Home swapping is ridiculous

[Aaliyah1990]

I’m more than frustrated with the fact that you could bid for years and not get anywhere. Then you think to yourself oh maybe house swap might help? Nope not at all!!! the housing system is a big joke if you ain’t got a garden you can forget it,the demands people are asking for just makes you feel worse and all your hopes are thrown out the window. It’s almost like doing the lottery and hoping you get lucky. I don’t know if somehow these so called serious swappers are getting a power buzz out of it cause that’s what it’s seem to me. In all reality we should all stop compiling to these ridiculous set ups, you waste so many of years being unhappy then you feel as you have to beg in a way to get a property you want. I think it’s all wrong and the council should be responsible if your over crowded etc and the bidding set up is more of a joke you’ll be on there for centuries 🙄. Until the day everyone stops compiling then that’s the day you’ll be able to get what you want but everyone seems to conform to things that are unrealistic,draining and upsetting. From today I’m not doing any of the guideline rules forget it!!! It doesn’t work out and it just makes their jobs easier while we suffer nope not anymore. So on that note I’ll get back to you guys. I’ll update to see that my situation will have improved. And I’ll let you what I did to get out of the flat/cage I’m in.

I managed to get a nice HA home but it took me 7 swaps over several years to get it! You’re right, the chances of you getting something nice straight away is like winning the lottery. The only way I can see it works is to slowly upgrade, little by little. I had numerous disappointments and time wasters over the years but I did finally get a place I was happy to call home. It was a wreck when I got it and I’ve had to spend a lot of money doing it up. The last place before this I had was immaculate. But my current place is bigger and in the area I wanted. This is where I’ll stay now.

To those who think people should downsize or give up their place, as I say, it took me years to get this. I’ve spent lots of money doing it up. Why on earth would I move out now? I think my HA offers £1000 per room to downsize but that’s nowhere near what I have spent, and it’s not enough to do up another place.

The rules state you can’t offer money for an exchange and I do understand why that is, I don’t necessarily disagree with it. However, it might make it easier for some people to swap if it was allowed.

My neighbours have a council place in Chelsea which gets rotated through the family so they keep a hold of it. I also worked with someone who had a central London council flat despite a household income of at least 75k.

I don’t want to see people evicted but I would be very much ok with a social housing rent sliding scale, where people who earn a good wage / have assets pay at or close to private sector rents and people who don’t pay less. Removes the financial incentive for people to hold social housing, and also ups the income generated.

I don’t want to see people evicted but I would be very much ok with a social housing rent sliding scale, where people who earn a good wage / have assets pay at or close to private sector rents and people who don’t pay less. Removes the financial incentive for people to hold social housing, and also ups the income generated.

I cast you down demon with your evidence based policy ideas

Sadly, Aaliyah, it is going to be very difficult to swap a 1-bed on the 3rd floor (is there a lift) for a house with a garden, especially a private let (I didn't know you could swap a private let, tbh).

I have done two house swaps within a council property, it wasn't easy and I had to move from a 2 to a 2 and change my son's nursery just to get out of the area! Nobody wanted it but luck struck one day as the person I swapped with wanted the area due to family reasons.
I then swapped again with somebody who wanted to downsize from a 3 to a 2. I have been in said house for a month and I'm so grateful! Although there are so many fussy people out there, I've encountered people who loved the house but turned it down because it didn't have a walk in shower, didn't have a drive way, didn't have a cupboard in the hall, because the back gate opened out to an alley way
And I know of a lady who is in a b&b with 6 children, she constantly makes status complaining about the council and lack of housing. Her children are between the ages of 7 and 3. And I just think why keep having children!!
Even a lady on a fb house swap page, she is in a 2 bed, has 3 children but is due another any day now. She even commented saying she's been waiting 4 years for the council to move her 🙈🤦‍♀️
I hope to go back to work and save enough in the coming years to look at putting a deposit down and buying a house. I will gladly give the council house back, It's served me well but I'd love that goal

Removes the financial incentive for people to hold social housing, and also ups the income generated.

It still won't free up hte housing because a huge problem with private letting is that it's not a secure tenancy. After the first few months, you're usually only 2 months away from getting notice that you have to move.

On a recent thread about viewings of a house with a tenant, more than one person had experienced signing at 6-month short-assured tenancy agreement (the usual) with the LL telling them he wanted a long-term tenant, but a fortnight after they moved in, he put the property up for sale (not at all illegal) and wanted them to host viewings for the remainder of the 6 month tenancy (with the 2 month notice served up at 4 months). The EAs then took the piss, bringing in viewers with no notice, when the tenants weren't there, when they were in bed, in the shower, etc.

As many of us have said on numerous other threads like this. If they up the rent for working people then there’s no incentive to do better. I don’t earn megabucks by any means, but when the idea was being touted around before I would have been just over the threshold for the current rent so mine would have gone up. So I was fully prepared to drop a day at work to keep me under the limit. Why work an extra day if the extra was going to be taken off me in rent? No point. When all those around me are on benefits and gettting their rent paid for them. At least I’m working and paying tax, and paying my own rent.

Asta19 I'd disagree raising it for people like yourself who are working but certainly for those who have assets

I should have said also dependent on your income if yo're earning 150K a year then a modest rent increase shouldnt be too difficult like the pp said a sliding scale

It’s so sad it makes people feel defeated. I wouldn’t wish anyone to have these complications in life it’s just horrible. I will try shelter as my social also did request to do this. And the council are well aware of my attack I was in hospital and there aware of my sons also I’ve spoken to a solicitor I will be suing the council for keeping my life at risk and given not a damn. I can’t even imagine how many others are suffering with other situation it’s not right and some thing need to brought to attention so these things don’t reacure If it’s like this now with council how do you think it’ll be in 5-6 years time if it don’t get any better it will just keep getting worse.

Aaliyah1990

People should watch ‘how to get a council house’ on channel 4

Basically, I’m London, you ain’t getting housed. It takes 7 years to get a 3 bed if you’re in band 2 (over crowded) in tower hamlets.

So I was fully prepared to drop a day at work to keep me under the limit. Why work an extra day if the extra was going to be taken off me in rent?

Yeah, limits are crap. That’s why sliding scale. And set to target income levels where it is still worth working even if you pay full rent. I’m not thinking of a mechanism to force absolute equality so much as increase incentives for those who don’t really need social housing to move out.

This is not private it’s council. No lift it’s gonna be impossible to get a swap here it’s a joke I’ve seen numerous of one bed flats to swap nobody’s gonna want them either. Its an dis-hearting thing It’s a losing battle for some people with one bedroom or even two bedroom flats the reality is nobody really wants to be in a flat I’ve stressed this out to the council also they know this already anyways it’s just common sense really but it’s the way it’s set up and a lot of people whether your working or not you will suffer.

You won't get any sympathy on here OP.

I do have some sympathy for the OP, but I also have sympathy for the many many people who can't even get a council house/flat in the first place.

The other huge issue is that the properties are often in dire condition. Even if the tenants have left lovely flooring or showers or built in units, the council rips them out. Some people have spent thousands on their homes.

Yeah, the no lifts are a problem, too. Very backwards. I lived in flats in Europe and even the crummiest of them had lifts. No idea why they didn't put them in in the UK.

The bedroom tax doesn't apply to people over 60 (or is it over 62?) so they won't be moving and then they won't take a 1 bed on the 3rd floor with no lift often enough.

The stock is outdated but no one seems to care.

It won't improve and they just don't have the stock so at best all they'll do is perhaps offer a private let wherever they can find a LL to take on a tenant (and it doesn't have to be in London) and then if you don't take it, that's that, they have discharged their duty to you.

One of the biggest issues is that because it’s so hard to get social housing in the first place, most people are scared to give it up. I used to work with vulnerable people and I remember one lady who was in her 50s and had to give up work due to health problems, she was private renting and her landlord kicked her out. She went to the council but they couldn’t help her. She literally ended up on the streets.

So, take me for example, I’m single now. I have a job but if I did suffer some health issue or whatever I could be out of work. Of course I’m not going to give up a stable tenancy for a private rental for fear of ending up like that woman. I don’t want to be on benefits, that’s why I work, but sometimes things happen in life that mean you do need to rely on benefits. At least with social housing I know my rent would be covered by HB if worst came to worst. Food wise I’d live on beans on toast if I had to! But I could never give up the security of my tenancy because the worst case scenario is horrific.

They physically attacked you? That's messed up.

YY, Asta, and combined with the fact that a lot of LL's cannot or will not take people on UC or LHA. You'd be crazy to give up a council or HA tenancy.

The layout for this property wasn’t someone being thoughtful it was more off let’s jus build some flats. I don’t think privacy was on there minds at all. And I if came across rude I didn’t mean it just felt like everyone was attacking me and not quite understanding what I was trying to say. And yes if the bedroom was a bit bigger it wouldn’t be half as stressful. I just think they should put a caution sign on there property before someone else moves in because the trains will not let you have a good nights rest this also effects my son who has to go to school in the morning.

The thing was OP you were getting attacked, im glad a few more sensible posters turned up especially gamerwidow, she's always got something to say thats worth listening to on the threads I see her on

I’m not asking for any sympathy I’m just stating my circumstances if that’s how you feel then so be it.

Aaliyah, can you get a fan to drown out the train noise? I just bought a fan for 20 quid. I know it's a lot but it might help. I have PTSD and sleep with a fan on all year for the white noise.