Wealthy people living in Housing Association houses?

[Bookofdead]

Before I start, can I just say I am absolutely NOT making a dig at anyone that lives in HA properties. This thread is for information purposes for a relative of mine.

I have a relative who retired a few years ago and was struggling to make ends meat. She wanted to be able to give her DC some money for a house deposit and free up some equity to live on as she was struggling on her pension. She sold her house and bought another but in a not very nice area and one which was an hour away from family (it was the best she could afford) After 2 years, her car being vandalised and and house being broken into, she wanted to be in a nicer area but couldn’t afford to do so in the county she was in. As such, she made the decision to move 300 miles away from all her family to the other side of England where property was more affordable and she could get a small house in a nice, safe village. This was 2.5 years ago now and she came back for a visit last month, I think COVID has hit her hard in terms of she was isolated, alone in her house for months whereas she used to come back here for visits and to see her family every 6 weeks or so.

I’ll cut to the chase, I really miss her, her children really miss her but none of us are in a position to offer her a home with us at the moment. Now this isn’t 1st world problems, she’s got a house and is safe, roof over her head etc I know. My issue is...

I have often thought ‘I wonder if she could apply for a HA house around here.’ There are some really nice ones in nice villages all around us. I thought no, she really doesn’t have a lot of money but ultimately she’s probably got about £100k in her house so she DOES have a house and an asset so wouldn’t be eligible.

I have a horse and years ago used to keep it at a yard with another lady who had a very expensive horse, a nice lorry, a good job etc yet she had a HA house?

Yesterday I was on FB and saw a post on a local village community page from ANOTHER lady I used to keep horses with asking if anyone wanted to swap houses? It was clear from the post that she meant HA houses. This lady has 2 horses, a new trailer and 4x4, multiple foreign holidays a year and her husband runs his own successful business.

Now I’m sat here thinking, hang on, what is the criteria for HA housing then and would my relative be entitled? Don’t get me wrong, I like both of the above mentioned women, but It just seems wrong that they lead relatively affluent lifestyles and can get a HA around here in nice villages, close to their family and friends yet someone like my aunt has had to move 300 miles away to the other side of the country away from everyone she knows in her older age in order to be in an area that she feels safe? (This isn’t anyone else’s problem I know and like i said above, it’s not a 1st world problem at all but I am now starting to think I’ve had this all wrong and you don’t have to be on the bare bones or your arse to get a HA house?)

If your relative was given a HA property then she WOULD be one of the wealthy living in a HA house.

She made her choice...giving her DC money was not wise when she obviously could not afford that.

I'm not being harsh...just honest. I've lived in a HA flat...at the time I was genuinely poor.

We moved out when we were doing better.

They're not for people who own houses but want to live in a different area!

Could she buy a shared ownership property in your area? Or a flat? Does she need a whole house?

HA houses are available to anyone who pays the rent, regardless of how much money they have. Of course your relative wouldn’t be at the top of the list to get a HA house and would probably have a long wait.

Technically she probably could, but it would be wrong of her to do so. Covid hopefully won't last forever so she can visit soon, or even now really.

Just because other people have zero morals doesn't mean everyone should. Would be a pretty crap world if we were all like that.

Your aunt had an asset, her house. The horsey people living in HA houses might have high income and high outgoings, but no assets.

I think the idea is to get into a HA house when young and poor, then you stay in it when your income goes up. You also have lower outgoing due to HA rent being cheaper than private rent, meaning more money for horses.

AFAIK in my area at least, they were going to change the criteria to get onto the waiting list. the housing officers were sick and tired of having to house families on good (40k plus) incomes with no savings because of the time they'd been on the list over more deserving cases like DV victims and poor families on low incomes yet with some savings. not to mention the shortage of properties they had in the first place.

I think most councils and HA wouldn't let someone on the waiting list if they already own a house. Or have a certain amount of savings. I know my local council and HAs don't.
But you can stay in your house once you have it (other than antisocial behaviour or rent arrears).
So if you move into a property with nothing, but then build a successful business, marry a billionaire or win the lottery, they can't end your tenancy or evict you for improving your life or getting wealthier.
So these other women probably got their properties during harder periods of their lives.

Other woman prob got a HA tenancy before she had rich husband and horses. You don't her history.

If she is elderly, some areas have properties specifically for that age group and demand is much lower. Where I am, it broadly meets supply. It sounds like you're in an area where SH is harder to get, but HAs will have their own criteria and there's nothing to stop a person going on the list if they meet them.

Your relative made a wrong choice and gave money away when she could not afford to do so. She is a home owner so doesn't need a housing association house.

My MIL had to bring records of house sale and her bank accounts to apply to go on the waiting list. She'd sold the house after a divorce and what little money they recouped went on debts. Lots of paperwork. Every council or HA is different, so you would need to ask your local one, i just wanted to show that I had some close to knowledge to this type of scenario. Home ownership would have meant no chance of even being put on the waiting list here.

I understood that most well off people in HA property got the house when they were young and did not have much but have become much better off in middle age and stayed in the house.
I don't think your relative would be eligible at all despite being in a difficult position. It's a pity she gave her family money. Sometimes we have to be tough and put ourselves first.

I used to work at a Housing Association and there was a real problem with people in HA properties who earned more than 100k pa. They started a new process where only five year tenancies were given and no more life tenancies to prevent this from happening and finances were reviewed every five years and those that could afford to rent privately were no longer eligible and given notice to quit. It is very unfair and the reason those people have so much is because they are barely paying any rent,

She may be eventually eligible, but she would probably have to sell up, rent and use the money on the rent for whatever period she has to live in the area, then apply once she was more down on her luck financially.

Regardless of wealth they may have been entitled due to any number of reasons. For arguments sake as you have mentioned wealth the people you have seen could have been in a dire position when they were entitled to the HA property, just because they are now in a better financial position they can't be chucked out as it is secure housing.

Yes, I think HA homes should be for those on low incomes.

I don't know the situation of the people you describe above, my initial reaction is 'if they can afford to keep horses, why do they need subsidised housing' - but TBH, not as strong as your relative had a house, CHOSE to sell it and give her assets away - why should she qualify for subsidised housing either.

Your sister made life decisions. Now that she regrets those decisions there appears to be an expectation or question of entitlement??
Luckily people like you don’t get to decide who should be living in HA homes.
You have absolutely no idea what is it has gone on the life of the people in your village who live in them. They don’t owe an explanation to you or anyone else on why they deserve or qualify for the property. Also, you do know that people who live in subsidised housing are permitted to have nice things like everyone else?

I’m not well off by any stretch of the imagination, however I have done some work with our HA and one of the inner-City tenants said that if if you earn X amount per year you can afford to buy a house. I pointed out that in her area that might be possible but in my area that wouldn’t be possible and that was how much my income was. We then compared rents and council tax and mine was considerably higher.

I got a HA House when I owned my own house - but it was because we were escaping abusive behaviour from neighbours. I subsequently sold the house (with negative equity).

Since then my household income has halved. Many of the people on our small estate have what people would consider to be good jobs - Police/nurse/social worker/teacher and a couple of small business owners. But house prices here are ridiculously high and the rural location means there are very few private rentals (and those there are are the same price as the HA properties).

My friend lives in HA. She lives in a rural area where high paying jobs aren't exactly abundant, she can't drive and the public transport is shit. So becoming an investment banker isn't likely to happen tomorrow. All HA's have different rules, so I don't think you can't assume blanket rules for the whole country. For example some HA's won't let you keep animals but some will if you ask permission. I think it varies on where you live. The HA she lives in you can't apply if your income is above a certain amount. Presumably you could move in, get a a really good well paying job and not tell the HA but then if you were earning that much you might want to move anyway?

So what I’ve learnt off this thread is that assets and income are not the same. If you buy something ‘sensible’ like a house. The area becomes rough and you can’t afford to move you are screwed. If you get a HA house, better yourself and have a nice income coming in, you can buy whatever you fancy, horse, fancy car, but no theses are not assets it’s a crap system. I bet she would also have to sell her house to pay for care later too.

HA houses are available to anyone who pays the rent, regardless of how much money they have.

Which is an absolute joke.

Lots of people get HA houses many years ago (20+) when they were much easier to get because of less demand. As their careers and financial positions improve, they never leave, why would they? My mum pays ~£330 a month for a 2 bed house, she got as a single mother in early 2000s. She can live there forever. She works and has now married my stepdad, their joint income must be well over £50k per annum. If HA ever decide to bulldoze the estate or something I believe they will put move her and my stepdad into another of their homes. Its guaranteed cheap rent for life. By contrast, I rented a double room for £400 a month for a while and I now have a 3 bed house for an £800 per month mortgage.

If I had one, I wouldn't plan to leave, and be looking at RTB.

Before I start, can I just say I am absolutely NOT making a dig at anyone that lives in HA properties. This thread is for information purposes for a relative of mine

All HA's have different rules, so I don't think you can't assume blanket rules for the whole country.

Yes, and this is the underlying point. It doesn't matter what people on here think the rules in the relevant area might be or ought to be, it matters what they actually are. If a person is interested in applying to be housed by a particular HA, they ought to find out what the criteria are. Everything else is a waste of time.

She has an asset in her house. Where I am, that would preclude her from going on the council list.