To think people dont understand the magnitude of the social housing crisis?

[Arrowfanatic]

I work in social housing. We have endless requests for moves from customers who expand their family whilst in a property which is unsuitable to move them to a bigger property. We advise that family size housing (3 bed+) has a waiting list of around 10+ years and then these customers get mad.

We're accused of allowing them to stay in overcrowded properties, or affecting their mental & physical health and inevitably an overcrowded property becomes prone to damp & mould as it's too full.

These customers also want these houses in the exact location they desire, thereby limiting even more their chances of a move.

We get so demoralised when every day it's the same thing, but social housing is at a massive shortfall for the needs of the country & family size housing is in an even greater shortfall.

My company has an extensive plan to build more properties but it's a 5 year plan!

It's like they think we're lying to them, or the old classic of "you housing immigrants straight away" note, we dont, they have to apply like everyone else. We dont want our customers in unsuitable accommodation, and we really work hard on making the housing stock we do have work.

If you're in this position what could we tell our customers to make them understand the position we are in, and the one they have put themselves in and why we cant help as quickly as they would like.

I feel like I say "we have a shortage of family size housing" 100 times a day & get yelled at 100 times a day for our association not caring.

Marsh Drive, Balfron Tower, West Hendon , Aylesbury Estate........

See how it was a housing association that was a partner in what ive bolded.

Nice try................but some of us see you!

www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/the-rise-and-fall-of-council-housing-56139

In the 1980s, residualisation may have been a partly unintended consequence of housing policies pursued with varying ideological intent

Since 2010, and more so since the return of single-party Conservative government in 2015, we’ve seen something further: welfarisation – ‘a conception of social housing as a very small, highly residualised sector catering only for the very poorest, and those with additional social “vulnerabilities”, on a short-term “ambulance” basis

@Mouldmeabucket Those problems have been caused by residulisation which HAs have been only too happy to buy into.

Hey @gingergiraffe

Found these interesting posts from an old thread. Posted by someone who said the same thing ive been saying for years. But her DH works/worked on HA homes.

LEMisafucker Thu 12-Dec-13 10:23:27

It is not ridiculous - my father worked all his life, my mother still lives in the 3 bed council house that they would have paid for ten times over in rent. It is not about moving pensioners out of their homes its about the money being paid in by people renting these properties being put back into the system and invested properly. Its about efficient repairs and moneies not being squandered going through middle man after middle man before the guy turns up on the doorstep to fix the boiler. My DP has worked on social housing contracts, subcontracting for a subcontractor whos is subcontracting for the main contractor who is farming all of this work out with god knows how many back hander with every little cog in the wheel syphoning off their money so where a job that DP would charge £150 for a days work (hes a carpenter) to a private homeowner, the same job is probably costing the council (the tax payer) £400 while everyone else creams their bit of money on top. He was astounded at the lack of organisation, waste of time, three people sent to do a job that could be done by one person etc. THAT is where the failings are, well, one of them, not allowing people who have paid into the system over the years to keep the homes they have paid for. Many pensioners CHOOSE to downsize, but even then suitable places are not available - you cannot put a pensioner for instance in a 1 bed flat on the fourth floor

same poster

There wouldn't be that problem of the maintainance costs if it wasn't such a lucrative business, contractors fall over themselves for SH contracts provide substantial "perks" its money for old rope. They pay underqualified workers a pittance of pay to get the work done quickly to a pretty poor standard and charge more than a premium job. So that argument for selling off the council properties falls a bit flat - there are people out there making substantial profits out of people falling on hard times

HeIenaDove Mon 27-Jan-20 19:25:40
A reminder of what Rydon are capable of when it comes to social housing tenants.

HelenaDove Sat 30-Jun-18 02:40:39
THIS DOCUMENT. Myatts Field North refurb.

www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/research/pfisocialhousing/MFN_PFI_Refurb_Experiences_Report.pdf
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HelenaDove Fri 14-Jul-17 22:10:33

Residents were told to remove their pets, but no compensation was offered to cover the
costs involved.
 No consideration was given to residents who worked night shifts.
 Workers used electricity paid for by of residents, without offering compensation.
 Doors were left open and residents were able to wander in unchallenged by workers
who did not know them.
 Quality alterations that residents had already made to their homes were ripped out to
make way for inferior alternatives.
 Supposedly completed electrical rewiring was found to be substandard and occasionally
dangerous.
 Supposedly completed pipe works and its housing were found to be substandard.
 In some homes, odd sized radiators and kitchen unit doors had been fitted.
 Flooding in one home had been caused by an unsupervised apprentice.
 Households were left overnight without running water or a toilet.
 At least one resident was left without electricity for a whole weekend.
 Some workers were found to be abusive, bullying and inconsiderate, especially towards
elderly or otherwise vulnerable residents.
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HelenaDove Tue 12-Jun-18 18:10:02

HelenaDove Fri 21-Jul-17 16:39:36

peoplevspfi.org.uk/2017/07/21/myatts-field-north-regeneration-a-pfi-horror-show/
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HelenaDove Fri 21-Jul-17 19:50:21

www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jul/21/the-real-cost-of-regeneration-social-housing-private-developers-pfi?CMP=share_btn_fb
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HelenaDove Fri 21-Jul-17 19:52:14

"Hodkinson carried out a qualitative survey of 14 homes refurbished by Rydon that had been the subject of a huge number of complaints. Showers were fitted next to electric fans. A toilet was installed so close to a wall that you could only sit on it sideways. Some households went for days without electricity and weeks without cooking facilities. Cupboards were fitted with wrongly size doors. Tenants who complained reported that they were treated dismissively. One remembered the site supervisor saying to him, “It ain’t Chelsea, mate.” Regenter’s out-of-hours emergency line linked to the wrong database, so callout engineers weren’t available. The striking thing was how long problems could drag out: one family’s flat was flooded in January 2014, and repairs weren’t even scheduled till September. Two years later, their flat still hadn’t been fully repaired and redecorated. Even at the most straightforward level, the work wasn’t done to a decent standard.

When approached for comment, Rydon said that since the complaints were made, three years ago, attempts have been made to remedy the problems. They said the comments were not reflective of most of the residents, and that there was a good level of satisfaction among the residents now.

For tenants with more complicated requirements, the situation was worse. The Cifuentes family, one of whom used a wheelchair, was left without ramps, hoists or any means of escape in a fire, and without a lock on the front door. Repairs were so slow and haphazard that, at one point, the family had to move out for over a month, and the disabled member could only have his needs met by going into a respite unit – whereupon they were threatened with losing their carer’s allowance, their disability allowance and their car."

@HelenaDove why don’t you start your own thread. You’re obviously very wound up about social housing but you’re not answering OP’s question.

Helena is clearly addressing issues raised on this thread.

YY malyis Thanks.

Small point but there are a couple of housing associations who are demanding tenants pay rent they have already paid because their computer system has lost it or cant recognize it.

Computer says its true so it must be true right.? Tenants must be lying right?

Three words.........Post Office..............Horizon!

Right wingers on the Errol Graham thread.....................where were his family.

Right wingers on social housing threads.....................move

I think each area needs to concentrate on getting good quality pensioner only flats or bungalows & financially rewarding pensioners to move into them making sure they stay in their local areas where they have connections(ie future car/support) - & making sure the rents are not higher in their small flat bungalows than in their old larger homes! Make sure the flats have decent size rooms with plenty of storage, & that they feel secure/safe. If people were given encouragement to move it might help. But lets not forget the council house buy off (thanks Thatcher) had a lot to answer for especially as the money was taken by central government so local government could not replace the ones sold. I suspect that any new council/social housing will have to be built in outlying areas because of cost away from infrastructure, with lack of public transport & making it even more difficult to maintain work etc - good old catch 22 -

And all this sub contractor to sub contractor crap is part of the reason why the buck passing at the Grenfell inquiry will continue.

It works both ways. The housing association tell you the mould is due to condensation for years then eventually admit fault when repairs get carried out and its not due to overcrowding either. The living conditions are causing lung damage to many.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/residents-near-tottenhams-new-stadium-18864998

Residents near Tottenham's new stadium fear they're being 'pushed out of area'

Plush new £1billion stadium couldn't be further away from Love Lane estate as tensions between club and locals grow.

Outside, you are standing on streets that are among the 5% most deprived in Britain.

The stadium redevelopment was an opportunity to lift the prospects of the people who live here.

But, instead, as the regeneration surrounding the stadium continues with a development known as High Road West, many families now fear they will simply be swept away.

A new walkway proposed to bring fans from a new station entrance at White Hart Lane station brings its own statistics. 297 social housing homes threatened with demolition in a borough with a severe housing shortage

Where 10,000 households are on the council’s waiting list and 3,000 families are stuck in temporary accommodation.

Meanwhile, 30 small manufacturing businesses on the Peacock estate, providing hundreds of decent local jobs, are facing eviction via a ­compulsory purchase order

The proposals will also mean the loss of a library

www.cavitech-uk.com/blog/the-scandal-of-mis-sold-insulation/

The problem is that not all houses are suited to retrofit cavity wall insulation.

If your house was built later than 1930, then it is likely that it was built with cavity walls. The cavity is there for a reason; it’s there to keep the inside of your home dry

Many homes are not naturally watertight. Bricks can become porous and absorb water, which enters through small cracks in the render or pointing, especially during periods of persistent, driving rain. The original purpose of cavity walls was to prevent the spread of damp from the outer walls to the inside of the house by the introduction of an air gap.

Cavity wall insulation, installed improperly or into an unsuitable building, fills the gap and provides a handy conduit for the water which then travels from the outer walls and through the increasingly wet insulation to the inside of the house. The insulation, designed to minimise air flow, never gets a chance to dry out and remains permanently sodden

@helenadove I have to agree with you, repairs is a massive issues within social housing. Some Housing associations are better than others (I've worked for more than one) and trust me I get frustrated with the tangle of contractors to sub contractors as well.

I can only speak for my current HA but they are investing in their repairs dept significantly to reduce the need to subcontract & they have a highly successful apprentice scheme where many end up in our employment. But repairs is always the area where social housing falls down, sometimes because customer expectations aren't managed effectively, often because they forget that there is a person at the end of that repair request.

As for the regeneration stuff, it's a little out of my wheelhouse but as I understand it all housing associations are not for profit, meaning all rental income etc goes back into the pot. In order to build new homes they often need government financial assistance and this comes with stipulations that only so many can be "affordable housing" and the rest need to be sold. A decade or so ago any new housing project in my town had to have 30% of the stock for social renting, and you are no longer allowed to put all those social housing properties on one street. The bright idea behind this government ruling is if a non working resident sees their neighbour going out to work & having a nice car etc then it'll make them want to get into work. Clearly this is absurd.

Grenfell is a major headline in my HA at the moment especially as a few weeks later we had a fire in one of our own schemes that thankfully had no fatalities. None of our stock has the cladding like grenfell, but we are assisting those that do in a joint effort with the government. The last I saw on our intranet was an exasperation at the delays and red tape we have to navigate to get financial assistance granted from central government.

If there is a specific issues you need any help or advice with I'm happy to see if I can help in any way, feel free to message me if you want

As an employee of a HA I can honestly say I am not your enemy, I cant speak for all staff clearly but I dont know any of my colleagues who look down their nose at any customer and it bothers me that clearly some of you have experienced this. When that satisfaction survey request comes out, you make sure you respond as these are monitored and regulated.

@thetoddleratemyhomework the poster I was quoting said they were the only people to blame. Completely disregarding any abuse, lack of education, mental health problems, learning difficulties etc that people may have.

If they can afford to pay rent then perhaps they shouldn’t be in council houses. There’s no reason why they can’t rent privately.

I wouldn't have a problem with reviewing social housing tenancies every few years and those who can afford private rent to have to move IF private tenancies were secure.

When tenancies can be terminated for no reason on 8 weeks' notice, tenants are in an awful position. This is especially the case for families, who would have to get children into different schools or face long journeys to get them to their old ones if they couldn't find suitable accommodation in the same area.

How can you make a choice about changing jobs if loss of your home could force you to move miles and miles away? Financial planning would go right out of the window if you suddenly found yourself facing an expensive commute rather than walk to work or get a bus a couple of miles. And for people whose work involves unsocial hours, it could easily be unfeasible.

The insecurity of private rentals disrupts communities too, people rarely have the same neighbours for long. And getting into a private let costs a fortune in fees, deposit etc, and asking for guarantors is getting more and more common. The guarantor requirements are often onerous: in most cases the guarantor must be a homeowner, they often have to be in employment, so your granny can't do it, and the income required is often prohibitively high (for a 3-bed property here, you'd need to earn about £40k to be a guarantor, and this is a low-wage county).

If there was more parity between social and private sectors, I wouldn't have a problem with social housing tenancies to have eligibility reviews every few years.

“Since 2010, and more so since the return of single-party Conservative government in 2015, we’ve seen something further: welfarisation – ‘a conception of social housing as a very small, highly residualised sector catering only for the very poorest, and those with additional social “vulnerabilities”, on a short-term “ambulance” basis“

Helena Dove speaks very knowledgeably about social housing. I agree with the above paragraph but would argue that this started earlier, in 1979, when the Callaghan (Labour) government changed council housing from something that was available to everyone to a needs based allocation, meaning that only the very poorest were eligible for it.

This had two main impacts - one council estates became dumping grounds for those not able to fend for themselves and funnelled high amounts of social problems into council estates. Council estates then got a reputation for being undesirable places to live. It also meant that the majority of the electorate stopped caring about council estates because most people have no chance of getting a council house and because council estates are now seen as places where the undesirables and feckless live. Council housing is therefore not a vote winner, so is left to rot.

This is in sharp contrast to what council housing was originally, in the post war period. Council houses were meant for lower income but working families, so that they could bring their children up in a safe and healthy environment.

Where I live: 3 bed HA is £465 a month. For even a two bed private rent you're looking at £600 as a starting rent if you are lucky.

In my part of Sussex, a 3-bed "affordable" HA property is £229 pw, £1,000 a month. I just looked at rentals on Rightmove and was astonished to see a 3-bed (ex-LA) house for £995! There were few under £1,400 though, and the cheap one was in a dreadful road where there's a couple of "problem" families and a lot of ASB.

High rents cripple families who are benefit capped, especially if they're renting privately. The cap at £384 pw leaves people having to top up their rent, pay 20% of their council tax and leaves them with little to feed and clothe their families and pay all the bills.

Tell them to stop breeding! Who in their right mind ( unless there is abuse involved) would continue to procreate when they are not in a position to provide adequate housing for their family.

Tell them to stop breeding

Your language is very telling. Breeding is usually reserved for animals.

@lakielady

High rents also cripple those that aren’t eligible for benefits. The cost of housing has gone up and wages haven’t kept up.

@goodgodingovan

See my above post. It’s exactly why most of the electorate don’t care about council / social housing. It’s seen as something that is there for the feckless and destitute only.

If somebody is so poorly educated that they can't work out that a three bedroom house isn't fit to birth 8 children in and that their funds are not adequate enough to feed those children then they aren't capable enough to raise those children.