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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to ask a question about council houses?

240 replies

Pipbin · 03/03/2014 22:32

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.

OP posts:
SignoraStronza · 04/03/2014 12:47

Our attached neighbours are council tenants, which is possibly why our house was the only one we could afford in the village - it had been empty for a while and obviously had put some snooty people off.

It means that they have a brand new roof and the place is beautifully maintained. I have no idea whether they've ever claimed HB. I know I have in the past on a private rental and was shocked at how much was being spent to keep a roof over mine and dd's heads (£675 for a tiny 2 bed as opposed to £400 ish for a council 3/4 bed).

Both of my neighbours work and although I disagree with right to buy in principle, it will make it easier if we ever needed to sell ours. Blush

mrsjay · 04/03/2014 12:47

EXPAT tbf most people just say council houses as it is easier to say a lot of councils houses are no more but some areas have HA and Council , really we should be saying social housing, but it is the same debate really

mrsjay · 04/03/2014 12:49

and yes what if people cant pay private rent do they just move out then claim more HB because they are low earners ?

teaandthorazine · 04/03/2014 13:15

Go out and fucking earn it yourself, that's what people who don't have a council house have to do. I have to make sure I can pay the mortgage every month (am self employed) which keeps me on my toes.

Entire point of thread missed and utter ignorance of situation for hundreds of thousands of people clearly displayed, all in two lines.

Takes some doing, that. Give yourself a pat on the back googie.

snakeandpygmy · 04/03/2014 14:06

Huge and frightening amount of ignorance on here about social housing and housing finance. In the area where I work approximately 46% of council tenants receive some level of housing benefit..many of them will be paying something towards the rent. Some tenants do get their full rent paid via benefit. The money councils use to pay for repairs, maintenance, management and supervision etc - the Housing Revenue account - is ring fenced - councils can't use council tax to subsidise it.

SantasLittleMonkeyButler · 04/03/2014 14:15

I don't know which part of the country you work in Vivienne, but I live in social housing - we are an area with no council housing at all - just housing associations, and we pay every penny of our rent!

Where we live there are 12 houses together. Roughly half are privately owned & the other half belong to the HA. There is only one house out of the 12 where no-one goes out to work, and that is because she is unable to work. As soon as you have a FT wage coming in to your home you have no hope of getting HB (and why should you?) - because our rents are around £500 pcm (only slightly lower than private rents, as I pointed out earlier), even a MW FT employment would earn enough to cover your rent & mean you no longer qualify for HB.

googietheegg · 04/03/2014 14:18

Ignorance of hundreds and thousands of people in council housing quite possibly, but not everyone in council housing.

Why is mumsnet all of a sudden loving people in council houses? Saying they're entitled to affordable housing for life? Why?

My house is damp, with a leaky roof and a non-existent kitchen. Should I expect someone else to pay to sort it out? No, I'll have to wait till I can afford it myself.

VampyreofTimeandMemory · 04/03/2014 14:22

Go out and fucking earn it yourself, that's what people who don't have a council house have to do. I have to make sure I can pay the mortgage every month (am self employed) which keeps me on my toes.

again, wrt this stupid comment, I go out and fucking earn my rent money myself so stop being such a martyr, because you don't necessarily work harder than the rest of us possibly with a lower IQ than some posters on this thread though.

gamerchick · 04/03/2014 14:22

well why on earth did you buy damp house with a leaky roof and non existent kitchen? bit daft wasn't it? Hmm

VampyreofTimeandMemory · 04/03/2014 14:23

why shouldn't someone be entitled to affordable housing? everyone should. jesus christ.

gamerchick · 04/03/2014 14:24

we all work for our rent as well.. such an odd thing to say.

VampyreofTimeandMemory · 04/03/2014 14:26

someone's been watching too many shitty C4 'benefits street' type shows...

balenciaga · 04/03/2014 14:29

just marking space so I can read and no doubt get wound up about it later

VampyreofTimeandMemory · 04/03/2014 14:31

welcome, fellow entitled sponger :)

JakeBullet · 04/03/2014 14:37

Can I respectfully suggest that you cannot afford your mortgage then googie.

Buying a property comes with the knowledge that repairs will have to be paid for by you .

In private renting it falls to the LL.

As it does in social housing!

Quite honestly if you have been stupid enough to buy a property you cannot afford to repair then that is your problem.

Snarling at those of us WHO HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE but to rent via the social sector won't get your repairs done.

Perhaps sell up and buy a new build....they take much less maintenance.

Alternatively you could just wait for your business to go under and you too could have social housing. Of course there is no guarantee it will be very nice housing but at least you can call out a repairman... who may or may not turn up!

VampyreofTimeandMemory · 04/03/2014 14:38

google? why shouldn't someone be entitled to affordable housing?

BillyBanter · 04/03/2014 14:49

In some study or other they asked American university students if they would rather:

A America's economy shrunk by 1% and Japan's shrunk by 1.5%

or

B America's economy grew by 1% and Japan's grew by 1.5%

They mostly preferred A. they would rather see America do badly than see America do well but Japan do better.

Funny old beans, humans.

manicinsomniac · 04/03/2014 14:53

I've just done a quick search on Rightmove, and the only suitably sized property in the catchment area for the DDs school is almost £900 a month more than we pay for our flat.

That's where the (understandable, imo) jealousy comes in SaucyJack
I imagine you must live in a very desirable area?
I believe you are absolutely entitled to live there. I do not think you should have to give up your house. I do not think you should be given a time limit to earn more and move out.
But am I jealous of you? - if it's London then, hell yes, I am! Grin

Not your problem in any way, shape or form. But I don't think you can blame people for wishing they could do the same as you.

AgaPanthers · 04/03/2014 14:56

'Some study or other'? That sounds like a really reliable anecdote....

JakeBullet · 04/03/2014 15:01

Council house envy makes me laugh and cry in equal measure.

When my life fell apart seven years ago I was housed by the council in a two bed maisonette. It was an upper floor one (hey guess what, the roof leaked) and the estate was a "no go area" after dark. I used to lock my door and not open it until morning.

My neighbour (a true neighbour from hell) was a drug smoking and dealing harridan. Her children (all over 16) lived nearby and visited regularly. Walls were paper thin and as soon as 6pm came the callers to her door started. Then the music would go on and shake the walls. The police were a constant presence.

DS slept in my bed for the two years we lived there as he was too scared to sleep alone.

The repair people sometimes came when promised and sometimes they did not. The roof was still leaking when I moved out.

And despite all the above I was grateful, grateful that when my world fell apart there was a safety net. No matter how horrible that place was it gave me a new beginning.

We are now settled finally, our current home is owned by a housing association and DS feels secure and safe. Getting him to sleep alone again after the first council place was a challenge in itself but he has got there.

teaandthorazine · 04/03/2014 15:02

In fairness to Billy, I think that's quite a well-known idea/study/anecdote/thingy (Evan Davies asked it last night on that programme about why London is so successful).

VampyreofTimeandMemory · 04/03/2014 15:07

i feel really lucky. despite living in a council block, the council are fantastic when it comes to repairs and my neighbours are lovely. we have had a few bikes nicked but imagine that's just opportunists.

BillyBanter · 04/03/2014 15:09

X years ago I totally should have known that I'd sign up to mumsnet and post something about it in a discussion and be challenged on the exact details. Curses! Grin

mrsjay · 04/03/2014 15:59

google i suggest you sell your leaky damp house and get yourself on a HA list you will have a damp free lovely house for half the money, and I am not sure what your why is mumsnetters supporting council house comments is about

googietheegg · 04/03/2014 16:00

I can just afford my mortgage. Circumstances change for people with mortgages too!! Doesn't mean I expect someone else to pay for me and my family to live. For ever. Why does MN have such a black spot about this type of entitlement??