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.

"People in social housing should, quite frankly, be grateful for any property at all"

Does that include the cladding?

@JKScot4 well hopefully you’ll be given another independence vote soon and be able to avoid all association with us stupid ignorant snobbish English mummies!

The motor scooter again? @HelenaDove 😂

Every time you bring it up people point out it is a fire hazard to have it in communal areas. All this talk about people in SH having to put up with stuff and yet you expect people living near you to have to put up with a fire risk. I’d suggest that as well as protecting SH tenants from the HAs, they also deserve to be protected from other tenants too.

they have had more kids without sorting the housing out first

The issue is though, that if you are in social housing and wanting to stay there, you cannot get a bigger place before having the child. You're not allowed to exchange into a property that's bigger than your current needs. So you can't find an exchange in advance just because you're planning to have another child. So ultimately, what's being said here is that people have to stick to the number of kids they have at the point they are given social housing. And before anyone says "they could rent privately" you all know that would be madness to give up a SH tenancy for private rental!

You have to remember what social housing was designed for initially. Affordable homes. Plenty of other countries have affordable rentals, it may not be classed as "social housing" but its affordable. Not everyone can afford a mortgage or our current ridiculous private rental market. So the only option other than that is social housing. If we had affordable/secure private rentals like many other countries I could name, we wouldn't need to have this discussion.

I am not condoning churning out child after child in difficult conditions. But equally it's not fair to say that at the point of being housed, they are never "allowed" to have another child. And if they do it's all their own fault! People are working within the system as it exists. That's all they can do.

It was the way they went about it. Go back to Reddit.

Yet HA was fine and dandy with the petrol container the druggie stored under the stairs.

HelenaDove Fri 24-Nov-17 16:19:45
Tahir Chakotai (Independent Housing Advocate) wrote
at 1:07:07 AM on Wednesday, November 30, 2016
"P.s. Shopmobility within the Manchester Arndale Centre, charge their Mobility Scooters, when the shop is shut, so they are charged for the next morning. If they are a fire risk, and need to be kept an eye on when charging, why does the Manchester Arndale allow such a fire risk to occur 360 Days of the year. The answer is, there are so many electrical safeguards against the overcharging of a Lead Acid / Gel Battery, that a "Modern Mobility Scooter" is no longer deemed a fire risk"

Can i ask why HAs arent demanding tenants immediately remove Whirlpool/ Indesit/Hotpoint tumble dryers which they KNOW to be a fire risk?

Go back to reddit? go home Helena, you’re drunk.

Were they aware of the petrol?

And they aren’t demanding removal of dryers etc because they aren’t in the communal space and blocking potential escape in a fire like a mobility scooter stored in the hallway would be. This is something pointed out to you every time. Communal area that provides exit in a fire needs to be kept clear.

Of 36 mobility scooter fires 24 were started deliberately. So 24 were disability hate crimes. Hardly surprising with the attitudes shown on here. I have a link if anyone wants it.

I think the overcrowding rule has got to stop. Otherwise it makes perfect sense to have more children in order to get a bigger property. In European cities, where private renting is quite normal, each child, nay each teenager does not have its own room, even if mixed sexes. In a one-bedroomed flat, the kids or parents will sleep on a put-u-up in the sitting room. People do not seem to put a value on having "your own space".

It is unfortunate that these days having a social housing property is like hitting the jackpot, especially in very pricey areas such as London. I knew a girl (this was the 1990s) who was subletting her council flat in a nice part of south London - in a Victorian villa, too, not a high rise. She gaily confessed that all her friends had flats: all you had to do was get your mum to write to the council saying her partner was abusing her, and bingo. Then you could move back in and sublet. I'm sure that doesn't happen now. (At least I hope it doesn't.)

Im aware the communal area needs to be kept clear

What you dont do is threaten someone with destroying their scooter. You write or contact them explaining that they cant store the scooter in the hallway under the stairs anymore and ask if an mutual agreement over storage can be reached. Its called behaving like a decent human being. And i cant help noticing you jumped on this and not the security door/arson by intruders where there was an ACTUAL fire? Do you work in housing by any chance?

I think some people definitely have a sense of entitlement. Social housing is subsidised by the taxpayer (as a whole) and some people are definitely taking the piss.

We do need social housing but maybe we need to charge higher rents (which could be part paid by housing benefit/universal credit) or end tenancies for life. It’s not fair that someone is getting a subsidised rent when they can afford to pay market, especially when there is such a short supply of housing.

Nope, no housing job. No job at all. Disabled.

You threaten them with destroying a scooter if it’s blocking a communal space because it needs moving and often with entitled tenants, that’s the only way they’ll move it.

Also, not jumping on the security door/actual arson because it’s not related to your scooter and it being dredged up again. But now you point it out, it’s an even greater risk to store a mobility scooter in a communal area that has had arson and actual fires especially when 24 of 36 mobility scooter fires were apparently started deliberately.

The issue is though, that if you are in social housing and wanting to stay there, you cannot get a bigger place before having the child. You're not allowed to exchange into a property that's bigger than your current needs. So you can't find an exchange in advance just because you're planning to have another child. So ultimately, what's being said here is that people have to stick to the number of kids they have at the point they are given social housing. And before anyone says "they could rent privately" you all know that would be madness to give up a SH tenancy for private rental!

Most people are losing tolerance for more than 2 kids across the board.

HelenaDove Sun 26-Nov-17 17:10:42
From Twitter.

Deb‏
@Deb35
Nov 24
More
Mother in law is going to view a property next week was asked by housing officer if she could leave elec wheelchair at home ! I would have replied yes as long as you leave your legs at home

Again zsazsa in many areas of the country social rent and private rent is comparable so I'm not sure how the tax payer subsidises the rent many ,people who live in social housing are ALSO tax payers .

I also think housing associations and councils need to tackle anti social behaviour and behaviour causing risks to other tenants. Too many bad apples are able to destroy whole estates.

"You threaten them with destroying a scooter if it’s blocking a communal space because it needs moving and often with entitled tenants, that’s the only way they’ll move it"

Its got nothing to do with entitlement DH is disabled. How do you know its the only way they will move it? If tenants can all be tarred with the same brush then so can housing associations as far as im concerned. Works both ways.

It wasnt the same building but it was the same HA

@2boys - the government subsidises the building and maintenance of social housing to the tune of billions every year (in direct grants- not including housing benefits). Whether or not the rent is comparable to private rent is totally irrelevant. Tenants may or may not pay taxes sufficient to pay for the services they use but they are getting a benefit not on the basis of current need which is my issue. Lots of people are stuck in private rented paying huge rents while those wealthier than them are benefiting from subsidised social housing. That’s wrong in my view.

"We do need social housing but maybe we need to charge higher rents (which could be part paid by housing benefit/universal credit) or end tenancies for life. It’s not fair that someone is getting a subsidised rent when they can afford to pay market*

"I also think housing associations and councils need to tackle anti social behaviour and behaviour causing risks to other tenants. Too many bad apples are able to destroy whole estates*

Same poster calling for more residulisation and then moaning about the inevitable consequences of that. Cognitive dissonance and completely incapable of critical thinking.

Its got nothing to do with entitlement DH is disabled. How do you know its the only way they will move it?

The entitlement comes into play when you expect other tenants to put up with a fire safety risk in their likely only fire escape route.

And I’d suggest that the HA has learned from experience that those type of letters are the only way things actually get moved. That’s why they use that type of letter.

But that's not what you said when you were comparing " market rents " and" subsidised rents" is it ?

@Mouldmeabucket you also fix the fucking main door so dodgy fuckers cant get in to commit crimes like arson.

"And I’d suggest that the HA has learned from experience that those type of letters are the only way things actually get moved. That’s why they use that type of letter"

Cool Means i can continue to tar all HAs with the same brush as they are happy to do it to tenants.