To ask a really stupid question about council houses

[cleofatra]

To be honest, this is the best way to ask so I don't embarrass myself too much.

Do people actually pay any "rent" for council houses? (Or does it come out of some kind of payment?) I have no idea.

Sorry, I honestly am asking to find out as I don't know.

@maximadewit

No need to pile on the poster. It's a perfectly reasonable question.

No it's not!

No wonder people are 'piling in' on the OP. What kind of question is THAT? Why the hell wouldn't someone pay rent on a council house? Come ON. Surely no-one is clueless/daft enough to think that people don't pay rent in social housing? I call bullshit!

And it's quite an insulting 'question' actually. 'Oh I need to ask a question; do all you council house plebs people get your accommodation for free?' head tilt...

Same kind of twatty way of thinking as the people who think social housing/housing association properties are subsidized by the taxpayer.

They are not. And it's almost always people who pay very little tax who bitch about it. Jealousy, that's what it is. Jealousy and ignorance.

We used to have a LOAD more social housing properties before they were sold off by the Tories. There needs to be many more built, especially with the rocketing costs of buying a house. The fact there are 2 million families on the waiting lists in the UK proves there needs to be more good quality, social housing built (with affordable rents.) And tenancies for life.

Some people have said 'if the people on low income are earning 2-3 times more income 7-10 years after moving in, they should give up their home.' Stupid idea. A better idea is to increase the rents if the income goes up a lot, not throw them out!

For a start, they could easily be on low income again 5-7 years later, so what are they meant to do then, go on the housing list again, and wait another 3-4 years to be housed? What's more, most people on a low enough income to qualify for social housing, will never be on a very high income anyway.

paulablue the best one i saw on here a few years back now was that social housing tenants get their tv licences all paid for.

Come ON. Surely no-one is clueless/daft enough to think that people don't pay rent in social housing?

I was seriously clueless. That's why I am asking .
I appreciate the answers.

PMSL, @BellaDarkness I can't believe people are this clueless. I really can't.

It's so fucking insulting.

To be fair to the OP, I thought they were free for years too.

My grandmother had one and I knew she didn't pay rent.

This was before I knew of housing benefit and so forth. I was clueless.

Its deliberate paulablue My DM is not from this country and my parents own their own home but when she first came over here she knew you had to pay rent on a council home.

Within my social group the friends with mortgages have cheaper monthly payments than the council tenants (similar sized houses).
Due to allowing tenants to buy their council house at reduced rates in the past there is now not enough adequate council housing so buy to let landlords can charge a fortune.

And people apply for council housing because not all banks will loan you money to get a mortgage in the first place so don’t have a choice.

actually the person who said you get the same housing benefit on council vs private isnt strictly correct, as councils work out housing benefit on the lowest denominator for the area, ie they base it on council rents and private are always more expensive, so anyone private renting on housing benefit always has to find so much extra each month, wheras a council tenant on housing benefit will have all of their rent paid if they dont have spare bedrooms, this is why the bedroom tax was brought in to equalise payments between private and council tenants, EG, my private rent was £400 a month my housing benefit 1 bedroom entitlement was £325 a month, council rent would have been £325 a month for a 1 bedroom flat

I pay full rent for my council flat but the rent is lower than it would be for a private flat - about a third of the private equivalent. I used to get housing benefit which covered the full rent when I first moved in as I was unemployed - so effectively I wasn't paying rent, but it was being paid by the council so rent was still being charged. I've never had to pay any top ups to cover the full rent, which wouldn't be the case if I was privately renting - the applicable amount in LHA is much lower than you'd be able to find a flat for in this area.

My tenancy is far more secure than a private rental or even a housing association so that's a big advantage for being a tenant. I'm in London where social housing is scarce and realistically you have to be in a very vulnerable category to be given a high enough priority - it's really important for people in that position to have the security of a private rental and low cost rent.

The OP isn't British. People who need it get 'free money' from the government; why is it so ridiculous to wonder whether our most vulnerable get free housing?

Just come to say that I only recently learnt how council housing works too and before anyone assumes anything I grew up in a single parent non working household (claimed housing benefit for private letting as council waiting lists were too long, according to my mother) I didn't know if people in council houses paid rent or what and I don't think it's offensive to ask I currently rent privately now and have always heard about this massive lack of social housing availability so have never attempted to get one because waiting lists etc so I've never known how it all works. Some of us are really that ignorant.

Why would you even ask such a question why not just Google it? yes people rent I live in a council house most of my neighbours work and depending on where you live there's not always a big difference between council and private rent.

Council housing made a huge difference to me as the lower rent made it feasable for me to work, pay childcare etc. I was a single parent. It is a wonderful thing that has been squandered.

Council housing was established in big numbers after the war. Lots of houses had been bombed out of existence, and lots of people were living in very overcrowded conditions e.g. large families in 1 room. Over 30 years local councils built lots of houses to meet the demand for decent housing. The demand and need was so large that it could not be met commercially.

Housing benefit/LHA isn't based solely on council rents, that's not accurate. It's based on the lowest 30% of rents in the market area. In some areas that will include a lot of council houses, but in others (where there is a complete lack of social housing) it won't.

There were lots of slums that had not really changed since victorian times. There is stuff out there about the terrible conditions lots of people were living in.

I pay my rent without any housing benefit. I love my council house as it enables me to live securely with my two children, with no risk of landlord selling, wanting me out, wanting to inspect my home etc. It has also enabled me to retrain since being a single parent, and now work part time so I can be around for my ASD son when he needs me. I would have constant money worries if I were in private rented, so I can give my children a secure childhood home.

I grew up in a council house, as did most of my family and school friends. I knew very few people who lived in a "bought house". It was a secure home where you trusted the landlord and you had repairs done as required. It was a good way to live then. Now it's more of a safety net for people who don't have other choices. DSis got a council house after being made homeless with 2 DCs following bankruptcy.

Breaks my heart to see all the "To Let" signs on former council housing in my town today. We need serious investment to replenish social housing stock

I have been reading about homelessness for work today. The most common cause of homelessness for people without dependent children, is the end of a short term tenancy in private housing.

My council rent: £380 per month.
Private rental for the same sized flat: £470

I think it’s a sensible question as if you read certain newspapers and/or television programs then they do call them ‘benefit houses’ so do imply they are free.

I grew up in council housing and my parents always paid rent as they used to take me to the council every week with them when they paid it.

I pay rent to my housing association which is just about half of what I'd pay in the private sector.
When I was in benefits the council paid it directly to them.

Just been approved for a mortgage and had a offer accepted on another house. I'm feeling excited and sad all at once.

The benefit of this place is its security, you have to really fuck up to lose a tenancy.
I'll never be able to get another, so quite scary tbh!

Yes you pay rent for council accommodation,in the same way you would for a privately rented property. The difference is that a council flat/house is considerably cheaper. In the area of London that I live in,the average monthly rent for a private 2 bedroomed flat is £1,200. For a similar council property,it would be about £500 - £600. If you are unemployed,or can't work due to health reasons,or do work but are on a low income,you can usually,depending on your financial status (savings etc) get housing benefit,which can vary from having all of your rent paid,to just a small proportion of it. But the qualifying criteria to be able to apply for a council property is pretty strict nowadays.

Council houses are owned by council or non profit housing association . So they belong to non profit or council. Money in rent goes to council or non profit. Back into the system.

Private renting goes to private individuals who may or may not pay tax on their profit as well as keeping an asset ie the house.

But conservative policy favours individuals making money at others expense.
Also right to buy was aimed at creating home owners who would be more likely to vote conservative.
It was a political decision

Now you have ex council flats owned by private landlords (after right to buy person sold it on) and rented out privately and housing benefit paid to those individuals rather than back into the council or non profit housing association.

My disabled ds has a council tenancy and gets housing benefit which pays rent and goes back into the system. Money from one bit of govt effectively paying another.

In London my friend pays to housing association in a month same as I pay in a week for a small private rented flat. And she has secure tenancy.

It's not a stupid question at all.

I grew up in a world where everyone owned or private rented. Council housing was not a thing (small village life). Prior to the internet I knew nothing about how council housing worked.

Why is it any different to asking how mortgaged housing works?

I don't think it's insulting. Rather one of those situations where you find something you have no idea about. Another example is taxes. I didn't know how the 40% tax bracket worked (never needed to!),until I researched it.