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 agree, was a very interesting thread until Helena pretty much killed it off.

I find Helenadove's posts helpful and easy to read

I used to but it's all become so repetitive, on every single post where the words Social housing is mentioned.

I wish she'd discuss more in her own words rather than the lengthy c&p jobs.

Helena I do get how passionate you are about this subject and that's admirable but maybe put it in your own words rather than cut and paste stuff.

Some people may find acres of copy and paste easy to read but I imagine the majority just scroll on by.

I suspect if there was an "AIBU to copy and paste and make extraordinarily long posts" the voting would be something like 80-20 saying, yes you are being unreasonable.

So much better to paraphrase things succinctly-there is much more chance of people reading them.

I never read the copy and paste. Kills a thread

If there's a huge shortage of larger homes for social housing, why are all the new social housing builds near me only for 1 & 2 bed flats? There's one half a mile up the road and two more a mile the other way. Huge blocks, 5 storeys high. That's when 90% of the private Landlords here (NE London)will take benefits tenants because there's a £1200 incentive payment off the Housing Dept & the housing benefit goes direct to the LL. (I was told its a nationwide scheme). Also, back home in the rural Midlands, all the family size houses on local Council estates were bought, back in the 80's under the buy your Council House drive. You've no chance of a family home there (accept this might differ from area to area).

Yep. People don’t really the houses don’t exist anymore and there’s nothing someone in housing can do. Right to buy was an atrocious idea aswell. It gets totally abused a lot of the time

I don’t get why people have more kids when they are already in a horrid situation

People in horrid situations tend to become dysfunctional and make bad decisions

Careful @UYScuti You will be accused of being me.

If i just posted that developers are pulling down social housing and putting up less social housing it would be

a. thats just an anecdote Helena
b. wheres the proof of that Helena.
c. Link please Helena.

Its happened in the past. Thats why i do it like this.
I thought id simply pre empt the predictable tirade .

OK then.......................how about we close the gap in consumer law. A gap that is hurtful to tenants and proved lethal in the case of Grenfell.

When a HA employs a contractor to do work/refurbs the HA is seen as the customer not the tenant. This can and does work well sometimes but other times when it doesnt and work is shoddy and/or dangerous tenants have had no choice but to have the same contractors back in their home again and again.

My posting history shows me saying this both pre and post Grenfell.

Picking apart the tangle of contractors is also part of the inquiry.

As more and more people have to rent because they cant afford to buy there will be more pressure for change as more people will experience this loophole/gap in consumer law..

And i think the predictable resistance to changes that need to happen is where some of the othering of social housing tenants is coming from.

Careful UYScuti You will be accused of being me
hehe
I can confirm that you and I are independent and separate persons Helena :)

As far as the PRS is concerned we don't need new laws, just the laws that exist to be enforced against ll who are not properly maintaining their properties. Unfortunately many ll in the prs are leaving the business due to the pendulem swinging toward the tenant. With no s21, and this in the drafting stage, it becomes too risky alongside the loss of certain return on the investment, coupled with less tax breaks and huge stamp duty. That linked with loss of capital growth makes stocks and shares a better solid investment.
The result of this is the housing sector is about to be put under more pressure and social housing cannot pick it up.

You have my sympathy OP.

The entitlement of some people staggers me.

@NameChangeNugget put it this way then 'The workforce need to be adequately housed in properties near to their workplace in order to make profit for their employers'. Is that better?

The result of this is the housing sector is about to be put under more pressure and social housing cannot pick it up
LLs wishing to exit the PRS will have to sell their properties/investment vehicles, likely at a reduced price because what was an asset is now a liability, this will give would be homeowners a chance to get on the ladder.
Point being that when a LL decides that this is no longer working for them they dont just fold up their properties stuff them in a suitcase and walk off, the property still exists.
Despite landlords insisting that they provide homes to the poor and needy the truth is that they purloin homes so that they can charge the rest of us money to live in it whilst their investment increases in value.

No, because the real issue re buying properties is the increased status requirements for mortgages by the banks. A 5 per cent price correction in first time buyer properties, or any properties will make very little difference, if any.
Re your final paragraph, do you think ll should not charge rent? It is a business like any other.

DH and i have been in our one bedroom flat since 1994 Its only the two of us as im child free by choice. Its a small flat and seems even smaller since he became disabled.

CSI im glad there are one and two bedroom flats being built assuming they are for a social rent not the new "affordable" rent.

So poorer people without children can have somewhere to live too. The homeless in this area all have something in common and its not their gender as there are both men and women. Its their childless status.

Well, OP, 95% of people agree with you, as do I, and I hope that makes you feel a tiny bit better when you have to deal with overly entitled people tomorrow.

The vast majority sympathise with you!

@LangClegsInSpace has posted an excellent post about the supported housing sector on another thread. The lack of supervision and how the charges are extortionate.

Whats your view on this OP?

Panorama tonight 8.30pm BBC1 Cashing in on the Housing Crisis. A look at temporary accommodation.

Exactly Katiehack.

But @HelenaDove, if you have been in the same HA property for 26 years, it must suit you and that illustrates that there is some excellent social housing out there-as there should be.

I'm not really sure how it works around here, the bidding system seems odd. My sister got a one bed within a week of bidding, she can't work as she is disabled and honestly, it was an absolute godsend. My friend who earns a fair amount as does her partner applied for a house when she was pregnant, and moved into the 2 bed before baby was born; great for them, but they had been living in his mums council property which was a 3 bed (meaning a room for her, baby and them), not ideal, but a warm and safe roof over their heads. Which seems odd when some people wait for years, or never get a suitable property. What the answer is though I have no idea! I grew up in social housing, and although now I have a mortgage, I think it's fantastic. Just obviously the demand is higher than the supply, but even building loads of houses I'm not sure they will ever meet.

DH is 70 this year and has disabilites. We have looked into sheltered housing (of which there is little) and being 23 years DHs junior throws up a problem too. So are staying put for now...

pauline unless someone posts their full circumstances you cant make assumptions. Tenants are not one big homogenous mass.

Helena, I never enjoy reading your posts because you point at all council housing residents people on benefits as helpless who should never have to take any responsibility for themselves and therefore people who should be entitled to be looked after 100% by the government.

Whereas I agree that we all minority of people are unable to be responsible for themselves, most people are and only require additional support. It's easy to wash your hands of responsibility and just sit watch and then accuse the authorities, the riches, the self-reliant for anything that doesn't go their way.

Society and the government that governs it has a duty to support vulnerable people, not take over for those who don't want to do anything for themselves.