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Original poster

OMG!! The Council House Giveaway!!

234 replies

HeeHiles · 12/02/2015 09:42

It's IDS again!!

So, if you live in a council house and come off benefits for a year the Tories will GIVE you your council house. Now even though I could benefit from this I still think it's a crazy idea......we need more CH not give them away!!

All for a few votes?? It's that damn Dame Porter all over again!

Anyone think this is a good idea?

OP posts:
hampsterdam · 12/02/2015 10:33

He doesn't think that captain he just wants everyone else to think that, especially people working for crap money or on a 7 year long council waiting list. Divide and rule. Turn all the poor people against each other and none of them notice the rich taking the cream off the top.council houses do not belong to the tories to give away, they weren't theirs to sell off just like the royal mail and nhs they are selling our assets that belong to us at cut price rate to their mates.

chinstrappenguin · 12/02/2015 10:34

Are they going to allow the Councils to build more homes then? Confused

newname12 · 12/02/2015 10:35

stupid, stupid idea.

What are they supposed to do once they have the house? Are they then unable to claim benefits ever again?

What's to stop them racking up loads of debt staying off benefits, getting the house, then going straight back on benefits?

yy to not everyone in council housing being on benefits- My neighbour is a single parent, 4 adult kids, one about 13. In one of those london areas where the 3 bed council house she lives in is now worth £800k. She's a MH nurse, her 4 grown kids have jobs, it's unlikely she'll be getting much in the way of benefits, so an easy one to stay off them for a year.

Original poster
HeeHiles · 12/02/2015 10:36

I know social housing built nowadays tends to be better

How do you know? All the new builds I see are crap - paper thin walls, tiny rooms and no storage, no outside space, and usually over looking a car park, where Social tenants are not allowed to park or a brick wall.

The old ones built in the 30's, 40's and 50's are far superior, large spacious rooms built from concrete and brick with loads of storage.

OP posts:
funnyossity · 12/02/2015 10:36

I'm not ideological in any way on this or any other subject. I just benefitted from social housing growing up as did so many others in this country post war.

MuddhaOfSuburbia · 12/02/2015 10:38

HeeHiles re the buy back of rtb properties

what used to happen (assume still does) is

homeless family become tenant of council property

council sell home to tenant at hefty discount

tenant sells on at profit at earliest opportunity

buyer then leases the property to the council under private sector leasing scheme at about four (?) times the council rent

homeless families are then put in the property and HB cover the shortfall

landlord laughs all the way to the bank

Original poster
HeeHiles · 12/02/2015 10:40

Are they going to allow the Councils to build more homes then?

At the moment councils won't build because of RTB. Why should they spend millions building homes only to have them bought up privately, doesn't make financial sense.

We need to abolish RTB in order to replenish the sold stock and build new ones. This policy won't encourage any more house building sadly!

OP posts:
cottageinthecountry · 12/02/2015 10:40

What a fantastic way to encourage people to stop working and go on benefits. A £500k subsidy to go on the dole.

Mad.

LurkingHusband · 12/02/2015 10:41

I have not seen the private housing sector in this country coming up with the goods; from Rachman to now

That's because the "market" is skewed by - guess what ? - the fact that it's the government that create the framework (planning regs) for building houses. And, mysteriously, successive governments - despite talking about it - never quite manage to do anything about it.

And in a market where demand exceeds supply, that leads to inflated rents.

In other news large housebuilders are large contributors to political parties.

Not sure why people who say they are voting Labour think that's a cure for anything. It wasn't in the 13 years they had to fix it before 2010.

Original poster
HeeHiles · 12/02/2015 10:43

Muddah Bonkers isn't it? Absolutely bonkers.

An elderly neighbour of mine died recently, she had bought her home back in the 80's, her son sold it back to the council for £400k!

OP posts:
PausingFlatly · 12/02/2015 10:44

I know people who gave money to their parents to buy the council house the family had grown up in, under Right To Buy.

This will be the same. Kids give lowpaid granny £12,000 for a year to replace her benefits: then the house is hers and she leaves it to them.

Arsenic · 12/02/2015 10:44

Won't happen

cottageinthecountry · 12/02/2015 10:45

Obviously they'd come off the dole, for a while, in order to buy their house. But there is absolutely no guarantee that would continue, then you end up with lots of very poor people with houses in disrepair that they can't afford to maintain (it costs about £1000 a year at least to keep a property in repair).

Anyway this is exactly the kind of policy that adds to resentment against immigrants, many off whom are in council property. That will send wavering Tory voters straight to UKIP.

I can't quite believe the stupidity of all this.

funnyossity · 12/02/2015 10:46

I'm not planning to vote Labour, if you were referring to me.

Yes I know the market is skewed, but free market ideologues seem to gloss over that.

JudgeRinderSays · 12/02/2015 10:46

It's just an election bribe.It won't happen

SaucyJack · 12/02/2015 10:48

"I don't mind housing associations, as long as they let at market rates. Any housing subsidies poor people get should be through housing benefit."

Why? How is it in anyone's interests to price rents out of people's reach and then have them claim HB, rather than just having affordable rents in the first place? HB costs money to administrate for starters, never mind the emotional price of having people and their finances beholden on state interference.

Rents need to go down, not up. There are too few people making too much money out of ordinary people for an essential provision. Renting over buying is now not a choice for people in many areas of the country.

PausingFlatly · 12/02/2015 10:49

Actually, sod the kids doing the subbing: I'd lend money to my next door neighbour if they cut me in on the deal...

Say, half the house when they come to sell?

ApprenticeViper · 12/02/2015 10:49

Everyone has the right to be a moron, but IDS abuses the fucking privilege.

This is absolute stark raving lunacy. There is nothing to stop anyone coming off benefits (although the article hasn't clarified what the qualifying benefits are; are we talking the usual "passported" benefits of income based JSA, Income Support, income related ESA and UC, or will people have to go the whole hog and give up their Tax Credits and Child Benefit as well?), taking out a shedload of credit cards and/or payday loans to live on for a year, and then reclaiming once the house is in their name.

What is so fundamentally difficult for the Tories to understand about the fact that this country needs more, and a damn sight more, social housing, not less?

Arsenic · 12/02/2015 10:50

How is a person on a low income supposed to increase their pay to the point where they don't need benefits any more when the national Minimum Wage is so low?

Dont be so snotty. Training, education, promotion. The same way most people do (if they are lucky). Children grow up and FT hours then become economically viable despite lower than average wages. Or someone might improve their English, or graduate, or find their feet after DV etc etc etc

That said, the proposal is an enormous bundle of ridiculousness.

PausingFlatly · 12/02/2015 10:51

"Everyone has the right to be a moron, but IDS abuses the fucking privilege."

Original poster
HeeHiles · 12/02/2015 10:52

It's just an election bribe.It won't happen

Hopefully! But if the tories do get a majority and carry this policy out there will be those greedy people looking to make a quick buck who will work the system to benefit from this.

I would benefit from this - this time next year I could be sitting in a flat in Paddington, sitting on a goldmine, but morally I couldn't do it - I can see how unfair to society it is - unfortunately I believe most people in council homes would jump on this if it was offered Sad

OP posts:
Original poster
HeeHiles · 12/02/2015 10:53

"Everyone has the right to be a moron, but IDS abuses the fucking privilege."

Love it Grin

OP posts:
ouryve · 12/02/2015 10:54

Bloody hell. Trust IDS to suggest the exact opposite of what needs to be happening.

PausingFlatly · 12/02/2015 10:55

Remind me, what was bedroom tax about again?

The supply of council houses is so precious people shouldn't be allowed to stay in one deemed too big for them?

But they should be GIVEN the same house for free if they can borrow for a year?

Studyingmummy · 12/02/2015 10:55

RTB is to be abolished here in Scotland from 2017. surely the rest of the UK should follow suit? As for this ridiculous election bribe, my kids (12 & 9) could have dreamt up better. IDS is an idiot & there are so many holes in this plan, its a complete joke!