Grenfell ex-residents should get a 3-bed house with a garden if that's what they want

[pingodolcepo]

Daily mail outrage that some of the residents are asking for a 3-bed house with a garden. But honestly, they have been through a living hell that was caused by someone else's very bad choices.

There are plenty of people in London that have a 3 bed council house, why can't these people that have dealt with horrors get one also?

I know someone that got a council house in Highgate in the 80s, was a cabbie with a good wage, bought it when offered and sold it a few years ago for over a million and now lives in a fab place with loads of land and a pool in the south of France. If plenty of normal people got houses why can't these poor residents get one? They won't ever be able to afford to buy it due to the high cost of london houses now.

If that's what they had/now need then yes, but these are like hens teeth in that area.

Well, they should get what anyone else in their circumstances would - whether that's a 1 bed flat or a 6 bed detached. They shouldn't just get "what they want".

I don't think they should get any preferential treatment over the other people in the queue....

But many of them also want to remain in the same area. How many 3 bed council houses with a garden do you think there are in kensington and Chelsea? And private rentals cost a fortune for the council and the landlord can end the agreement anyway.

I agree with you completely on what they've been through, but just from a practical perspective it's not as if there are roads and roads of available empty houses around here :(

No

Where are these empty properties that they should be given then?

I worry about those renting or (illegally) subletting and lived through it all getting shoved aside by the owner/council tenant.

They should get what is suitable for their situation. A single person shouldn't get a 3 bed house for example. I don't actually think there will be that number of 3 beds available for every resident/family.

I think it's perfectly reasonable to ask for it. I wouldn't necessarily expect it, because I'd be surprised if the council had many, if any, available at the best of times, and this isn't the best of times.

Yabu.

Plenty of people suffer horrendous things, every day. It doesn't mean the council should prioritise bigger and better houses for them - they should still be entitled to the same as anyone else in their position.

I’ve not read the article but is it they specifically want a 3 bed with garden because it’s nicer or they just don’t want to be 15 floors up in a tower block again after what they went through? I could completely understand people refusing to live back in a tower block after that fire.

I don’t know what the answer is though - ideally everyone would be in the house of their choice. But that’s impossible.

A shame that the chap in the OPs example was able to buy his council house and profit hugely from it. Cant blame him but selling them off hasnt helped. Sad as it us, they have to be realistic as they live in the most expensive part of the country where I imagine most people live in flats or house shares.

I dont think they are prioritising bigger and better. The news is stirring it up a bit there.

The housing officer was on r4 this morning and there seems to be just over £1m (less I guess after housing costs in the meantime and money given to replace lost belongings etc) set aside per household to rehome them. You won't get a 3 bed house with a garden for that there.

They're is a lot of mistrust and anger whipped up on news, social media, people who 'know the truth' (like the man on the news who knew that the death rate was over 4 times the initial fugues of 80 ish). Families refusing to move into temporary accommodation because they think they won't get a permanent home - very mistrustful and scared.

They should be housed in properties which suit their family needs. If they repeatedly refuse suitable properties then they should be removed from the list.

I can understand that people don’t want to be housed in high rises but that doesn’t mean they can hold the council to ransom for a 3 bed house with a garden.

The reality is that highgate was a sh1thole in the 80s and so his council house would have been very cheap. Now in Kensington you are looking at £1.5m at least for a 3 bed house with a garden.

FAOD if the government had not allowed people like that cabbie to get a free leg up by buying that house off the tax payers at a hugely subsidised rate (robbing tax payers) then there would not be so many problems with housing stock for council properties.

How quickly can you build a house? For most professional builders it takes a while, and there is very little housing stock in the second most expensive and prestigious borough in London, one of the most over populated and prestigiously expensive cities in the World.

So guess what, its complicated, and it takes time. Obviously I too would like to give everyone a trillion pounds and a unicorn but its not very practical is it.

You can't always magic up solutions. Even the legal side of buying up a property takes time. And our household earns well into six figures and moved out of the Kensington area because we couldn't afford to live there - so I'm not entirely sure of the logic by which people on low or no incomes are encouraged to stay there.

There were a fair few people subletting the grenfell flats for a steep sum every month. Assuming it's prohibited by the tenancy agreement (it may not be), the councils should try and clamp down on that sort of thing, hard though it is - perhaps fining estate agents who let them out would be a start. If you can sublet it, you clearly don't need it yourself!

think the authorities should have to just suck it up now however the tenants should not be unreasonable
what ever they get it will be interesting how many exercise their right to buy in 5 years time and relocate

I suspect this is insensitive reporting of what is a very reasonable request: someone who has been in a blaze like that in a high rise is unlikely to feel safe ever again in a tower block. A different type of housing will be needed by many of them in future, as part of the after-effects of the terrible trauma they endured. The fact that there aren't a range of social housing properties in K&C is a result of years of terrible housing policy, not the fault of these residents.

Sadly there are many families who would need rehoming.

Also sadly that there may be some families who are demanding property that is just beyond what is needed or what can realistically be provided - but that's most likely a case of a big gob yelling the loudest and his voice being heard.

Exactly Rebecca so they should forfeit their council tenancy and buy or rent like everyone else has to as they have been making money out of exploiting some one else

Well, realistically there simply won’t be enough of that type of housing available in the local area. So although they should have priority it still won’t be possible. I guess if that’s their priority and they agree to move to another area of the country, then that should be possible.

They may be rare, but k&c and the neighboring boroughs must get a couple a week that become available after a death. There's only 50 or so families in need so it wouldn't take long to get them all one.

As an aside, it's obviously an area where we get a lot of tourists - I was gobsmacked that a tour guide took their party to see it and to take photos (then lied that they were Chinese safety inspectors on a tour); that the council has had to tell people not to take selfies there; and that people have been flying drones with cameras to try and get a look inside. That's a whole new level of disrespectful WTF!

If they're demanding for a 3 bed house when they would be considered adequately housed in a 1 or 2 bed flat then yes they're being unreasonable. I'm sure they could have their 3 bed house with garden if they were prepared to move away, but most of those affected don't want to do that. TBH with the compensation they stand to get they could afford to buy a house in certain parts of the country. There are no easy answers unfortunately.

What on earth were the housing authority thinking, retrospectively installing gas mains in the single stairwell? That's a no brainer massive fire risk creation in my unqualified opinion. I am looking forward to the inquiry findings.