To wonder what would happen if every council tenant had their tenancy reviewed

[BumpowderSneezeonAndSnot]

Life time tenant or not. Everyone was reviewed and income taken into account when calculating rents. Would this free up housing stock for those in need?

Ofcourse it would. I know many people in big houses on their own with 2+ bedrooms empty.

Isn't that called the bedroom tax?

It's waste of time and resources that is better spent building more houses.

I thought one of the problems with the bedroom tax was that there weren't the one-bedroom houses for people to downsize to?

Cross posted. Therefore increasing rents would give more money to the Council but would only free up housing if the Council used the extra money to build council houses.

Bedroom tax only affects you if you receive housing benefit.

Yes it would free up a lot of houses and IMO it’s stupid that they haven’t done it. I have many friends on lifetime tenancies that got their property as single parents etc and now earn far more money but don’t move because the rent is £1k less a month than a similar private rental.

I know a couple who have a 70K joint income and still live in a council house !

Income taken into account? How do you mean?

Yeah you'd get a lot of pensioners booted out of the only home they've ever lived in.

I'd rather they just built more.

It depends on how you see council properties. As something that should be available to most or a stop gap.

Well. The idea is to have a mix of residents and that’s not seeen as a bad thing. Unless you’re hoping to create a ghetto?

But then by moving those former single parents and forcing them into private renter then you are also going to end up with them on top up benefits and HB....

That's if they are eligible to privately rent

Why cause a family worry upset and uncertainty if they are going to struggle to re-house themselves?

YANBU

On Wednesday night Channel 5 showed Social Housing Social Cleansing Well worth a watch.

So all pensioners would be forced to leave.....where would you put them op?

Agree with Sprinkles and RunMummy.

It depends on how you see council properties. As something that should be available to most or a stop gap

Stop gap surely. I’m not at all sure about lifetime tenancies.

Maybe they should be charged for on the basis of the occupants income. Not really sure how this would work in practice though.

RunMummy pensioners are already being forced to leave SHELTERED housing.

www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/14820830.We___re_left_in_the_dark_over_plans_for_hostel/

You’d cause a lot of upset and stress to a whole load of council tenants for no good reason. The way to have more affordable rents and secure tenancies is to build more council houses and change the rules around private renting not to hound existing council tenants.

I don’t agree they should be a stop gap either. Affordable secure housing should be something available for all not just those lucky enough to have bought years ago.

Absolutely the pensioners should leave. councils have specific 55+ accommodation which is bungalows etc reserved especially for the elderly. Why should a pensioner get to keep a 3/4 bedroom property as a single occupant when there are families struggling that could make use? I completely understand it’s hard and not nice and will be flamed for saying but why why does being elderly give you a free pass to keep it? Just like the families I know earning a lot of money that stay. There’s not enough properties to go around anymore for it to be seen as a ‘right for life’ it’s a sad fact but we must accept it. People are so quick to abuse those that use A&E inappropriately and missed drs appointments but this is similar and is ignored because people don’t want to address it for fear of being seen as poor bashing.

So constantly let’s take a block- like Grenfell maybe. If the only people who can live there have to remain in the same financial position for the duration of their tenancy or be evicted, let’s be realistic as to
Who would qualify:

Pensioners (make up the majority of SH tenants anyway)
The disabled
The unemployed and unemployable

Now imagine the entire estate is populated by these residents. 3/4 towers, low
Level blocks etc. Thousands of residents, all
Qualifying for social housing.

What do you think it would be like for young children growing up on an estate like that?

lazinganddazing’bevause the government don’t want to upset pensioners and no
Other reason. It’s a disgrace