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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To consider not taking this house

79 replies

Emerald31 · 26/02/2017 10:37

So, me and my DC live in a private rented house. We have been here for a few years and although we love it, the rent is becoming unaffordable. I registered with council housing a few years ago and I have finally been offered a house. I am really happy but my issue is that I thought that by moving with the council I'd be financially better off not having to pay a high private rent. I claim housing benefit and I was told by a few people that my HB would not go down if I moved to a cheaper home but I spoke with HB on Friday and they said that my HB will go down to reflect my drop in rent. Now I understand this in theory but how then is moving from private rented to council affordable? I worked out I would have been around £400 a month better off by moving but now I'll be a grand total of 7.23 a month better off. One of my friends is saying she wouldn't move as I'd be no better off financially but then another friend is saying think long term and that once I go back to work full time (I'm part time at the minute) I probably won't be entitled to any HB anyway but long term I'd have a low rent is read of a high one. I really want the house but I don't know what to do. AIBU here?

OP posts:

Clarabumps · 26/02/2017 10:57

I'd take the council house. It's a secure tenancy and it's as close as you get to having a home whilst renting.

Witchend · 26/02/2017 11:02

I'd not have realised that. I thought HB was calculated on a fairly low price for the property you needed in the area.

So I would have assumed that if you had a 3 bed house and were getting say £400 a month (Londoners' stop laughing!) for it and you were paying £600 so you were topping up £200 a month. Then if you moved to one in the same area also a 3 bed house and the rent was £500 a month you'd only have to top up £100.

I think that would make sense rather than giving you a percentage of the rent asked for, and I assume that's what the OP was thinking.

IWantATardis · 26/02/2017 11:03

I'd be inclined to take the council house for the security.

When I was renting privately, I got evicted twice because the landlord wanted to sell the property, and another time the property was sold with us in it as sitting tenants. I found it difficult to really relax living in a property when you know the landlord can give you notice that they're terminating your tenancy at any time, regardless of how good a tenant you are.
With a council property, you've got it as long as you want it provided that you're good tenants who pay rent on time.

ClopySow · 26/02/2017 11:03

Take the council house. In the long term you will be better off and it will be worth it.

SuperFlyHigh · 26/02/2017 11:03

Take the council house definitely.

I agree with another poster they're like gold dust and if it suits you in future you will get chance to buy it (right to buy).

StatisticallyChallenged · 26/02/2017 11:04

I'd say take it:

Secure tenancy - worth its weight in gold compared to private renting
Rent will be more stable i.e. it's not likely that the landlord will put it up 10% in a year because "that's the market rate"
Lower rent compared to your income, so when (if) you go back to being full time you really will notice the difference between the council and private rent
much further away from the HB maximum; like others I am assuming this is what has happened when you moved, that your current property is above the HB limit for your needs. These limits have been targeted before and will likely be targeted again either by freezing them or reducing them further. They're not going to fall below council rents, but in your current place you could easily end up with an even bigger shortfall
you can make a council home your own - decoration etc
possibility of buying in the future.

BarbaraofSeville · 26/02/2017 11:05

Another benefit of the security of the council house is that if you have to move with private rented, it costs an arm and a leg in fees every time. Plus while you are still on HB, you are limited in the private rented houses you can take.

So while you only are better off by a tiny bit now, the benefit in the future could be a lot more. But also check if there are differences in water costs, or other utilities. We own an ex council house and the water is surprisingly expensive (above average based on what the water company says on it's website, despite being a small 2 bed semi, band A council tax).

But the council house might be cheaper to run. Private rentals often have crappy heating, windows and insulation, but all the council houses on our estate got new roofs, insulation, windows and boilers a few years ago, so I would expect that the tenants have seen their utlity costs drop.

JonesyAndTheSalad · 26/02/2017 11:06

OP with all due respect, you'd be absolutely NUTS to turn down this council house.

N.U.T.S.

It offers lifelong security in all probability. You're "dissapointed" because you won't save any money but that's ridiculous.

You need to be pleased you're off the merry go round of private rental.

carabos · 26/02/2017 11:06

What everyone else has said. You'll be much more secure, the house will feel like your own, it will be properly maintained to a minimum standard. I'm saying this having recently bought a house after being in private rented for 12 years. We stayed because it was the right house in the right place and the rent was about two-thirds what it should have been, but that's because the landlord did nothing in all that time apart from reluctantly replacing the ancient boiler because it stopped working, reluctantly replacing the oven because it stopped working and replacing the shower because it stopped working. He really moaned about doing those things and anything else didn't get done because it was deemed "cosmetic ".

The council will be a much better landlord and as you say, you come out neutral on the finance side, so go for it. I'm a bit surprised that you thought you would be able to keep the difference in your HB though. I've never claimed it, but I wouldn't have thought that .

SaucyJack · 26/02/2017 11:08

That is how it works Witchend, except you're not taking into consideration that the LHA covers private rents and council rents tend to be a lot lower (they are round here anyway).

If your rent is lower than the LHA, then they most definitely will not pay you the extra for you to keep.

More's the pity

Inertia · 26/02/2017 11:10

I would take the council house purely because it offers greater protection from unscrupulous landlords and gives you more long-term security.

atheistmantis · 26/02/2017 11:11

Do you live on your own with the DC, it sounded like that from your OP so you'd get a 20% discount on the council tax. A council house will give you more security and the chance to come off benefits when you go to work full time which has got to be better than relying on HB.

MaverickSnoopy · 26/02/2017 11:12

I agree with all of the other posters. You HAVE to take the council house. You might be disappointed now but time goes quickly and this is an investment in your future.

If you receive the top HB at the moment and the landlord puts the rent up, or if you need to move and the rent is even higher, then how would you plug the gap?

AndNowItsSeven · 26/02/2017 11:12

Your HB is based on an applicable amount based on your income number of dc etc.
Yes you can't "pocket the difference" but if you were entitled to £400 a month towards a three bed costing £800 a month you will still get £400 if you move to a three bed costing £600 a month.

AndNowItsSeven · 26/02/2017 11:13

Saucy they used to up to a max of £15 a week.

Iloveantiques · 26/02/2017 11:15

HB is based on a calculation between your income and your applicable amount (for want of a better explanation this is your benefit entitlement if you weren't working).

This doesn't change if your rent changes. If you have been assessed as needing e.g. £80 HB per week towards a rent of £150, you will be entitled to HB of £80 per week towards a rent of £100.

Uses this website to check the figures yourself.

ymmv · 26/02/2017 11:16

Take the council tenancy.

Just fyi. there's different HB calculations for council or private tenancies. Council tenancies are housing benefit whereas private landlords are local housing allowance. I'm sure there's more info on the shelter website.

SleepFreeZone · 26/02/2017 11:17

I don't think council houses are a house for life anymore. Is the new house in a nice area?

LovelyBath77 · 26/02/2017 11:21

It would help you save in the long run when you work full time. Might be best to check you are still eligible for council housing if your income increases and working full time.

pmama · 26/02/2017 11:22

I would go for the council rent - I guess if you refuse it, you would never be able to get to the list again...

SantasLittleMonkeyButler · 26/02/2017 11:22

Definitely accept the council house offered.

Your outgoings each month may well stay the same (understandably as HB is calculated on your income), but the security alone of being in social housing is priceless.

No contest.

SantasLittleMonkeyButler · 26/02/2017 11:23

I don't think council houses are a house for life anymore.

That depends very much on the local council or housing association. Some are, some aren't.

MalletsMallets · 26/02/2017 11:32

You'd be crazy to not take it.
Stability for your kids -same school same friends
You can decorate it
You can have pets
You won't get priced out the area
You won't have to find a few thousand at two months notice to move. Let alone find a landlord who can take hb.

Genuinely, take it

Purplebluebird · 26/02/2017 11:34

I would move! Anything to get out of a privately rented house!

DoIDareDisturbTheUniverse · 26/02/2017 11:39

For me it would depend on the area, facilities, etc. I've just given up my council house to go back into private renting because my estate was absolutely awful and I did not feel safe there. My mental health and anxiety has improved immeasurably even though I know that I could get given notice at any time.
If it's in a decent area, take it. The best thing about living in my last house was knowing it was mine for as long as I needed it.

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