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.

I know a woman with two primary aged children...she was lucky enough to be given a two bed council flat in London...two flights of stairs. Got pregnant with third and is completely indignant that she will have to take a new baby up and down stairs and how can the council expect her to do that....anyone would think the council made her pregnant the way she goes on about it. She actually told me she was going to put her foot down with them as she needs a house with a garden.

i think a large part of the problemm is people staying in a house for ever. once the kids moved on surely it makes sense that people move to a smaller house? there isnt a never ending supply of 3/4 + bed houses and then the houses are sold at a pittance with right to buy but its not enought money to buy a replacement house!

people who private rent or own have to think about space and how many kids they can house BEFORE they get pregnant barring any accidents and i may be being judgemtnetal and stereo typical but accidents and numerous children does seem to much more common in social housing tenants than other types of housing!

We have a family with 7 children, pregnant with the 8th in a 3 bed house kicking off because we cannot magic up a big enough property in the exact area that they desire.

Why keep having children if you can't afford a bigger house yourself and know that the council can't house you somewhere bigger?

Unpopular view perhaps, but that just seems so stupid.

Totally agree (ex HA worker here too). It does help that the underoccupancy levy doesn’t apply to over 60’s (or didn’t, not sure now) so you’d have all these older people in 3 bed houses using one bedroom and then getting upset when there wasn’t enough bungalows for them (a ground or first floor flat in an over 60’s unit wasn’t good enough - had to be a bungalow) and their grandchildren with their families in overcrowded too small flats......
Totally messed up situation

And as others mentioned, this situation isn't helped by selling off houses for a couple of grand. They should never be sold, they are there for those who would be homeless otherwise, not so people can make a nice profit for themselves.

i think a large part of the problemm is people staying in a house for ever. once the kids moved on surely it makes sense that people move to a smaller house? *
Exactly what I was trying to say - but the argument you get back is that it is their home that they saw their children grow up in - when they were told home for life they believe it should be that one and that one only until they say otherwise

Here in Scotland new social housing is being built at a good rate and the waiting times are not huge, most councils have the bid scheme. Not sure where you are OP, but I think the struggle in SE England is that the ridiculous house prices prevents low/average paid people from buying, also the huge rise in private landlords with restrictive conditions and high rents is increasing the demand for social housing. Sadly MN seem to have a skewed view of SH tenants; that they are shiftless unemployed low life’s, when in fact they are working people who will never get a mortgage, remember your 6 figure salary jobs are the minority.
@Endofthedays very narrow view

I shared a bedroom with my two sisters until I was 13 then mum was given the keys to a three bed council maisonette we thought we had won the pools (big age givaway there lol) and as the eldest I then had my own room, but we never saw it as a right. Some peoples sense of entitlement really infuriates me, and seems to be more prevalent amongst people who don't provide for themselves ... and please note that I said don't not can't; also people complaining about the bedroom tax do not help the housing situation, if they need to pay the tax they should look at moving and giving families the same chance of a home that they were given when they most needed it. Sorry op I can't offer any advice other than try to focus on the positives and the joy and relief you give to families who pick up the keys to their new home. You have a lot more patience than I would have

Also, Scotland have stopped right to buy to stop the loss of social housing properties.

I can imagine it must be difficult to deal with daily.

I can well imagine you always hearing the same old diatribe about 'immigrants stealing all the houses' as you mention. The other one that seems a common view is teenage girls 'popping out babies and going straight to the top of the list'. Is there any truth to this in reality? I see a lot of very young looking girls pushing around buggies in some of the less desirable areas I drive through in my city and always wonder if they are in social housing as presumably they're not working if out and about in the middle of the day.

It's not always that easy to move on once kids are gone. My grandmother is in a 3 bedroom council house and is desperate to move to a smaller place, ideally bungalow because she can barely manage the stairs. But the OT who visited her said she's fine where she is.... despite the 7 year wait list for families wanting houses exactly like hers. I heard recently the town I live in has 10,000 families on a wait list for housing and this town is a lot smaller than where my grandmother lives.

I also work in SH so also see the frustration, and knowing more houses are in the 5 year plan but that doesn't do anything for the people now nor will it solve the problem in 5 years.

There is also the onus on individuals to understand and evaluate housing options before making life decisions, like having more children, and plan accordingly.

I think the system needs a shake up tbh. I have no doubt there are families like those you describe but I also know there are people in frustrating and difficult situations due to no fault of their own and being in inadequate accommodation can wear you down and affect your mental health.
I have a friend who left her abusive partner and was in temporary accommodation for months(with a young child), they were given dirty rooms, places where they had no way of cooking(not even a fridge for milk), moved several times with just a couple of hours notice(no car so having to find someone to help or use expensive taxis) and now they have been housed both of them are like different people.

I think the literature sent out should be more honest eg there are 1,200 people waiting on the list for one of our 500 properties, some people have waited 12 years and are still on the list etcetc
I know someone in a housing association property and there is a lot of 'working together to make improvements' bollox leaflets and fill in this questionnaire on how weve performed paper wasting, she is in a 1 bed flat, she is comfortable where she is but can't move as many of these type of flats have drug users/ dealers as the majority of tenants.

Surely if they want more children, then they should find a job that pays a good enough salary to allow them to rent/buy a larger home?

Me and DH work bloody hard and saved for years to be able to buy a place (not in the location we originally wanted but we made sacrifices to save money). We have one child, and we seriously have to consider the financial/space implication if we have a second. Honestly who are these people demanding larger homes that the tax payer will fund in a desirable location without expecting to lift a finger for it? Makes me livid

We do not have a social housing crisis. We have an entitlement crisis.

There is enough properties in the UK for every single person to have one (homeless included) without having to build a single one. Now, that could be house, flat, bedsit or room. But there are enough.

But people refuse to relocate to another area of the UK for one of these properties. They refuse to move to a property that is not in the exact area they want. They refuse to move in to a property that hasn't had every single bit of DIY and furnishing done for them. They refuse to move in to a property that needs a deep clean before moving in. They refuse to move in to a property that they don't think is big enough / parking / garden etc etc.

They choose to have more children. If they can't afford or can't accomodate them, they shouldn't have them. That is what most sensible people do. But the entitled ones do not.

If somebody is that desperate for accomodation, they would take whatever is offered, wherever in the UK it is offered. There should be a zero refusal option. If they turn down a property, that's them back to the bottom of the list.

Plenty of people don't get to live near the best schools or right next to their family and friends. People move to the other end of the country for work on a daily basis and just get on with it.
It is not a human right to get to live as close to your family as you choose, if you are not the one earning and paying for that privelidge.

There is way too much entitlement these days and way to much 'depression and anxiety' reasons that people throw around to get their own way, detracting from the genuine cases.

If you want the perfect location, home, family environment then work for it and spend years working towards it.
Why should it be given to somebody straight away?

Yep. It also seems that those who contribute the least to society like to demand the most and are unhappy with what they are given.

Why would people continue to expand their families when they can't even provide adequate housing themselves for any child that they choose to bring in the world? I have waited and waited to have kids, ensured that I was financially stable, in a stable relationship, steady career etc before having kids. I am only now TTC and am in my mid 30s. Because I wanted to ensure I could provide for kids before having them.

This is in no way me being snobby towards those in council housing. I lived in council housing my entire life, until my late 20s. I also grew up with parente who didnt exactly have what you'd call a work ethic. It is more me being pissed off that there is such a large portion of society who want everything handed to them on a plate instead of working hard for it.

@ChristmasSweet Unbelivable isnt it. It pisses me off.

@JKScot4 - I'm in Scotland and looking at a predicted wait of ATLEAST 8 years but more realistically 10+.

There is no bidding scheme here, just a "centralised" list which is supposedly shared amongst LA and HA to cut down on paperwork and make it more efficient... 4 years after applying we were informed that only the LA receives and processes these so we had to reapply to HA's individually.

I really should hide this thread.

If you're in this situation you already feel shitty and worthless.

Many of these comments just prove what others are thinking. Thanks for that 😡

‘Sadly MN seem to have a skewed view of SH tenants; that they are shiftless unemployed low life’s, when in fact they are working people who will never get a mortgage, remember your 6 figure salary jobs are the minority.
@Endofthedays very narrow view‘

Why on earth am I being mentioned in this? I am in favour of social housing and hope one day to be able to live in it. I’m just pointing out a discrepancy between views on social housing and benefits.

@blueeyed
In my LA area,all have their own systems, it’s a bid system and unless a really specialised home, the average is 1/2 years often quicker. It’s all dependent on your needs. It’s disappointing that you’ve had 4 years wasted you could’ve been on lists 😕

@BlueEyedFloozy I think perhaps what she means is 'mid-rent' housing. These are still social housing properties however they are for people on fairly low incomes - however you have to be a wage earner to allow to avail of them. You can bid on them and they are being built at a good rate; 4/5 lots of little 'estates' and large apartment blocks throughout the city have been put up here in the last year or two.

I did mean empathy, yes.

@Mlou32 we have stable jobs, a stable relationship (been together 19 years), enough finances to get by and the only state help we receive is Child benefit.

We have a good work ethic but here we are, still in need of a larger social housing property because I couldn't predict that my son would have a disability and serious mental health issues!!

@Endofthedays
It made me realise that people who have council housing don’t realise what an enormous big state benefit council housing is. So while people will complain about benefits (often given to those in the most dire need), they see social housing as some kind of right maybe this view? Council tenants think they’re entitled, really??