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?

The mortgage conditions already prevent quite a few to let their property to them. It's not even a choice.

Well then those mortgage companies are breaking the law. A legal case recently won has established that banning tenants on benefits is illegal. It's indirect sex and disability discrimination.

@Happycat1212

Have you tried it? And then there’s the absolute state of the properties on offer to downsize to

My place is immaculate .... why should I move to a dump?

Have I tried what?? I’m on lots of swapping sites

I’m not trying to downsize though I’m trying to upsize and no one is interested as my property is a flat people only want houses (see fussy 🤷‍♀️)

As long as you are in the private sector entirely, it's no-one's business how many rooms you have. If you want to, privately, rent a property with 2 dining rooms, a play room and 2 guests room, it would be ludicrous to tax your choice.

Why is it ludicrous? You are already taxed on your choices.

If you take a job with a higher salary you will pay more tax. If you choose a Bentley over a Fiat, you pay more vehicle tax and fuel tax. If you wear Armani, you will pay more VAT than someone who wears Primark. If you fly to New York in First Class, you will pay more APD than someone travelling in Economy.

There is no fundamental reason why a family of 5 in a 4-bed house should pay the same property tax as a couple living in an identical house next door. A government that wants to discourage or encourage certain behaviours often uses the tax system to achieve this. A government that wants to reduce under-occupation of housing could adopt a bedroom tax for all unoccupied bedrooms.

Happycat, as I said in my post, my biggest issue with flats is noisy neighbours. The council/HAs should really clamp down on that kind of thing. You may have lovely neighbours but anyone moving in would be taking that gamble. Of course yes, outside space is also an issue. Communal gardens are all very well but not really usable. Again lockdown has made me massively appreciate my garden. It’s really small, but all mine and it makes a big difference.

Littlepattielou, you’re absolutely right, on all counts. I also get sick of this “subsidised rent” nonsense. By the time I retire I will have spent at least £300k on rent just for my current place alone. I’ve been here since I was 35. Add on the rent from my previous properties and you’re easily talking 400k. Money I’ll never see again. My HA made such huge profits the past few years they actually lowered the rent! (Only by about £3 a week!). My rent pays for repairs and additional housing. All those shared ownership homes? (my HA has tons of them) “subsidised” by my rent! It’s because of people like me, and other SH tenants, that they have the funds to build. We put plenty into the housing pot.

Mines not a communal garden, I have a ground floor 3 bed maisonette with own front and back garden on a lovely quiet road it’s practically a house, dining room direct access to sole use garden buttttt there is a one bed flat above me. So whilst I get people not wanting to live in flats I think saying there are no smaller properties etc really just means “I don’t want to live in a flat”

well i have a dog,so would a flat even be suitable? and we have 3 cars so is there parking?

i'd not be against a flat if it had a garden, sounds fine. someone upstairs wouldn't bother me.

@Sweettea1

They will pay bedroom tax does not matter if its used for work. And why should they move out maybe people should of thought about where they will live before having children.

Do you forget that propels circumstances can change?

People's*

My Nan had a 3 bed council that the council wanted back for years.
She said no at first then said if they could find her a 1 bed bungalow in the area she wanted she would move. As if by magic one appeared and they also covered her moving costs.

@Ericaequites

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.

Agree with this.

Private renters live in their 'homes' but often get given short notice and kicked out for no reason, it happens ALL THE TIME.

People who own may need to move or downsize when they don't want to because of loss of a job or other reasons.

When children and parents are living for months and years in one bedroom in a bnb then I do think people who have more council housing than they need should move. I think it should be made as easy as possible and every assistance given, but they should be moved to a 1 bed yes.

Ah ok, well no then that’s not what I was thinking of when I read your post. But in that case I’d say just stick with it. I was trying to exchange for about 4 years. Had a few major disappointments, people saying yes then changing their minds! I know how hard it is constantly looking and getting nowhere. In the end I got into my current place via a 4 way swap, so if you haven’t already, definitely consider that. Moving day was a bit nerve wracking hoping none of the other 3 would stay put at the last minute! But it all went pretty smoothly. And when I look back on the other houses I didn’t get, I realised it worked out for the best.

Yeah, you have sour grapes. It's their home.

I wonder whether you really know the full circumstances, and why you are so bothered about this. If there is significant under-occupation according to the Council's own polices, they will require the person to move to accommodation more suited to their needs.
It's not really any of your business- in any case such moves can take years, yes years!

you can't move if you've got 3 cars?!

@Ericaequites

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.

@Ericaequites I agree with you. It seems wrong that someone can stay in a large property they don't need, whilst other people live in over crowded accommodation

So because other people chose to procreate a person should lose their home and be shunted to a flat? It's not their problem to solve for 'families'.

So because other people chose to procreate a person should lose their home and be shunted to a flat? It's not their problem to solve for 'families'.

I find this argument funny as the person rattling around in a bigger house needed to have “procreated” to get the big house they are under occupying but begrudge others doing exactly what they did

@Happycat1212

So because other people chose to procreate a person should lose their home and be shunted to a flat? It's not their problem to solve for 'families'.

I find this argument funny as the person rattling around in a bigger house needed to have “procreated” to get the big house they are under occupying but begrudge others doing exactly what they did

The OP says the person in this setting did not, had 'relatives' living with her.

Yeah does seem pretty hypocritical

Tricky one - people in private rented have no security, may well have no parking or garden and are probably paying significantly more. It's an unfair system when council tenants have the right to a subsidised house that is bigger than they need. But it's still preferable to them buying it and then selling it privately for a huge profit. I don't think people should be forced to move away from the area, if there's not a smaller house available locally.
Right to buy was a bad idea really - or as a minimum it should have been subject to rules that if resold, a proportion of the increase in value should be returned to the council.
Anyway it doesn't need to be a race to the bottom. Better rules on private rented accommodation would be a better thing to campaign for - ensure fair rents, long term tenancies and proper maintenance. Building more council houses is a nice idea but if they can be bought cheaply and resold at huge profit it's obviously not sustainable.

And to be clear, in an ideal world it would be nice if people could stay in their homes indefinitely.

But we have children - who didn't ask to be brought into this world and shouldn't be punished for their parents decisions or bad luck - living in one room for months and years. That really isn't ok, it's appalling. Yes, there need to be other longer term solutions but I do think those with too much space need to be moved on as well.

Better rules on private rented accommodation would be a better thing to campaign for - ensure fair rents, long term tenancies and proper maintenance.

This will never happen because so many private LL's are just BTLs. Might be if the larger amount of housing for rents were in the hands of corporations. This happens in many places in the US. Flats for let are often owned by massive corporations and run by massive property management companies so you avoid the whole 'I need to move back into my house so you need to find somewhere else to live.'

As for building more council housing, see 'That will never happen'.