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?

@EvilOnion

Ah, that makes more sense.

In our area he would be entitled a 2 bed - 1 for a carer and 1 for himself. Even if it was only occasionally used.

Yes, I should have included that info in my OP to be fair but I didn't want to say too much about their situation at the point of posting.

The staff only visit for 10 mins every other day to monitor med compliance and then they leave again, they don't spend so much as an hour there let alone over night

The council appear to have taken my relatives word on it and have never sought to check.

The staff also never step foot in the bedrooms she's claiming they use. They stand in the kitchen or living room, watch her take her meds then they leave again.

Ahh undeserving disabled!
Of course.

What are you talking about?

Why does having a mental illness or any other disability mean you need a three bedroom house when you live alone?

I'm disabled and don't need three bedrooms. Should I have them just because?

@Happycat1212

Yes I do, I’m on many swapping sites and I myself was in a one bed flat with 3 children (so was entitled to a 3 bed) but no one would swap with me because it was 3rd floor with no lift.

Another was a man in a 4 bed. He takes his grandchild two nights a week whilst his daughter works but he's only entitled to a 1 bed. He has said he'd happily swap for a small 2 bed but that's not allowed.

Yes that wouldn’t be allowed and I agree with it, only children that live in the household are entitled to their own rooms.

Of course no one wants to live a one bed flat on the 3rd floor with no lift.

Then you agree with the man staying in the 4 bed because he won't be moving to a 1-bed and I don't blame him.

Looks like you'll be in that flat a while then.

How did you end up with 3 kids in a 1-bed? The council won't allocate a family with 3 kids a 1-bed. Were you in the 1-bed and had 3 kids expecting the council to offer you a larger property?

@freakyfridays

It's time people stop considering social houses as THEIR home, when it should be just like a rental, not a forever house. They have right of peaceful enjoyment, but nothing more.

Even home owners don't own their home until it's paid in full!

Fair enough people don't move because they can't be arsed, but the "bedroom tax" should be much higher. These properties should be a safety net, and available correctly for the ones who need them, they should not be a lifestyle choice

If you want to have YOUR home, you buy it.

No, thanks, don't need to. I have a beautiful detached social house, life tenancy, exactly where I want to live. Couldn't be happier in my home. And it is MY home, whether you like that or not.

I’ve moved actually osbertthesyrianhamster 😉

But it was through the council not a mutual exchange, I don’t blame anyone for not wanting it! My point was there IS one beds, people just don’t want to live in them, so rather than claiming there are NO one beds just be honest and say that there are but you don’t want to live in them. As for having 3 kids in a one bed so what?? Anyone living in a 3 or 4 council house had to have had mutual kids in order to get a 3/4 like you said they don’t just give you them for nothing, so it’s hypocritical to then judge others doing the same. As for the man not going to a 2 bed from a 4 bed I agree that people shouldn’t be given an extra room for children that don’t live there full time, people who have children living with them full time can end up waiting 10+ years in my area for a new house so imagine what the wait would be if every nrp was allowed an extra room for their kids that was only staying on the weekend/once a fortnight.

@Happycat1212

Maybe they could go on swap sites and actually look for a smaller place since 99% of people on swapping sites are people needing bigger properties, very rarely do you get people on them looking to downsize, those people are too busy moaning that there aren’t any smaller properties when really they haven’t bothered to look 🙄

They don't want to live in a shitty flat in a crap area. Who can blame them? It's baffling, too, that people who are in a 1-bed flat go and have multiple kids and then complain they can't get a 3-bed house from HA/council.

Well, thankfully they don't force the man to move because you think he shouldn't have an extra room for his grandkid.

I’ve got a 3 bed now, like I said anyone living in a 3/4 bed needed to have had multiple kids to get it they’ve just moved out now so that argument makes no sense 😂

I’ve also said i can see people don’t want to live in a one bed flat on the 3 rd floor, I can see why but don’t say there aren’t any one beds just say you don’t want to move to them!

Had did a single man get a 4 bed house 🤦‍♀️ Same goes for him, at least mine actually live with me still, if you don’t want a one bed flat on the 3rd floor then say that rather than moaning “there aren’t any one beds”

@Happycat1212

I’ve got a 3 bed now, like I said anyone living in a 3/4 bed needed to have had multiple kids to get it they’ve just moved out now so that argument makes no sense 😂

I’ve also said i can see people don’t want to live in a one bed flat on the 3 rd floor, I can see why but don’t say there aren’t any one beds just say you don’t want to move to them!

In some areas, there really aren't any 1-beds, though, or a real dearth of them.

And no, not necessarily, the OP says the person in question had relatives move in with her, not had kids 😂😂

We was talking about the man in the 4 bed though No I don’t think people who have kids staying a couple of nights a week should get an extra room for it, the list in my area is already 10 years long, imagine what it would be if every nrp was given an extra because their kids stay once a fortnight.

@Happycat1212

I’ve got a 3 bed now, like I said anyone living in a 3/4 bed needed to have had multiple kids to get it they’ve just moved out now so that argument makes no sense 😂

I’ve also said i can see people don’t want to live in a one bed flat on the 3 rd floor, I can see why but don’t say there aren’t any one beds just say you don’t want to move to them!

Of course it makes sense. I had my children when I owned a house and then in private rental in a 3 bed house. I certainly didn't have a 1bed council flat and keep cramming kids into it so they would give me a bigger house!

PaperbackRider

People living in a 3/4 bed council house needed to have had multiple children to get it, they don’t just give it to a single person or bunch of adults, their children have moved out now, hence why they are in it alone

Oh and I didn’t have them to “get a bigger place”!🤨

I think people should be able to stay in their council houses as long as they are not in rent arrears and not being a nuisance neighbour. We need to blame the govt for selling off council housing stock and not rebuilding replacements rather than blaming people who are settled in their home and don’t want to move. Nobody should have to fear being kicked out of their children leave home or their partner dies etc.
If somebody is already battling mental health issues then a forced house move won’t help.

Isn’t most of this resolved by reviewing a council tenancy each year for capacity? It’s not tenable for single people to be in large properties when families and children need that space, irrespective of number of years spent in a place - private rentals have review clauses and so should council properties?

If allocation is based on need, then to retain the property you should have to show (and not claim you need) it. All these claims should be verified, and subletting banned.

I certainly didn't have a 1bed council flat and keep cramming kids into it so they would give me a bigger house!

Do you actually think people have children in a 1 bed just to get a bigger place?

I ended up in a 1 bed PRIVATE flat with 2 small DC because that's all I could afford on my own here in london when I fled domestic violence.

I previously lived in a 3 bed house, again private.

The one time i needed council help they can't help me at all, because there is no housing available.

There just might be if selfish people didn't insist on hanging on to houses and flats they don't need.

I didn’t think people actually believed that line, I was also in a violent relationship and I won’t be going into detail about why I had 3 children but to say someone did it to get an extra room Is very rude, there was a family of 5 living above me in a one bed flat up until recently! Mum, dad teenage daughter and 2 younger primary age children, it was a private rented flat probably because they couldn’t get anywhere with the council because everyone hogging all the larger properties that they don’t need. I always wondered how they managed and felt sorry for them having to live in such cramped conditions.

Isn’t most of this resolved by reviewing a council tenancy each year for capacity?

I’m really against this idea of annual tenancy reviews. It will just create transient neighbourhoods without any real community cohesion.
Why get involved in the community if you are just waiting to be kicked out of your house if a child goes off to uni etc.
Why would you bother to keep your house tidy and maintained when you could be kicked out next year and somebody else gets given the house with all the things you have spent money on and looked after?

Do you actually think people have children in a 1 bed just to get a bigger place?

the poster I was responding to seemed to be saying exactly that,in fact they couldn't see any other way of doing it!

Well no I didn’t have kids to get a bigger property and where did I say I did? Don’t be ridiculous having 3 kids is hard work, no one does that to get a higher council house, did the family of 5 living above me also only have kids to get a big council house?

And in my area the wait is 10 years so you would have to be crazy to have kids to get a bigger property I was moved on a band b because of dv so think before you make assumptions that people only had kids to move to a bigger property!

It just doesn't sit right with me at all and I think those people are incredibly selfish.

The irony in the case of my OP, is that this relative is forever harping on about how people are 'bed blocking' by under occupying council premises they don't need, because they live alone or have surplus space.

Er... what is she doing then?

Clearly she has some awareness of the disparity and unfairness of the situation, except she's choosing to project that on to others who are doing exactly the same as she is.

I have never in my life until that point of dire need - requested to be housed in a council home.

People who desperately do need help are being turned away because of people like that who just 'don't want to move'

Boo hoo. Poor them.

Selfish ***