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?)

And doesn't it slightly depend on how old your relative is?

If she were to sell the house she currently owns and move closer to family will she not be seen as deliberately trying to avoid care costs if she needs help? How old is she?

Could she, as a pp said, not sell where she is and buy something MUCH smaller and therefore cheaper, like a flat, or shared ownership, or even rent, closer to you? I'm hoping that 'moving closer to family' would be mitigating circumstances.

Maybe it depends on how long people have been there?

We were renting in a block that turned out to be part HA - the ‘old’ residents were all in their 60-70s and had been there for ever. They certain weren’t well off.

The problem with ousting someone from a property if their income goes up is obvious. What incentive is there to earn an income?!

She may be able to buy a shared ownership flat but she is bottom of the list for ha (there's bands) as she would have significant savings. You are not eligible for social housing if you own elsewhere (except limited special circumstances)

That just sonds as if the HA has done its job fo her - just like council houses use to!

Step off that high horse! If you want to make a change go to the government.

You'd need to suggest how they can evict any and all HA tenants when their income goes over a specific level... with guidelines as to the speed of that eviction, the court system, re-housing issues, etc etc.

It doesn't really matter what people on here think about housing association,houses or who should be entitled to them ,they dont make the rules ,your relative needs to find out whether she is eligible to go on the list and bid in my area owning a property would prevent somebody from doing that,also just for the record ,in many areas there is no discernible difference between private rent and social rent.

Somebody I know looked into shared ownership. Its a big of a rip off deal. You pay rent on the half you don't own. You pay the total cost for any repairs, maintenance, improvements and the agency or whatever take half your profit when you sell.

You could have a little look to see if there are any alms houses available. They are charitable, choose tenants based on different criteria (not necessarily poverty) than HA and mostly for elderly, there aren't that many of them but usually a few in every area so worth a look-see

The system is a joke. These properties should be reserved for those who genuinely need them. HA tenants should be reviewed at least every 3 years and given notice to vacate the property if their situation has changed.

My Grandad got a bungalow from the council/HA when he sold his house and had loads of equity/savings.

I think she will be eligible to apply if check the local areas conditions

Yes, she can apply for a HA house. Anyone can, it's a points based system. Points are awarded for need, so a homeless person will get far more points than someone who has a home, for example.

She would still have to pay rent though and it would be a lot quicker to just private rent. HA rents are not that much cheaper where I am, it may be different for you.

sIt depends - I know someone who has a HA house as for years she was very poor due to DH then divorcing him being abusive etc.

Her DP died a few years ago and AFAIK she and her DSis have been left money from their big property but she's still in her HA for now, but is planning to buy a property of her own. Not working (retired but did part time work to top up her small pension after retirement). She did give sizeable amounts of money to her DS and DD - DS has a DW and DC and the DD doesn't but has been in and out of work due to illness.

How it works here is a point based system. Because your relative isn't homeless, is in no immediate danger, doesn't work in the local area, has accommodation suitable for her needs, has no dependants and can reasonably afford a private rental due to her owning a home, she will not be considered for any LA or HA property.

Interesting. I live in a HA house in a small close in what is classed as a nice area. A few people have commented over the years that it doesn’t “look” like HA houses ( not said in a negative way ) and there are at least 5 houses out of 20 that house one person. They’re all 3 bedroom semi family houses built in early 90’s.

It’s sad because there are several families I know of in passing that live in flats with small children/babies who would love one of these houses but can’t get one and 2 bedrooms in every house are laying empty.

My rent is still a few hundred pounds cheaper than private.
I pay £400 a month and the average 3 bed semi privately would be £500-700.

We are in an area where it’s relatively easy to get a HA house compared to some areas. They pretty much leave you alone once you’ve moved in. If I came into money then I would move for sure. My situation now from when I moved in 6 years ago has improved but I will never be able to get a mortgage.

Our HA is systematically raising the rents to 80% of 'local achievable rents.' They say it will be happening everywhere and the idea is to move lower earners out of areas where the HA's could be making more money from their properties. It's a generally very well off area with some social housing properties.

BTW none of the long term tenants with 'right to buy' can buy these properties, their 'right to buy' is converted to an offer of shared ownership with HA in purpose built 'Barrett' blocks in a poorer area.

It means the normal working tenants are being slowly priced out in favor of tenants with higher incomes.
So clearly there is some need for people with high incomes to apply for social housing.

HA rents where I live are comparable to private rents so what would be the sense in turfing someone out because their income had increased, they were paying their full rent and were more comfortable?

Surely they may end up being worse off, where's the incentive to better yourself if when you get to a certain income, you then have to give up the things that make life easier. I certainly wouldn't want to go back to where I started if I had an old style CH rent of say £400 a month then had to pay at least double that because I was 50 and had an income of 50k, fuck that shit.

@Glamazoni

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.

In my LA, people are nominated for HA properties by the council.

They’re not just properties for people who fancy paying less of their income on housing costs. Because let’s face it, isn’t that all of us?

If she is over 60 she would have a good chance at sheltered housing either direct with the HA or through the council . Demand for these properties is so low many landlords and councils don't restrict applicants on income or local connection. My own HA would expect an owner occupier to be taking steps to sell their house though before being eligible. This is the North home counties though.
Another tip is to look on Right Move, many of these HA sheltered properties are on there.
At the end of the day, the HA would rather have a tenant with £100k in the bank than an empty property if they can't let it.

My relative has just turned 70.

I guess im worried as she’s getting older and is 300 miles away from any of her family And wouldn’t have any help if she needed it. Yes that’s her doing, I do completely understand that, but it is worrying and knowing there are people who appear wealthy living in social housing I just thought I’d ask whether she may be eligible. I see the mumsnet vipers are out in force

Bookofdead
Please DM me if you think your relative may be interested in sheltered housing and I will advise you about going on my own HAs waiting list.

She gave her money away and so had to move to the other side of the country and now can't afford to live and her children don't try to give her the money back? Wow talk about choosing money over love. This is madness.

We live in a HA. We got our first HA house because we were about to be made homeless from our privately rented house, the landlord was a family friend so had given us low rent but needed to sell. We couldn’t afford to rent privately. We then did a swap with someone who wanted to downsize from a 3bed to a 2bed. Our rent is £100 a week. Our household income is less than £30k with my hubby working full time and me working part time, we will never be able to afford to buy and private rental properties would be about £700-800 a month which we just can’t afford.

At 70, she may be eligible for retirement housing in the area near her family, but it would depend on the area and its rules.

I'm more a 'the rules should change so councils and HA can get more housing suitable for their area' than 'we should kick out people who do better'. Removing housing, a need, seems a strong disincentive for better behaviours and wasn't the whole thing with lifetime tenancies and RTB was to give people a sense that a place was theirs which more often leads to people taking better care of their environment?

A lot of posters don't seem to realise that there are many different types of housing association providing many different types of rent. A housing association set up to support a certain group of people - eg retired naval officers is perfectly entitled to offer accommodation to any retired naval officer, whatever his or her income. They can do this from their own philanthropic income without asking for any financial support from national or local government.

I would check out which housing associations own the properties near you and see if any would consider accepting your relative. There might also be a retirement village with a range of tenancies, some of which may be means tested. There is also a difference between social rents for people on low incomes and affordable rents which are much nearer commercial rents for the area.

So, the answer to your question is 'it depends'. Of course there are some people who milk the system but they are a minority. Bob Crow was always getting grief for living in a council house but it was a point of principle for him. I doubt that when he died that he had the same assets as someone on a similar income who bought a large semi in London which grew in value over their lifetime.

Anyone can apply but eligibility criteria mean that it would be very unlikely for someone who owns another property to be allowed an HA property. They would be in the lowest priority banding and never get to the top of the list. Maybe if it's in an unpopular area or has some other issues and no-one else wants it.

(Had a client once who was bewildered that 'the council' wouldn't house her despite her owning 2 properties neither of which she wished to live in. She thought that her daughter and her brother could live rent free in her own properties and she could have a subsidised place allocated. Said brother and daughter were also bewildered and insisted on getting legal advice)

However for over 65s often it is easier to get an HA property. To put it politely there is less demand and higher 'turnover'. Sometimes it's the only way to get a property that's adapted or with care support so they might meet eligibility on having those needs despite having another (unsuitable) property.

Also some HAs have specific criteria like a connection to a particular faith group that puts you closer to the top of the list.