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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if you are under-occupying social housing that you consider downsizing?

366 replies

IckyBex · 04/06/2018 12:28

If you are in a property with space you no longer need for whatever reason please consider asking to transfer to a smaller property. There are so many families waiting for three or four bedroom housing and hardly any available.
Staying in your four bedroom house after all of your children have left home is depriving another family of the opportunity that you were given.

OP posts:
Firesuit · 04/06/2018 15:35

That last sentence belonged to a paragraph that was supposed to have been deleted...

user838383 · 04/06/2018 15:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SmashedMug · 04/06/2018 15:40

firesuit, people do only get housing benefit according to their entitlement. Someone with a two bed housing benefit will still only get the two bed amount if they are in a three bed house. Plus they'll have it reduced for the "bedroom tax".

GrandTheftWalrus · 04/06/2018 15:55

I was put in a 2 bed flat when I was on my own so I had to pay bedroom tax. I wasn't entitled to any other help other than housing benefit as I didn't work enough because I was on zero hours.

Then I worked full time and paid full rent.

Now my partner lives here and our daughter. I'm entitled to housing benefit again but not full amount so I'm paying 20 a week.

lastnightidreamtofpotatoes · 04/06/2018 16:02

All those saying though that they have had their SH house for x years and spent x amount on it and know everyone in the village therefore aren't moving are adding to the problem (although they may be a drop in the ocean, but on principle).
Many complain that there isn't enough social housing but I wonder how many people whose circs have improved since they got their house that could now afford private rent or even a mortgage?
I know one family who got a 2 bed flat with 2 dc and she is now expecting her 6th and complaining vigorously that they have not been allocated a house yet. In a way I suppose I feel it is like a race to the bottom; the ones who know the system and are willing to abuse it get the best things first and will never 'pass it on' therefore the situation will never improve.

Thehogfather · 04/06/2018 16:05

And people only get it according to the amount the authority believe is necessary. Which is a lot less than market rent. So a social rent might be x. Same house but ex council might be x plus 50%. Similar area and house without the stigma of ex council might be x plus 100%. Whether you're getting a top up of hb or the full amount, it will be calculated as though the rent you pay is x, even if it's double.

We really don't need to be increasing hb amounts. We need to be increasing the amount of housing available for people on average/ low incomes.

What you forget fire is that your way nobody but private lls win. And the hb bill goes up. If social housing was freely available to anyone who wanted it, you'd only need to charge £100 pcm above cost price to make huge profits from all of those currently paying a lot more in private rent. You'd cut the hb bill and could reduce other top up benefits with less of peoples wages going on housing. And people would spend more in the local economy.

HelenaDove · 04/06/2018 16:15

DH and i are starting to look at sheltered housing. The HA is coming to look at the estate this week between the hours of 10am and 3pm over 2 days due to their kitchen and bathroom replacement programme (its a refurb we dont want but im guessing that wont be up to us. )

DH cant take their hassle any more.............its really affecting his health.............from the threatening .letters saying that we owe rent (we dont ,its the computer system they are using , all the tenants have been getting them ,then their "move it or we destroy it" policy over his mobility scooter. He has COPD ..............he will never cope with the dust of a refurb. They want to do it with tenants in situ though because that way they still get their rent.

Last time they did a refurb people were without a kitchen for MONTHS.

Im very suspicious because last time they sent letters about a refurb ........they didnt want to do an inspection. Asbestos is ok as long as its not disturbed.

People moan about the DWP on here but we have had more hassle from our HA. The DWP have been ok over DHs disabilities.

I have seen changes in attitudes towards tenants since Grenfell In fact its got worse.

x2boys · 04/06/2018 16:19

we dont all live in london or the south east there is little differeance in private rent and social housing rent where i live the main reason people go for social housing is security

GetInMyNelly · 04/06/2018 16:22

If the council/housing associations were smart, they'd completely do away with life time tenancies and simply give people 5 year tenancies and then check circumstances each period.

If they can then afford Private renting then they will be given a notice period to move

Thehogfather · 04/06/2018 16:24

I'm not London or South east either, but there's still a significant difference where I am. And I imagine that even within the same county the difference between social and private rent will vary.

Lethaldrizzle · 04/06/2018 16:28

As a non council tenant looking into the system, It doesn't seem particularly fair when there are families with real need.

LunaTrap · 04/06/2018 16:28

I have a friend who is under occupying a 3 bed house since her kids grew up and moved out. She offered to downsize to a 2 bed property (her DD has alot of health issues so she helps alot with her grandchild and he stays over regularly so she needs a second bedroom) and the council told her they would only allow her to downsize to a 1 bed place. So she told them to forget it and stayed where she is. I don't blame her tbh.

HelenaDove · 04/06/2018 16:29

We live in a one bedroom flat so not overcrowding. DH is 68. He couldnt continue to live here indefinately anyway. Hes just sick of the harassment and discrimination and so am i. We had to look at sheltered housing sooner or later. Id be fucked if something happened to him though and i had to move out of sheltered. Im 23 years younger than DH. Tenants dont all fit into a neat little box.

x2boys · 04/06/2018 16:31

as i have just said @GetInMyNelly in my area and in many other areas there is little differeance in social or private rent .

ginghamstarfish · 04/06/2018 16:31

It's a pity that those who are eagerly waiting to buy their council property at a large discount are no doubt also amongst those complaining that it was their 'right' to be housed with affordable rent. If you can then afford to buy a property, then shouldn't you be giving it up and buying a privately -owned one? Does it not make you a hypocrite removing that property from the council housing stock? Can't fathom why RTB still exists really, as it surely defeats the whole point of the system.

HelenaDove · 04/06/2018 16:36

Salty Peanut Thanks

SmashedMug · 04/06/2018 16:37

If the council/housing associations were smart, they'd completely do away with life time tenancies and simply give people 5 year tenancies and then check circumstances each period.

If they can then afford Private renting then they will be given a notice period to move

That would fail for lots of reasons. The main one being that if people would risk losing their home and be back at the mercy of private landlords due to income, do you think they'd bother trying to work or increase their wages or let themselves get anywhere near that income? You'd just have a mass of people reducing their hours at work to make sure they don't lose their home and no properties would be freed up.

x2boys · 04/06/2018 16:39

maybe they can only afford it becsuse of the discount ? whilst personally i wouldnt buy my house unless i could afford ri buy it out right , wether you agree with right to buy or not its still an option for some people and if their house was massivly discounted and they wanted to buy it they are not going to not buy it because some random posters on mumsnet think they shouldn't.

SluttyButty · 04/06/2018 16:40

Two things.

One, I really can't believe that someone who is under occupying and claiming housing benefit, but is willing to downsize, has demonstrated they are actively looking and bidding on smaller properties is still charged the bedroom tax. That is utterly shameful of local authorities to do that!

Two, I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm south east and in an affluent area, we don't have a huge issue with social housing not being available, there are new builds going up everywhere with a large percentage of those on the estates being HA (they're really lovely town houses too). A new build 3 bed HA house here is a rental of £950+ per month and you have to have a minimum income of (I think) around £2300 per month. They want a certain type of family living in them I assume and that's why they (I'm assuming this too) want to see all financials the same as a private rental or mortgage would.
If they want people to downsize then they would be building HA bungalows but they're not. They want people to remain in their homes for life.

There isn't much in the way of sheltered housing or bungalows, well there is but they aren't building any more. They have built massive retirement villages though if you've got half a million spare to move into there.

lastnightidreamtofpotatoes · 04/06/2018 16:41

There is up to 60% difference between private and SH rents in my city, so very significant.

I agree in theory about reassessing the need after 5 years and abolishing RTB. LTT and RTB is not conducive to SH going to those who are most in need. IMO it is offering those who cannot afford to get onto the property ladder to do so. Unless all housing becomes social I can't see there ever being a shortage.

OTOH the reassessment after 5 years might mean that some people will make a conscious effort not to improve their situation so that they can keep the house...

GrandTheftWalrus · 04/06/2018 16:45

When I was working full time I was still on a lowish wage. Getting 1000 a month. I could afford my rent no problem however I wouldn't have been able to private rent from that as a similar property would've been 5-600 pcm.

Then I didn't go back to work full time after I had my daughter so would've been needing housing benefit again.

So I'm glad I didn't get told I had to move out just because I had a better income than when I moved here.

Frequency · 04/06/2018 16:47

If they can then afford Private renting then they will be given a notice period to move

That would be brilliant news for my council. They could sell all their houses and make a massive profit because they charge the same rent as private LL. It wouldn't be so great for the hundreds of staff at the HAs who'd lose their jobs.

Private rented

Social housing

Not all areas are London. Why should people in the north be punished by having lifetime tenancies, RTB etc removed and be forced to pay the bedroom tax because councils in areas they don't live in and have no connection with haven't bothered maintaining a good level of social housing stock?

Chattymummyhere · 04/06/2018 16:49

They need to build 2 bedroom bungalows with a little garden. Ideal for disabled people, ideal for ageing people and can be used for small family’s too. Make some ground floor flats have their own little sections of garden (it can be done we have some here) and again priority for elderly or disabled. Have tenancies reviewed every X years with help moving for those seriously under occupying or who now need to be all on one level. Buy back ex council property that fit the above when it comes onto the market. We have lost three bed houses here as they are having to knock them though to create 4/5 bed houses while loads of 4/5 bed houses have only one person residing in them.

gamerchick · 04/06/2018 16:50

That would be brilliant news for my council. They could sell all their houses and make a massive profit

It wouldn't. Pay to stay was binned off, the extra money was not going to the council's. It was going straight to central government. But yanno as long as council tennents feel the pain of rented then who cares eh? Hmm