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?)

There is definitely a difference in HA rent and private rent
Where I live a nice large two bed HA with a large garden and private driveway is £350 a month

The houses opposite are two bed a small backyard not driveway and they rent for £1100 - £1200 a month

@MintyMabel
If that’s to me, I earn about £35k pa as it is, which wouldn’t even let me buy a 1 bed flat. Oh and before anyone starts telling me to move to wales, not all jobs are easily transferable and people have DC in schools do they not? I was born in the county I live near, so I didn’t move here specifically but I have moved further away to be more affordable already. I’ve done a load of self funded qualifications to better my prospects of earning power.

I’m not even remotely minimum wage, but I can’t buy a house. I rented privately for 15 years, unable to save a deposit, and got offered a HA home as I am in their bracket of being employed and earning so it’s ‘affordable rent’. I’m here for 5 years so it’s not lifetime and if something changes after 5 years this will be looked at

Not everyone in the UK is going to be able to earn anywhere near what it takes to buy a house by themselves, many people do not have parents to help them or a partner

@MintyMabel They ARE peoples homes.

Its this kind of attitude that leads to tenants being treated badly.

We are about to enter Week Eleven of a roof renewal Its been hell and has included an emergency visit from a fire brigade. But they are not our homes so it doesnt matter right?

Oh but suddenly we are all in it together when it comes to Covid and face masks.

www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jun/02/doreen-lawrence-grenfell-tenants-faced-institutional-indifference

Doreen Lawrence has attacked the “institutional indifference” faced by the residents of Grenfell Tower and others living in social housing

@MintyMabel

And yes it’s my home whilst I live in it, like anyone who is in rented accommodation. It’s your ‘home address’, you legally have a contract and protection because it is your home where you live. It is not your landlords ‘home’ as they do not live in it. They are the owner of the property and if they choose to rent it, they have a contract with the person who lives in it. Is that really what you think? That people who are tenants are some kind of squatters with no homes?

I swear some people are facetious arseholes on purpose, making virtually no valid points

Most people I know in council or HA properties do have a lot of disposable income. The situation they were in when they got the house has changed and they now earn more, now in a couple or their kids have moved out etc.

And yes it’s my home whilst I live in it, like anyone who is in rented accommodation.

And like anyone in rented accommodation, a landlord decides how long you can stay in it. Don’t like that, then buy your own.

If that’s to me, I earn about £35k pa as it is, which wouldn’t even let me buy a 1 bed flat.

Has anyone suggested you earn too much to have a HA property? If not then it doesn’t apply to you.

They ARE peoples homes. Its this kind of attitude that leads to tenants being treated badly

If you want control over your living situation, you buy a property. There will always be shit landlords, and there are laws in place to try to stamp them out. But to be saying you should not have to move from a HA property if you win the lottery or have a massive hike in salary, simply because “it’s my home” is laughable.

Lottery win.....................massive stretch there Its not something that happens often

A hike in salary needs to come with job security.

But they are peoples homes. Are they not the homes of the low paid key workers y"all been clapping for.

Some people on here clearly don't understand the difference between a house and a home.

If you want control over your living situation, you buy a property

it's weird as fuck how much people bang on about home ownership on here. Like it's the holy grail.

@MintyMabel

How likely is it that someone goes from being unable to buy a house and qualifying for a HA home to earning a 6 figure sum?

If a HA is going to give out a lifetime contract, that is down to the HA that they have not safeguarded their stock in that way - it’s not down to the tenant to leave if their contract doesn’t say they have to. If it’s in your contract or a tenancy that gets renewed after X years with checks then this won’t happen.

If you take away from the 80% of posters on here who seem to all know someone next door who earns too much in their humble opinion the reality (and actual stats) is clear that the majority of HA tenants are claiming some kind of benefit/tax credits. Look on ONS or one of the multiple studies done on this subject. Is everyone judging people’s circumstances on the cars people have on HP outside their house? Or can you magically see into people’s bank accounts?

MintyMabel actually you'll find some assured or secure tenancies have been awarded as a compensation package along with succession rights, for serious wrongs inflicted on the tenant, and or family.
These include people who had homes and land listed as a blight area, and then when sufficiently devalued, compulsorily purchased at low cost. Funnily enough it threw many permanently off the housing ladder and left them never able to have control of their future again - hence the compensation package.

Why doesn't she sell up, invest a lot of the sale into her pension, (can you still do that after you've retired?) And then rent? When her money runs out for rent she'd be entitled to housing benefit or housing association.

This is really interesting and everyone should take a look at this first link instead of imagining what’s in your neighbours bank account. It doesn’t stack up against the perceived notions here I’m afraid

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/861471/Social_Housing_Lettings_in_England_April_2018_to_March_2019.pdf

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/housingsummarymeasuresanalysis/2016

This one is a bit older

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/570850/Social_Rented_Sector_Report.pdf

if she is over 60, there are often schemes for such people where having a property may not bar her.
you/she needs to enquire in the desired area.

I’m sure it’s already been mentioned and I can’t speak for the area the OP is talking about but in London getting on a HA waiting list is just as difficult as getting on the council list. My friend got his HA flat via his LA but getting him a bidding number and getting the LA to accept a duty of care took legal action which I had to sort out for him , and this was someone that was living in supported housing due to his mental
Heath issues, having medical evidence to back it etc, so if a single person that intentionally made themselves homeless by selling their house ( which most councils would probably say use your own funds from the sale of the house to rehouse yourself) can get on a waiting list even if at bottom priority, I need that HA number so I can see if I can move from my flat with my crazy neighbor.

I would love to move if I could, all I need is a 500k lotto win and my HA can have their property back and I can buy a modest 3 bed house in some quiet village just outside of London

Re a landlord deciding how long they can stay or that I should move because I’m earning xxx wage. I would love to see my HA try and tell me they have decided they no longer want me as a tenant for reasons other than non paying of rent or serious ASB. Even if they had to move all of us out due to the building being condemned they would still have to find me suitable accommodation with my current tenancy agreement.

My tenancy is old school where there is even automatic succession rights, and other than for the reasons I mentioned it would be practically impossible to remove me but as I said if I could afford to move I certainly would.