I moved in, to pay for household goods, but it didn't cover the full amount.

Right to buy discounts in London are £100k now but flats like my modest 2 bed are on Rightmove for £450k so no chance of me ever having a chance to buy. I am no longer a single parent and DH earns a decent salary (but quite average for London), we have no chance of raising a deposit to buy or paying for a private rental and I don't think it's fair that we could be asked to pay higher rents or be moved out just because the household income has increased. I would not want to be left without the security of my council home if anything happened to DH or our relationship. As it is, the council don't keep any records of DH's salary. When he moved in, I told them that I was coming off housing benefit but didn't have to say how much his earnings were, just that we would be starting to pay full rent. So it would be expensive for councils to change rentals or evict tenants for having a salary over a certain amount as they would have to start assessing paperwork for all the tenants in order to know their earnings.