1 single person in a 3 bed council house

[Fyptk]

20ish years ago this person exchanged from a 1 bed flat to a 3 bed council house because relatives were moving in with her, so all the bedrooms were needed.

Fastforward a few years and those relatives all moved on and the single person remained in the 3 bed house.

To get out of paying bedroom tax they claim the other bedrooms are used for something to do with their work which they are not. The rooms are unused apart from storing excess clutter.

Meanwhile here in London (where this person lives) families are stuck in hostels and overcrowded rooms whilst the local burroughs housing register has in excess of 10,000 people on it waiting to be housed. The minimum wait for a 3 bed house here is 10 years.

AIBU to think they are selfish?

To get out of paying bedroom tax they claim the other bedrooms are used for something to do with their work which they are not.

Are you certain about this? Because I just googled and this isn't an exception (unless by work you mean that they're a foster carer between children, or their adult child is away with the military but normally lives there).

Moving house is very stressful, even if you are not dealing with estate agents and bank/building society. Never mind you may have neighbours you get on with (or there is no hostility), all your local facilities are nearby etc.

Blame the lack of affordable housing and land used for out of town supermarkets etc, not someone choosing to stay put.

I live alone in a three bed HA flat and don't pay bedroom tax as I'm in Scotland.
I'd love to move, bit its not that simple, though I do hope too once everything is safe and I can find the right home to move to.

The ‘bedroom’ tax is all kinds of wrong. If your concern is for the thousands of families that can’t be housed in local authority homes, you’re directing your ire at the wrong target.

This could be about my ex! He is a single man in a 3 bed council house in central London! He rents out all the rooms and is allowed to do this and due to the location he gets a lot of money, his council allow it and he’s still allowed to claim benefits as well 🤦‍♀️ Meaning he pays pennies in child maintenance.

That person isn't responsible for the hardships of others. There might be loads of valid reasons they don't want to move. You just might not know what those reasons are. Ultimately should someone be forced out of their home of 20 years to house someone else if they don't want to move?

At least they haven't bought it and it will go back into the pot eventually.

Are you sure he is allowed? That’s all kinds of wrong. He will be making more than the rent he pays on the house

I suppose it depends on whether you think householders in council accommodation in England should be able to think of this as their home or just some temporary roof over their heads that can be taken away. If so then a clash of rights but perhaps not demonstrably selfish. When I was young, families had the security of their council houses for life and treated these as their homes though I know it is complex, right to buy blew a hole in that model and might have also required councils building large quantities of good quality homes as many did from 1960s to 1970s? Perhaps the problem isn't this person with whom you have an acquaintance, rather a system that treats such accommodation as a largesse that can be taken away and is in extremely short supply in too many areas.

As PP have said, it’s successive Governments (building on Thatcher’s destructive policies) who should be the real target of your anger.

I'm not sure cycling people away from their communities as their families change is necessarily a benefit to society either. Still, let's focus on the poor individual. Perhaps get together with Dave and Gideon (George) and remind Boris about the benefits of 2010 austerity policies that were an unequivocal success?

I work for a HA - 'work purposes' are not an exception so he will be paying bedroom tax unless the room is occupied as a bedroom or for a carer etc.

Renting out spare rooms is allowed as long as the landlord has been informed and the property is not overcrowded.

If you're so sure you're right dob them in or whatever.

It could almost look like a system that encourages people to police and pick fault and create conflict with each other and see the world as a fight for limited resources (which I recognise is often the case though perhaps look at council house building rates in 1960s to 1970s and compare them to 2000s to 2015) without seeing in whose interests this conflict really is. Best not look at increases in net wealth by demographic from QE and where the increase in wealth from house price inflation has gone, must have been by accident.

To get out of paying bedroom tax they claim the other bedrooms are used for something to do with their work which they are not. The rooms are unused apart from storing excess clutter.

The bedroom tax only applies if you are claiming benefits. If it’s classed as a bedroom, it’s a bedroom regardless of what it’s used for. If they are working there’s a good chance they’re paying full rent. If they’re not working, they will be subject to the ‘bedroom tax’.

While people at the outset should be housed according to need (i.e. a sole occupier would not be given a 3 bed house), I am not sure I agree with the idea that once they no longer need the space they should be forced to move. I don't agree with the bedroom tax either.

I don't think the housing problem can/should be blamed on individuals who are entitled to feel secure in their home and be close to family/work/community etc.

Doesn’t affect UC

I'd be less hasty to judge people on hearsay.

It's been their home for 20 years so wouldn't really be fair to demand they give it up.

Is there a healthy stock of 1 bed council properties in London? There are barely any where I am, which meant a lot of people were the subject of the same sort of vitriol you're displaying, but actually had nowhere else they could go.

What pps have said, and also I don’t think this one person is going to make all the difference!

There should have been huge investment in building new council houses when right to buy happened. Right to buy wasn’t a bad idea if we’d had the equivalent amount of building at the same time, but as it’s is we’ve had nothing much being built, and private landlords making money out of it.

Successive govts are to blame, not this one person.

I would say there are more 1 bed properties in London than 3 bed, certainly in my area there is as there are more flats than houses and one bed flats are more common than 3 bed flats, 3 beds are usually houses.

YABU

Funny how the majority are voting YANBU but are silent on the thread

Why shouldn’t there be reviews every other year on council housing and under occupiers strongly encouraged to move? Why should a single person be allowed to live in a home suitable for a family? Support to find alternate housing and moving assistance should be offered to the displaced single person. It’s difficult, but no one is entitled to a specific publicly subsidized house when circumstances or finances change.

I understand your frustrations but as others have said for some people it’s their home and could have been for many years.
For example my Grandparents lived in a large 5 bedroom council house, once the older children moved out they downsized to a 3 bedroom. Once all the children moved out they said to the council they would be prepared to move but only to a bungalow in a local area (neither drive and the doctors and local shops etc all near by) this took a few years but eventually they where offered a bungalow and moved to release the house.
There is a lack of social housing for all and yes there is an issue with people staying in large properties- but they see them as their home - they may have spent money decorating it as they like etc and usually people in social housing are on low income so don’t necessarily have the money for moving costs/carpets etc
Near my Mum is a lovely small road of 3/4 bedroom council house with amazing views and gardens ...all lived in by elderly single/couples why would they want to move from that location? Options are usually flats or smaller homes in a not so nice area.

Unless the government institutes a review of occupancy for all as a matter of policy I don't see why this one individual should give up their home of 20ish years.

You only pay bedroom tax if claiming benefits. So if this person is working then its likely they are not in receipt of benefits so not required to pay.