Lottery winner keeping her council house.

[NickyNora]

A lady i know recently won over a million pounds on the lottery. She has purchased 2 properties & put them in family members names.

She intends to keep her council house.
She didn't buy it as even with the discount, it woukd use up a large proportion of her win.

Is this even legal?

AIBU to think she's being greedy & should terminate her council tenancy & give back the council house?

(S106s are also generally avoided now as so restrictive)

The council house is in almost the centre of London. After the discount it was priced at £850k.

She's not doing anything illegal to my knowledge.

That’s surprising. All I can think of that are similar are a few Chelsea blocks, but they haven’t been council tenant occupied for decades.

A councillor in Greenwich is due in court for keeping a council house and having another.

Shared Ownership prices are completely linked to 'Affordable' Homes either to rent or buy. Shared Ownership homes are part of the % of Affordable Housing included as part of the Planning Application that gets these new-build estates built all over the country.

That's all fine, except these so-called 'affordable' homes to rent or buy aren't really affordable to many and do nothing to resolve the 'social housing' crisis we have.

That’s not what I said hatels, I said shared ownership is not related to affordable RENTS

It's not her fault there are not enough council homes for those who need or want them so why should she move.

And as said council estates shouldn't be poverty ghettos.

Try looking at Tory and bu labour governments to blame. Not this woman.

Perhaps people who come into large amounts of wealth should be able to keep their council home BUT have to pay market rates, so that they are giving something back....?

She doesnt have to and if it was me I would give my house back to the council or buy it and rent it out low cost but not everyone thinks the same

Central London. Quelle surprise.

Central London. Quelle surprise.

That explains it nicely.

I live in Central London around quite a few tower blocks. Everyone's interests would be well-served to have a critical mass of residents who are there for reasons other than sheer desperation - which seems to be the current criteria for social housing in Central London.

I guess you aren't aware that Dispatches (Channel 4), The Guardian, LBC radio and a few other media outlets have been doing stuff on how Housing Associations have got estates mainly of flats from London councils then have proceeded to get rid of the occupants, rip out bathrooms, kitchens etc to make them uninhabitable and then board them up for years. The intention is to knock them down and redevelop properties with lots of flats to sell privately which is form of social cleansing.

In regards to the lottery winner she should stay where she is and continue to rent it. Council housing was originally for everyone and lots of it is in private landlords hands, which means communities are unstable.

It certainly seems interesting that people in council homes feel such a strong connection to their property. I've heard so often that its 'their home' hence they couldn't possibly ever move. Hmmm...

Immoral but probably legal ... shouldn't be in my opinion. Council houses are surely supposed to be for those in need and it's really time that councils had stricter criteria. If you rent a council house it should not be for life, without question.

It is her fault that there are not enough houses because she is depriving someone else of a house.

You can’t own other property and have a council property. She knows this which is why she has bought in nominal names. However, it could be looked into to see where the original money came from and the Council would take her to Court as it was obviously her money. Depends on her tenancy.

""It certainly seems interesting that people in council homes feel such a strong connection to their property.""

Why would it be. My HA house was the one that I had a new start in, after the death of my DH. I've now inherited a house, but there was a sense of regret about leaving the house for good. Some memories are, taking their babies home from hospital, Christmases spent with loved one's, lovingly caring for and maintaining their houses etc, having a mortgage doesn't mean that you will have a deeper connection to your Home.

""It is her fault that there are not enough houses because she is depriving someone else of a house.""

We don't know that, she has housed two other people, who might have used SH. Also, as the houses become empty in my area they are being sold off, we don't know if that would be the case in this instance. But to suggest it is her fault, is ridiculous.

Most Councils and HA's give priority to those working and have the better credit scores. It isn't for the most needy any more.

""She knows this which is why she has bought in nominal names""

And yet on the "what would you do if you won the lottery", everyone first said that they'd buy their Adult children a house.

@Birdsgottafly Yes, of course people can have a connection to a home they've lived in, yet, time and time again, I've heard people use this as an excuse for why they could never give up their social housing despite being in a financial position to. Plenty of older people who own their own home sell up to downsize when their children leave home, but perish the thought an elderly couple in a large council house could do that!

Plenty of older people who own their own home sell up to downsize when their children leave home, but perish the thought an elderly couple in a large council house could do that!

Interesting point

They wouldn't be selling to downsize of course, but neither would I expect the howls of "they can't possibly be expected to move" if their property's massively under occupied

With regard to a lottery win most who say they would buy family members homes already own one themselves

BWatch one lottery keeping her council/HA house is not responsible for the housing crisis.

HAs selling some houses off for holiday homes while tenants get the blame..............the propaganda against tenants is working well.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/telly_addicts/3304710-Dispatches-Getting-Rich-from-the-Housing-Crisis

Comment from under the Guardian article ive linked upthread.

Katewashere
8h ago
2 3

I used to live in one of the developments in London run by L&Q. One week, out of the blue, the entire building received a formal letter saying our rent was to go up by 25%. I am a single person who works for the NHS who was already paying more than I could really afford. I am too old to still being living in the shared system and unable to afford to rent on the open market on my salary (I have a degree and am senior in my field but hey, austerity) so when I was given a flat through L&Q I was hugely relieved. I was at the point of planning to leave London before I got my flat. This rent hike pushed things back over the edge.

The letter was one of the most callous things I've ever read - it basically said that they knew this would be a shock which was why they were giving us a week to decide what to do - basically pay the increased rent, or move out. There was a number to call with any queries but when we rang the number there was a recorded voice message saying the man who had written the letter was on leave for the next ten days.

On my floor alone, three of my neighbours moved out and all of them were forced to leave London: one was a midwife who moved back with her parents on the Isle of Wight. Others were NHS key workers also.

I am relieved to see that the activities of L&Q are finally being investigated. If they are making deals to have access to land to build properties by pretending to Government that they provide affordable accommodation to key workers when the reality is that they do not, its time for Government to step in. It is not good enough for Sadiq to wash his hands, especially if he says that housing is a priority for him. L&Q need to be investigated

MinxieSue wilfulsprite
16h ago
1 2

Yep!

Its called a Section 8 eviction...

All new Housing Association Tenancies created since 1991 can use this section, to evict you as soon as you have 8 weeks or more rent arrears. This option is not available to local authorities.

Housing Associations are increasingly using it as a way to evict tenants (even those who lose their jobs and have to claim Universal Credit, which is paid at least 6 weeks in arrears, and may take the DWP through admin delays much longer).

Don't look to the court to assist you either, even if the housing association hasn't bothered with repairs. The Tories tied the hands of the judges, and made it mandatory to grant an eviction warrant once the 8 weeks arrears had passed, no matter what caused the arrears...

Oh and you are unlikely to get legal aid to assist either!

Then, once the tenant is evited, the property is often re-let at full or not far off maximum market rent. So there is actually a perverse incentive for the housing association to evict tenants, sop the property can be re-let on a much higher rent!

Many former local authority tenants who voted to transfer to a Housing Association, have found themselves subsequently caught up in a section 8 notice eviction...

The only truly secure Housing Association lets (that have the same terms and conditions as local authority tenancies), are those created before 1st January 1989!

@HelenaDove thanks for that, I've just watched the Dispatches programme. Some of those CEO's salaries were eye watering and their moral compass [working for a housing association that are supposedly charities] seems to have broken, irreparably!

I can confirm though that in Oxford there is a real hoo ha due to the current plan to build a garden village alongside Eynsham (Google will supply plenty of info), the NIMBY's are out in force but the JR and other hospitals need staff but they're is no affordable housing. There is a development being built relatively near the hospital but the affordable homes won't actually be affordable to nurses!

Anyway to the original op, leave the woman alone. I've just outlined above where more of the problem lies and it's not a woman who's had a windfall of a million on the lottery. Stop believing all the rhetoric that's deliberately put out there to conceal the real problem with the housing crisis.