To accept ‘affordable housing’ that isn’t affordable

[PookieDo]

I hope this doesn’t become a judgement thread about the politics of housing just advice or opinions, has anyone been in a similar situation? Ultimately ‘affordable housing’ doesn’t really seem very affordable, but what options do people have?

Single parent who works 48 hours a week in 2 jobs earn about £25k (before tax, NI and pension). One of these is zero hour contract and variable income. Live in South where I was born and DC go to school. 2 teen DC and get very small amount of child maintenance for them. Living in crap private rental flat now paying £850pm, no garden, no central heating under a crappy landlord and am classed as overcrowded. Claim some universal credit which helps with housing costs. No savings. Also studying through employer to get better paid jobs in future.

I was contacted by the local council and I have been offered the potential of a housing association Home. There are a lot of these at present being built on new estates and they are really struggling to get people into them. These are not council housing at lower rents in fact the rent will be more than what I pay now but on my salary, I still can’t actually afford it in reality. No one is bidding on them because the rent is £900pm, people who need housing obviously can not afford them? I can see the housing every week and it is true no one is bidding on them because they are repeatedly listed there week in week out. The list size where I live is apparently fairly low now and now they seem to be building more than they can offload to qualifying residents.

But it could be a secure tenancy and I will have more rooms and heating. I do not know what to do.

1. hold out for an older cheaper council house at a much lower rent that I can actually afford on my salary - could be a very long wait
2. stay in unsecure private renting with unpredictable rent rises, crap LL/heating issues. Also I am stuck in a 12 month fixed term till April and might have to pay 2 rents until it ends if LL decides
3. Try to make housing association rent payments work by cutting back on all other bills and eventually getting a better job
4. Move away from area completely to cheaper part of U.K. including DC father, schools, family, friends and my jobs

yep - ask, if they are struggling to let then just ask - (what) can you offer a decoration allowance to facilitate me taking this tenancy....

They don’t usually do flooring do they?
But I have no cooker or washing machine!
I will buy these 2nd hand if I have to

Not as a general rule but usually (disclaimer - can't talk for this HA) if a housing officer is struggling to let a property and can go to a manager/ devolved budget) and say I can let it but will need to give a £300 dec allowance or I can leave it empty for at least another week - which will cost us £250 (and rising week on week) they'll probably take a sensible decision.....

and you can have this conversation before speaking to your landlord so you're not over a barrel in any sense...

In fact - if you can work out how long it has been empty for that may be a useful fact to have in your pocket!

I know I need to find that out. I only found out how desperate as my mum knew I was interested but got an email from the HA shopping about for tenants! It says on the ad ‘to be let quickly’

Basically I bid on something else weeks ago and was allocated it, when I spoke to them it turned out they put the wrong postcode on the ad and it was nowhere near where I thought so I withdrew. I had already been the only person who bid on this but due to this mix up I had to wait a whole further week. So at least 2 weeks if not more

If it's a few years old it may already have the previous tenants flooring in. Mine had carpets upstairs and in the living room. The upstairs carpets were only 6 months old. When I viewed the property they asked me if I wanted to keep them or have them taken out. I kept them and paid £100 to have them professionally cleaned.

My HA property is more expensive than my old private rented. By about the same as yours. But what I save on the heating bills alone it more than covers the extra.

I was also unsure about waiting for a cheaper council property or taking the HA one. But decided to go for it. Mainly because I couldn't face another winter in an old, damp, freezing cold house. Best thing we ever did. Everything is better here. The house is warm, damp free and modern. The estate is lovely.

And without judging anyone on a council estate (I grew up on one, my family lives in one, I wanted to live on one) the neighbourhood is nicer. There are familoes who will have all their rent paid on here, but lots of the tenants work full time or part time and there are privately owned properties on the next street. So it shouldn't matter, but in the last 4 years I have noticed council estates declining. Unless you knew these were HA properties you wouldn't know they were.

You can always downsize later and if you are in a nice area will have more options. My rent has actually come down a little bit and private rents are only ever.going to go up.

That carpet scenario would be ideal but my DM had to take hers out on both properties and her most recent one had no flooring either

Do they judge it on how bad it is? I thought it was policy to remove it (bugs/mites etc)

Have you viewed the property yet pookie - I would do so and then ask - if there are carpets down and they look good - ask if they'd consider a cleaning allowance to get them freshened up. You may have to sign a disclaimer that you accepted the carpets and they're not the responsibility of the HA but not the worst thing in the world. If they look ropey and they'll be taking them up then push on an allowance....

No I am waiting to view - it only closed today and now says ‘under offer’ on my feedback

Can’t find similar on rightmove in the street as HA (can find 2 or 4 bed). But I’ve driven down the street twice now

I work for a HA. Definetly ask about decorating vouchers, and also ask about any credit they can give for local second hand furniture places or furniture schemes. Ours uses a local reclamation/house clearance place and they allocate an amount that can be spent there at our expense.

Yeah I would take it, for the security. That IS a lot though. £900 a month!!!

You could always apply for a transfer to somewhere cheaper later maybe...?

Why is so high? I know half a dozen social housing tenants (Cheshire, west Mids, and Staffs) who have 2 bed bungalows, 2 and 3 bed house, and 2 and 3 bed flats. Their rents (four H.A homes, and 2 council homes,) vary between £370 a month, and £500 a month.

£900 sounds a LOT unless there is 24/7 care, (like a kind of sheltered accommodation type situation ...)

Good luck @PookieDo Sounds like you deserve it!

Also agree with the posters saying that you should ask about decorating/carpeting allowance.

35/40 miles outside London. Need I say more!
It is rural/surburban commuter belt. I’ve looked for jobs further afield but DC resolute will not move

Thanks for your support all of you

Even so, social housing in or near London shouldn't cost any more than anywhere else. Even if it is rural.

I know a couple of people in social housing in North staffs and Cheshire (in little upper-middle-class villages,) and their rents are the same as they are in lower working class areas in Wolverhampton or Coventry ...

And on the programme 'how to get a council house' the 2 and 3 bed houses that were for rent, (in Towers Hamlets) were £155 a week - about £677 a month. So £900 a month still sounds way too high to me.

I wonder why it's this high?

Because affordable housing is not council housing. It’s not council owned stock. The only way they can keep building over all the green belt is 25% Housing association homes and I think they only have to provide 20% less of the normal market rate of rent. Which is probably £1200 for a 3 bed shithole, so this is a ‘good deal’ as a NEW 3 bed house would be a lot more

I say shithole I mean in a bad area, crime, private rented badly cared for housing

Oh, Ok... Anyway, do take it, and good luck!

I’ve made my mind up and excited for viewing now.

No more freezing cold toilet seats
Tank of hot water for more than 1 shower
Proper heating
A cooker that works and cooks things
No more damp or condensation
Plug sockets I am not terrified of
A proper safer front door lock
No more lugging shopping up stairs
A garden! For washing!
No more gross 15 yo carpets

Social rent varies across the country. The Staff. Moorlands, parts of Cheshires and Pennines all have relatively low local housing allowances and target rents because it is set using the lower quartile rents and income levels amongst other variables. The calculation can be seen in the Rent Setting Guidance paper published by the Regulator of Social Housing. Affordable Rent is defined as up to 80% of market rent inclusive of service charge - this can change from one end of a street to another.
Both social and Affordable Rents are significantly higher in the south, especially within commuter distance of London, than N Midlands or North of England.

I can only go on what happened with mine OP. And a friend was asked when viewing did she want the existing carpets left in. I had to sign something saying that the carpets, a couple of blinds and the shed were gifted to me and not rented to me. I really pushed for the viewing though. The tenant had given notice but didn't hand the keys back for a month as she was getting settled in her new property so I saw it when the HA had only had chance to do a cursory inspection. And that's when they asked about carpets.

Go and have a nebby through the windows tomorrow if you know it's empty, see if you can see any. If there are ask if they can be left in til you have had a look. They seem to want to get it let so might oblige. And ring first thing to arrange a viewing.

Give your landlord a months notice, say you will cooperate with any potential viewings and if he doesn't actually agree to release you early, point out all the property failings, particularly the plug sockets and say if you are staying you need them repairing like yesterday otherwise you are informing the council, as they will now be paying the rent as you lost your job. Obviously you will be claiming UC but it takes forever to come through so you will be paid when its through and should you inform the mortgage company or should he?

Play hardball if he doesn't release you early. But obviously only once you have signed the tenancy agreement AND he has done your reference.

So the HA sent me an email today asking me to complete an assessment application which I will finish tomorrow
I only have 48 hours to complete it
They won’t tell me which house number it is or let me view it yet either

I drove there today but too hard to work out. One house has a load of chipboard planks outside of it so I assume it’s that one - the only one that had no blinds or lights on but I didn’t feel able to stop and peek in (doesn’t fill me with hope about flooring...)

So I have started clearing out just in case all the crap no one needs. I have no garden no shed no loft and nowhere to put the crap except in the bath (I have seperate shower no one uses our bath it’s too fucking cold) I do hope the bath doesn’t fall through the ceiling! Don’t know how I have managed to collect so much crap either and I am still very stressed about whether my LL will let me end my contract slightly early

If there are lots available and theyre not moving, why are you chancing paying rent on 2 properties, theyll be similar available in a couple of months surely?

A neighbour years ago, had a ‘council house’ home (it was before the HA took over), her home was immaculate, like a show home. She changed all her doors to really nice ones, fitted a stunning kitchen, a lovely bathroom complete with walk in shower. Had wood flooring down stairs (not laminate), really nice thick carpet on the stairs and upstairs.

She then moved in with her partner.

She handed her keys in, and 2 days later a skip was outside, ripping it all out. A week later, they were replacing everything with bog standard council stuff.

I could have cried watching it happen. Someone would have been so lucky to get that house with what she had put in. Especially it was someone who was going to struggle to buy carport etc. I could never understand their reasoning.

Anyway, good luck OP I hope it all goes well for you! (I admit your rent is eye watering to me, £900 could get a large three/four bed home where I live! My 2 bed rent is £425)

@araiwa

They are not building any more in this location anymore. This is a slightly older house on an estate that has shops and nice parks. It’s very easy for my DC to get public transport to and from school and it is near their friends

The newer houses up for HA rent I see so many of are much further away from DC school, friends and my work, crap transport links (which is why added to high rent people don’t want them). They are in very small villages so it would cost even more in time and travel

Also Right now I live on a horrible busy noisy very long main road. I notice that the other new builds in the villages (green belt building!) are all being built further down this