Well off friend in council house

[toughtimes2001]

Please tell me if I am being unfair.

My friend and her partner (mid 20's) earn a combined salary of of £65K (no kids) and have a cheap council tenancy home with a massive garden in a lovely part of London (her partner sneakily inherited the tenancy from his deceased father a couple of years back). The have a lovely life with plenty of disposable income as their rent is very cheap and go on lovely holidays and are saving up a massive deposit for their own home which they intend to buy in a couple of years. I should also add, she has very wealthy parents who dish out money to them left right and centre for various things throughout the year.

Meanwhile, I a single mum earn £19K (no family support) privately rent a rubbish 1 bedroom flat (which is more in rent than they pay) in a rubbish part of town with no hope of ever buying a home or taking my DS on a luxury holiday. I have also been told I am not a priority for housing so no hope for me any time soon!

Am I right to think this is just completely unfair?

Sil might take over the tenancy (move back in once her parents are out) so that after two years she qualifies to buy the House at a discount. Then she'll sell or rent it out. I don't begrudge them that as the system allows it.

No the system does not allow it. If her parents move out, they will have to give up the tenancy; it is not theirs to pass over to whoever they wish -even a family member. The only way she can live there is if her parents illegally sublet it to her. They might get away with it but as she won't be the tenant, she won't have the right to buy.

It is only if you live with your parents and they die that you inherit the tenancy: there is absolutely nothing sneaky about it. And this couple appear to be doing the right thing in saving for a deposit on there own house at which point they will give up the tenancy.

As PP have said they are saving up for a deposit to move and the house will go back into the social housing system which is currently in crisis.

Alternatively they could apply for right to buy, purchase the house at an attractive discount and sell in after approx 8 years for huge personal profit and the house is no longer used for social housing

Another one questioning 'sneakily'. How, exactly?

You sound bitter and twisted, what a waste of energy.

YABU

What a waste of council housing. Op is not 'bitter and twisted' for wanting somewhere decent to live

You don't sound like a very good friend if you begrudge them a decent life because you're struggling. Council houses are for everyone and a "nice house" in London won't even be that cheap

If they're saving up to buy a different house and giving up their council tenancy so someone can move in, I see nothing wrong with that. I would have more issue if they were able to exercise the right to buy and then sold the house to a private landlord or rented it out themselves for far more than a social rent.

I've heard lots of stories of people who've made it and already own their own home snapping up an elderly parent's council house supposedly on the parent's behalf with a view to cashing in.

The actor Kathy Burke was brought up in a council flat and then had her own when she was younger. When she was successful she bought somewhere and gave up the tenancy so Islington Council could let it to someone else. In an interview she said she was shocked by how many people suggested she exercise her right to buy so she could make a profit, as that takes social housing out of the system.

I was lucky and had some help to buy a little house when I was 29 - my mortgage payments were never more than a council rent in this part of north London.

On Bob Crow, before he became a union official he wouldn't have been on a high wage. And bear in mind he died shockingly suddenly at 52. His wage was for an elected position not for a job for life. I don't know what widow's pension his partner and dependants received but he couldn't necessarily assume that his income was forever. And his family probably had ties to their local community there. Would those of you who think there's a problem there prefer that he'd taken the opportunity to buy the house, and resell (probably to a private landlord) or rent it out himself while taking out a mortgage on a bigger house in a fancier area?

On inheriting tenancies, people don't automatically inherit them. Usually they have to live there. Yes, I've heard of scams but often tenancies are inherited by someone who genuinely does live there.

I think we need to return to creating social housing and keeping it socially rented, and valuing the concept of homes for people.

Council houses should not be for everyone

My mum used to have a saying OP

"He's so lucky, if he fell through co op window he'd fall in the divvy."

Some people are lucky some of the time, others aren't it isn't fair, but life isn't.

Oh yes this drives me nuts! We used to live in a really nice street in a lovely city. Very sought after. All houses ex council except 2, which were still council owned. I was paying over a grand in rent and earning v little. Neighbours paying around £200 in rent and earning much more than me. How is this fair? It's not

It sucks

Maybe he doesn't feel so lucky losing his dad so young. Perhaps he was on a much lower income and wasn't yet with his partner when his dad died.

Op this sounds like jealousy, council homes are not free, your friends sound like they are hard workers and saving for a secure future, meanwhile still paying rent, bills, council tax etc, instead of being jealous take a leaf out of their book.

You need to look at what you have and count your blessings. Life is more then material possessions.

OP, you should not be upset at your friend and her partner. You should direct your anger at Margaret Thatcher and her Tory government who decimated the national stock of social houisng by introducing the right to buy so that the government could get rid of its responsibility for social housing- and all the governments since who have not put a stop to it.
She conned council house tenants with the plan by saying they had a right to own homes after paying rent all those years. It was utter rubbish. Many people paid rent to private landlords and she never suggested they should have the right to buy those properties- imagine the uproar there. What she really meant was 'Let's get rid of these low cost houses that are alway going to cost the state a lot of money in repairs and re-builds and let the tenants who but them pay for the repairs'. It was a cynical con-job on the working classes.

She knew they would never be replaced. Councils could not afford to re-build them en masse. Why would they replace them when once someone has been a tenant for 3 years they are entitled to buy them at a reduced rate? Instead, she knew private landlords would make a fortune and social housing companies would be set up to build and rent out socila housing - at the same time making huge profits. And the state's responsibility for social housing would become minimal while her Tory voting pals and party contributors would get richer.

As a consequence we have very little local authority owned social housing these days and very little being built. There is a huge shortage of affordable social housing. The private companies which own most of it are not properly regulated and cut corners to save costs and raise profits- and we end up with the tragedy that was Grenfell. People like you have no hope of decent, low cost housing and security of tenancy.

So don't be angry and envious of your friend. Be angry at the Tory government and actually do something - lobby your MP and the Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government, James Brokenshire , write to them, write to the papers, start a campaign. Do something to improve your situation. We want a building programme of local authority owned, high quality, not for profit, social housing for mixed social groups, in nice areas and no more right to buy. Let's create some 'garden suburbs' of social housing that we can be proud of.

By the way, I don't think OP is unreasonable to feel that her current housing situation is unfair, but I don't necessarily think the circumstances of the couple described in her post are at all unreasonable or unfair either. They are lucky, so is anyone who owns a home who's posting here. However hardworking any homeowner on this thread is, so are lots of social housing and private tenants.

"She knew they would never be replaced. Councils could not afford to re-build them en masse. "

More than that, councils weren't allowed to invest RTB income in replacing lost social housing, and they weren't allowed to borrow the money needed for it.

‘Why does grieving for your father mean you should get a council house‘

Do you really think it’s appropriate to evict someone from their home because their parents have died?

If this man was just turfed from his home when his parents died, he would be homeless and therefore eligible surely?

" Disabled people struggle as private landlords often do not permit alterations that are needed"

And HA do?

My DH was told to get rid of his mobility scooter or it would be taken and destroyed. We live in a HA property. The only thing that stopped it was me doing my pieces on social media.

After 4 weeks of stress in the run up to Christmas (they told him on 23 Nov to get rid bt 21 Dec) they relented one week before Christmas maybe they were scared it would go viral over Xmas break and said they would build a shed which they did back in April. It was also admitted to us that they have no adaptable housing . And this is a big HA.

And where is the ire at HAs selling off properties as HOLIDAY HOMES.

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

much easier to blame it on tenants.

Lots of assumptions and projection being made here; the son still lived at home, was caring for his elderly father who he now desperately misses and would rather have him living than a council house. Oh and the son has paid for it many times over. Anyway, I don't blame them for inheriting the tenancy (whether it was done sneaki!y or not) as it's saving them a fortune but OP I can see why you feel hard done by. That's life I'm afraid.

grudging anyone else a (seemingly)kushti life,especially a friend-is never EVER rewarding.lifes not fair.the end

i suppose OP would rather it went similar to this case.

www.theargus.co.uk/news/16588427.man-facing-eviction-hanged-himself/?ref=twtrec

Blame the game, not he players

CecilyP, Apologies, when I said
"Sil might take over the tenancy (move back in once her parents are out) so that after two years she qualifies to buy the House at a discount. Then she'll sell or rent it out. I don't begrudge them that as the system allows it."
I wasn't clear. She would move back in before they move out so there's enough overlap, then she'd be named main resident. I've probably got the terms mixed up, they've done some research and think it's allowed (I haven't done any research so can't comment further).

speyejoe2.wordpress.com/2018/08/23/dear-polly/

If he lost his dad the tenancy would of passed to him he didnt sneakily inherit it