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?)

lady who had a very expensive horse, a nice lorry, a good job etc yet she had a HA house?
This can be women who got an ha home when they became single parent, then marry someone who is doing well but doesn't want to give up the property just in case.

Sadly the system allows it, hence taking a property away from those really needing them.

There are too many who genuinely need them because they just cannot afford to be housed elsewhere, yet they are stuck in temporary accommodation because families much better off than them won't release the property.

Social housing should be for those on low income only.

Here some rural HA can’t get tenants , my DH best friend got a house at 19 just by applying. No transport to the village and you need to be local of work locally to qualify in theory

In 1990 I worked in London and there were so many empty council properties we were eligible as part of our public sector job. If I had taken a flat and become part of the community why should I be expected to give it up later. I have some very well off friends in social housing in central London.

There are capital limits and income limits for those now wishing to join the housing registers. These don’t apply to those on older tenancies.

There are different types of tenancies and some are fixed term tenancies where they review the families housing needs and income/capital.

There is very limited scope for some homeowners to join the housing register. This is usually when an illness or disability means they need a more suitable property and they are in process of selling house but equity won’t be enough to get suitable property and take them over capital limits.

Each council has its own register and allocation policy and you can look at it online.

@C8H10N4O2

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 know right

Been ages since we had a CH bashing thread. Warms the cockles of me heart it does

At least people have stopped saying they're free. Those were fun times.

SH was never linked to benefits. Every council is different now though.

It does makes me properly when people think private renting is the next step up from council tenancies. They really aren't.

*laugh

@dontdisturbmenow

lady who had a very expensive horse, a nice lorry, a good job etc yet she had a HA house? This can be women who got an ha home when they became single parent, then marry someone who is doing well but doesn't want to give up the property just in case.

Sadly the system allows it, hence taking a property away from those really needing them.

There are too many who genuinely need them because they just cannot afford to be housed elsewhere, yet they are stuck in temporary accommodation because families much better off than them won't release the property.

Social housing should be for those on low income only.

Why should I have to give Up my home if I get a better. Paying job?

Pull the other one and research your local authorities housing policies

@User45

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

Which is an absolute joke.

I don't think this is true. Many HAs only accept referrals from the council for a start. My sister is a HA tenant, I'll get her butler to check their rules once he has finished mucking out her stables.

@Barton10 did they actually do a full review though. They didn’t at mine. It seemed more of a we can do this rather than we actually do this. Looked more at bedroom size than adhering to allocation policy.

Your relative makes bad life choices. She has money she shouldn't get HA house

@Loopylala7

Which is why our obsession with home ownership is ridiculous. It's a fucking bad deal for most people. The reason they have ran HAs into the ground is that they do not make the same kind of money out of working class people. You give the working classes affordable long term social housing and you find that they make decisions based on their health, wealth and lifestyle that do not always benefit anyone but their families. Social housing helps the working classes to become more "middle class" and expect different choices in life, and not just be slaves to their pay cheque to line the pockets of the property owning classes. Social housing is one of the greatest tools we have to close the wealth divide, reduce poverty, etc. And so it has always been. With proper social housing you don't even need to properly address wage disparity, subsidised housing addresses the same issues.

I believe that tenants can now buy HA properties now after a certain amount of time - is that correct? We have some beautiful old Victorian blocks near us in some lovely locations and some of the cars in the carpark are pretty impressive. So maybe a mix of HA and private ownerships?

It doesn’t seem fair - and I know that life isn’t fair and they are not ‘playing’ the system, there’s no income cap - that people who don’t seem to ‘need’, have. That’s what it’s there for surely - a safety net for people who need (not want). Yes I quite fancy a flat in a beautiful Victorian mansion block just off oxford street!

I have known people who have been out on their ears, escaping domestic situations, with nowhere to go (no family) and having to all cram into a private rent one bedroom flat because there were no properties available.

We live in SH, have 2 ponies, are members of a local boating club, have our own business. We look affluent from my fb feed if you didn't know me well.

The reality is business doesn't make much profit, dh earns about 25k a year, I take 10k a year from the business.

Ponies are kept on my best friends yard for very little, certainly less than us smoking 10 fags each a day. Or me having my nails done, or a flash car on finance.

Boatclub costs less than £100 a year, no other costs.

We won't ever get a mortgage, dh is a builder and things like covid or ill health tend to fuck things up. If we can't afford rent temporarily and burn througgthe emergency savings we have we can claim housing benefit and won't end up homeless. We love our house, we love the area and couldn't afford private rent.

So don't always assume a snapshot of someones life is the full picture.

This is an eye opener. I honestly had no idea that you couldn’t get an HA house if your income was over a certain amount or you had assets.

@LonelyFromCorona

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.

I am in a HA house and the rent is the same as private rent. I pay over £800 a month and a house opposite which is private rent was up for £750 a month.

It would be cheaper to a mortgage which sadly i cant get due to low income.

My understanding is that once you are in a housing association house you won’t be asked to leave, no matter how your income goes up. The classic example was Bob Crow, the head of the RMT union who lived in a council house despite earning £145k. I think it’s terribly unfair - housing association property should be reserved for those who need the help, not a lifelong guarantee. Yes, moving house is tough especially if you’ve got kids or have been there a long time, but there is such a shortage of properties that once you can afford to move or rent privately then you should have to release the property for those who need it more.

On the other hand, your relative doesn’t sound like they have a real need either.

This is genuinely news to me... that you can pay cheap rent for life even after your circumstances have changed and income has gone up. I mean WTF? Who came up with such a shitty system? Public taxes gone on people who can afford to pay higher rents but the system allows them to continue living on cheap rent. And people who actually need them, low income families are deprived of it.

@Noneformethanks
Was that deliberately goady? Err... you feel that you are ENTITLED to low rent even after your income has gone up, have you no self respect?

Your aunt gave her money away and now you think she should be given a HA property the waiting lists are years long and she wouldn't be a priority in this situation.

The women you know probably got their HA properties when they were genuinely poor and their circumstances have now changed.

Actually I don’t think many nice rural council houses are still in council/housing association ownership. In the villages round here an ex-council house - the large semis with big gardens - are around £600k. You can see they are no longer council houses as they all have individual “improvements” eg windows/porches/extensions. Years ago if anyone lived in a desirable village they would have leapt on the right-to-buy scheme.

It really wouldn't matter if we were creating enough new homes including new Social Housing, then the minority who managed to improve their financial situations like that would not be having an impact on the families fleeing domestic violence or on street homelessness or anything like that. I have no issue with RTB other than that they didn't replace the housing stock (plus a bit extra to take into account the growing population). It could have worked fine.

And to the people saying “why should I be expected to give up my home just because my income goes up?” - because there are then people who need it way more than you, people with no income or people with kids in one room in dire hostels/bed and breakfasts because there are no HA properties available! And because it’s not actually yours, in the same way that people who rent privately can be forced to leave their home because a landlord wants to sell or put the rent up! It’s not a god given right to stay in a property forever unless you own the deeds....

Don’t get me started on the HA rules because they’re a joke where I live. An ex friend of mine owns her own house with her her partner yet she somehow managed to get a HA property too. She also has 50k plus in savings due to an inheritance. It took me a while to figure out how she’d managed it and ultimately I’m convinced she told HA staff that her dc’s father was abusive and she needed to get away. She was on/off with him for years but he was fine, a good dad, worked hard etc, she on the other hand was a nightmare (hence why we are no longer friends) and would do anything to get what she wants. Anyway, they’re back together and he spends time sleeping over at her (HA) house, whilst renting out their old property having their mortgage paid in full, and the rest of the time he dosses at a friends house. Then there’s me who has been on the HA list 10 years and can’t get anywhere. I get we aren’t high priority but we do have some needs which I won’t bore you with, yet we haven’t managed to get somewhere. Another friend of mine owns her own house and she has separated (genuinely) from her dh and she can’t get a HA despite her ex refusing to pay half toward the mortgage and he won’t move out. So my ex friend has definitely done something to get that house.

@notalwaysalondoner

And to the people saying “why should I be expected to give up my home just because my income goes up?” - because there are then people who need it way more than you, people with no income or people with kids in one room in dire hostels/bed and breakfasts because there are no HA properties available! And because it’s not actually yours, in the same way that people who rent privately can be forced to leave their home because a landlord wants to sell or put the rent up! It’s not a god given right to stay in a property forever unless you own the deeds....

I’m disabled. I will never be able to get a mortgage

There is no houses to rent that aren’t council in my village.

Hmm, anyone living in london knows that HA rents is actually quite high (just an example) so I would think they take on anyone who isn't struggling.