to be really annoyed that my kitchen's costing thousands while a friends having hers done free - AND she's moaning about it.

[Jamum]

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

My friends has a HA house, and this years has had new double glazing and guttering - all paid for. And is now just had a lovely new kitchen fitted.

She chose the units and tiles. Has had a team of fitters, and is now waiting for the inspection team to check all the finishing touches.

AND then she's going to buy the house - but only once all the work has been completed for free.

Sorry but this makes my blood boil. We have had to save up for years to afford a new kitchen and certainly won't end up with a nice a one as she has got that my taxes have paid for.

(yes I know - it's jealousy and sour grapes)

Anyway - rant over.

Oh-strewth-this-is-like-poxy-Babyworld-..people-kicking-off-about-"taxpayers"-money!

(altho-not-many-thank-God..)

Caligula - I think you will find this is something the taxman is making a priorty!

good maybe tenants of the future can have a gold plated arse on your taxpayers money gathered from ebay

I do know what you mean re only natural to be jealous, oliveoil but it's the complete lack of self knowledge that makes me think oh ffs. Instead of saying "It's not fair! I want a new kitchen too." people say "Scumbag lazy eejits don't deserve new kitchens and i know a scumbag lazy eejit who got one! Isn't that a disgrace?"

oh yes, but she did say it was jealousy and sour grapes in her OP

I stayed in my HA flat knowing that after a certin amount of time I would be eligible for the £9K windfall. I am sure that pissed off a lot of people but it was the only way I could afford a house. And I probably paid that much in rent anyway......

I jsut think sometimes everyone jumps in and then the OP doesn't come back to the thread for fear of more lynching.

Jamum - I suspect she would not have put your back up so much if she had not been moaning about it!

Good point, good point. Sorry Jamum. I will stop lynching from this moment forth.

And I think it's great you got a windfall, oo. Social housing freed for another family and you have a crappy terrace with a yard of your very own. Everyone's a winner baby.

I think there is an assumption that only people who know how to "play the system" get HA properties, certainly they are going to be more sucessful, but with the current house prices I cant image how most people even get on the first rung of the ladder with regard to buying.

yy- excellent cat story, batters.

IME there are loads of people in Housing assoc and council who have managed to blag their way in there and really don't deserve to be. Then they get their feet in the door and stay, even when they get good jobs and start earning.

This drives me mad. There are propely poor people who are genuinely disadvantaged who don't get in. When I was doing my degree in London several of my friends managed to get HA or council homes and they're either still in them, or sold them for a tidy proift meaning that's one less property available for people in real need.

They were already getting their higher ed' free then decided not to bother working despite having degrees.

So I totally understand why you're pissed off Jamum. The system is crap and unfair.
I realise I sound like an old Tory sometimes but I swear I get pissed off that I've had to work for every penny while others shaft the tax payer.

Surely we can all see that the benefit system works well for some families and others just abuse it and its the ones that abuse it that makes it bad for everybody else.

My cousin is the same age as me, by the time he was 20 he was in a 3 bedroom furnished house, he didnt work and in fact has never worked, furniture was provided, his girlfriend had just had twins. I was renting a grotty room in a bedsit with my then boyfriend, even though we were both working long hours while my cousin was laying in bed until lunch time and then watching day time tv. Sorry, but that made my blood boil. It took several years before we could even afford a starter home. We delayed having kids because we just couldnt cope without 2 incomes and we didnt want to use childminders etc. By the time he was 25 he was in a 4 bedroom council house and we had just bought a tiny starter home that was in a state and had no help to get it put right.

So I understand where Jamum is coming from. I think SOME people just expect everything handed to them on a plate, not everybody, probably the minority.

I know my cousins situation, he is intelligent, could work, no ill health, he just had kids quite young. How he has got away with it I dont know, I dont understand the system at all, but looks like there are ways to fool the system and he is doing it very well.

Admittedly I couldnt live like him, but I guess that its his choice to live like that.

I think it's really important that once you've got a council/ ha place you are allowed to keep it.

This idea the government has that once you get a good job you should be thrown out (because you no longer need social housing) is a massive disincentive to people to improve their material circumstances.

This will probably piss you all off

My sister was living in a 2 bedroom council maisonette, it was shit her life was shit & she hated every minute but she had to make the most of it. Anyway she had been there for about 4 years when the council wrote to her with this new cash incentive scheme where they give you upto £60,000 to buy a house.

she applied for it & went out found a house which was about £220,000 they then got accepted & the council paid £60,000 down on the house.

Why do they do this? because they want to free up council houses where they think people could get a morgage with help, they are that desperate for there council houses round here they are doing many schemes to help people.

There are rules, she has to stay there for at least 3 years, after the 3 yr mark she does not have to pay them a penny back, if she leaves before she has to pay them so much back.

she is also never allowed to live back in a council house & a couple of other things.

But it's not free! aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh

If someone was to start paying rent on a council house today at £70 per week, in 25 years assuming inflation of 3% per year, by the end of 25 years (typical mortgage length) they would have paid about £130,000 in rent. They would still not own it and they will continue to pay rent on it until they pop their clogs.

Housing benefit is a whole different subject but not everyone in a council/HA house gets it.

I'm off - I don't even know why I should feel so angry about it. DH and I live in a lovely house in an affluent part of the country and our mortgage will soon be paid off. I just hate the British attitude that there is always someone lower down the pecking order that you can sneer at.

haven't read this thread but used to have quite a lot to do with our council's Decent Homes Scheme - briefly, the government has ordered that all councils must bring their housing stock up to 'Decent Homes' Standards by 2010. This is a blanket ruling. It means housing must have ie modern kitchens, bathrooms, be in a good state of repair ie rewiring, roofing, and be energy efficient ie double glazed windows and insulation.

This is means councils are obliged to carry out this work and find funding for it. I am pretty sure Housing Associations are included in this ruling. In local authorities where all council housing stock is now managed and/or owned by housing associations the same Decent Homes rule applies AFAIK.

Sorry if this has been said before.

No you will not get kicked out no matter what you earn!

If the property is not yours in that you do not have to pay to maintain it then im sorry it should not be yours for "life"

The benefits system is meant to be BACK UP support those who need it not be an alternative to making your own money. This country would be in a very sorry state if we all started expecting it to support us.

Before everyone starts telling me their ...well I cant work for this or that reason im not aiming that comment at anyone who has legitimate reasons to need benefit.

One of my neighbours is claiming benefit as he has a "bad back", works cash in hand, has a HA house and spends £50 on martial arts a week (so his back cant be that bad) yet I keep reading on here how many parents with disabled children struggle to get help...sorry it makes me mad.

KM not yet.

The government are mooting it though.

I think we're like that, spidermama. I know we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the fact that when I met my partner he was living in a housing association flat and he only had that because his nan nominated him as the tenant in the days when that was allowed. I later moved in with him. We are finally earning enough to move to a crappy terrace with a yard quite soon. However, I honestly don't think we'd be able to do that, despite both working, if my dad hadn't offered to help us out with a deposit. It really is hard to get a first foot on the property ladder unless you work in the city or something else that pays very well indeed or have savings or a benefactor a la my nice dad. Almost impossible in London, I think. All the people living in our little block of working age work and not at minimum wage jobs either- guy downstairs is a policeman, woman upstairs a teacher etc etc. There is only one household in this whole block that I could possibly describe as 'disadvantaged'. But there's zero chance of most of the advantaged households moving out because they couldn't afford to buy their own homes or rent privately. I don't think that they as individuals are to blame for that.

Wouldnt you WANT to live somehwhere else if you won the lottery?

I really cant understand these people who win the lottery and still get up at 6am to do their paper round and say "its not going to change my life" FGS give the job to someone who needs it, if you really NEED to work they start your own company and employ someone else!

It would TOTALLY change my life LOL Hopefully I wouldnt become too bling though.

I agree scummy that the individuals often aren't to blame (although some perfectly healthy, able people do think the state owes them a living) but I think the system needs to tighten up and be there only for those who really really need it. Otherwise there'll always be divisions and resentment in society.

I'll always struggle with a hefty mortgage and many of my old friends have eliminated struggle by playing the system and obtaining, then selling, council houses.

I know one middle class couple who still rent out a coucil house they used to live in despite having bought and sold two of their own homes now. It's a nice little side earner for them on top of their two jobs and their plush new house in Bath. I'm sure they're not the only ones.

I must admit I was always jealous of people who managed to get council houses and HA houses. I didn't, and I've never had any financial help from parents or family either so I do feel probably unreasonably resentful of others more fortunate.