AIBU to think social housing homes should be temporary?

[Shannoncakequeen]

I know a lot of people won’t be happy about this view so I’m prepared to get flamed for it.

I don’t agree with people living in their social housing homes when they’re no longer ‘entitled’ to them.

By entitled I mean their children have left home so they have extra bedrooms they don’t need but continue to outlive their life there, and so preventing another family from enjoying a suitable home.

It’s not a bash about social housing per se as I know it is there for a very good reason. I was raised in council properties myself so I understand the importance of them being available to those in poverty. I feel many people abuse the system that keeps it fair for those who need it.

As an example, I have a neighbour who lives alone in a 3 bedroom house, large garden, garage and driveway. Ideal property for most of the population. Her children left home over 10 years ago and she is in her early 50s. She told me she had decorated the spare bedrooms for her grandchildren to sleep over in the future (they are currently babies). Whilst I’m flabbergasted she would want to stay put rather than downsize to something small and suitable for one adult, I am human and understand the memories/emotional connection/a house is a home etc, but it isn’t her property and is rented from our local council and therefore I’m shocked the council haven’t got stricter policies on this type of thing. I understand they can’t legally turf out people from their homes, but there should be an incentive to rehome these people so families aren’t stuck in one bedroom tower block flats whilst single adults live in luxury.

Maybe I am bitter because I have to rent and pay extortionate money for the privilege as I cannot get a deposit to buy so I will never be able to raise my child in a home like she has. The house would be £400k+ if it was owned privately, yet she gets it for free and for life just because she joined the list many years ago when it was easy to get social housing. I know many other people in similar places to her and they all believe they morally own the property and have no concern for the housing crisis.

Does anyone else agree that there needs to be stricter rules to make it fair for everyone to have affordable housing whilst in need only (up until children leave home) and not for life? If you are in this position what makes you stay and not give up the property to a family in need? If you plan to stay in your property when your children leave home what offer would make you rethink staying? I’m aware there are new rules for new tenants but this is aimed at long term tenants.

Again I understand this will trigger some people, but morally I can’t come to grips with the entitlement of some people (excluding those who still need the property for health reasons).

Some people (if you read the thread - particularly this last page,) HAVE suggested that £70 to £90-ish a week is low. Even for social housing.

It's not spectacularly low, but it is quite low, and is affordable. Similar properties in the same area that are private let, are around £160-£190 a week. (£700 to £830 a month.) So the HA/council property rents I mentioned are low in comparison at £300 to £370 a month or so. No way is that not 'affordable.'

@wilkos

Who? Just did a quick Google search, nothing is coming up.

Ones on a prime time BBC sewing show and the other on a prime time BBC cooking show

I was really disappointed to be honest, wished I had never read the articles!

To be honest they were both pretty brazen about and delighted with their good fortune so maybe I should just name them - I just read it and thought 'what the hell are you doing mentioning you are still in social housing on your tv salary you absolute tool '

Well I can only presume their area is still very desirable. My house is great and I’m grateful but if I was fairly well to do I wouldn’t live in this area. Not a chance. I would buy. How odd.

One of the articles was headlined 'I've never been able to afford my own home' by TVs ....'

Given that Esme Young has no pension and the only money of any significance she’s earned in her life has been a few years of Sewing Bee, I don’t begrudge her a decent home. I bet she earns the sort of money that MN repeatedly tells us “doesn’t go far in London”.

Ahh okay. I was expecting something like a loose woman presenter 😂

A PP referred to the ‘bedroom tax’. As I understand it this effectively does not apply in Scotland, & N Ireland, as tenants receive increased benefit payments to compensate for it.

RTB rules allow you to buy using money of someone else who has lived there for 3 yrs. So grandson pretends to live 3 gran for 3 yrs, then buys 3 bed house in grand name for £21k (real example). Except gran then goes into care, but she now owns a house (worth £150k) which the Council slap an order on to pay the care bill, and the grandson can’t access HIS money 😆

She's worked at the London college of fashion for many years I believe. The other is Andi off masterche.
I love Esme, I would buy her a house if I could - this would also get her out of social housing 😆

She works at St Martin’s now. I’m bloody glad I won’t still be working at 73, she’s welcome to her one bed flat for another 20 years.

I think Sting originally had a council flat in London in late 70s

There is too much competition now and our population has massively increased since the 99s so more demand

Yes, council houses were meant to be homes for life. I do think it should stop there and not be automatically passed on to children etc.

However, council houses were meant to remain under local authority control with the LA earning rent from them. Now that so many have been sold off and the system is in such short supply, you can't say that the terms and conditions can't change in some respects when they can so fundamentally in another.

If a council house is no longer going to be available in perpetuity for the less well off to rent (because it has been sold and often sold on later giving the ex council tenant a massive windfall) then the other "rules" that applied to social housing when it started will have to bend too.

They are not automatically passed onto children. When my parents died we had two weeks to clear their council house and hand it back.

Regarding rents, they vary wildly. I pay £700 p/m but the equivalent property to rent in my area privately is at least 3k p/m (large house, London). So while my rent is somewhat high for SH, it’s far far lower than private rent. My last place in the Home Counties was cheaper at £400 p/m but I was spending £500 p/m commuting to work in London, so it was cheaper to move.

That being said my rents been pretty stable for the past 20 years. It started around 650 p/m, went as high as £750, but then lowered again as the HA made large profits. So they cut everyone’s rent, which was nice!

Not quite. Private landlords generally just about cover their mortgages with their rent - very few make a lot of money out of it. Most are using a btl property as a pension.

House prices have gone insane in some places and so the level of rent has risen similarly to cover the landlord mortgage.

There would not be such a big gap in the market for affordable housing if so much social housing hadn't been sold off!

You can of course argue that BTL landlords and foreign investors who don't get taxed on UK property (wicked loophole that still hasn't been closed) have pushed up UK house prices and I would agree with that.

@A580Hojas

Not a chance. There is NO WAY on this Earth a landlord would pay 1k a month mortgage on the type of houses near me. Sweet lord they would have paid the house off within 5 years. Nar, they’re making shit loads of profit in my area.

Private landlords generally just about cover their mortgages with their rent - very few make a lot of money out of it. Most are using a btl property as a pension.

House price inflation is what they’re in it for.

House prices have gone insane in some places and so the level of rent has risen similarly to cover the landlord mortgage

That’s illogical. Rising house prices can only benefit landlords. Most of them bought years ago so have relatively tiny or no mortgages. They’re raising rents because they can.

Yes, I agree house price inflation is what private landlords are in it for and no, I have no general sympathy for them as a breed and yes, too much BTL has been disastrous for our economy.

But here in London at least many landlords are only just covering their costs with the rent. Private rent is high because house prices are high.

Covering their mortgages is making money. You buy a house by getting someone else to pay for it. I am amazed you do not realise this is making money, usually a significant amount of money.

Yes, council houses were meant to be homes for life. I do think it should stop there and not be automatically passed on to children etc.
Council houses do not automatically pass to (adult) children, unless they are on the tenancy.
If they are on the tenancy then presumably they are living with their parents, are you suggesting you turf out adult children from a home they may have lived in their whole live, while they're likely grieving ?

*Some people (if you read the thread - particularly this last page,) HAVE suggested that £70 to £90-ish a week is low. Even for social housing.

It's not spectacularly low, but it is quite low, and is affordable. Similar properties in the same area that are private let, are around £160-£190 a week. (£700 to £830 a month.) So the HA/council property rents I mentioned are low in comparison at £300 to £370 a month or so. No way is that not 'affordable.'*
I just wonder where some posters get their figures from, the 90's ?
Funny how people on here seem to know the minutiae of people's incomings and outgoings , especially when it comes to benefits social housing, but you can read other threads and posters don't even know what their husband earns.

Fortunately you will be happy to hear that they can't be passed down to children
When myself and my dh got our joint tenancy it was made very clear that there could only be one succession of tenancy so if I die before dh he inherits the tenancy as a single tenant and vice versa ,our children can't inherit it m

@Slushpup im sorry, I didn’t understand your post. Are you saying that the people on this thread quoting their rent figure either a) don’t know how much they pay in rent or b) are posting from 1990?

But here in London at least many landlords are only just covering their costs with the rent. Private rent is high because house prices are high

Landlords in that position have obviously bought relatively recently. Anyone who bought more than say five years ago will be making a profit. I know someone who bought a flat in Brighton in preparation for their retirement two years ago, they’re making a profit of 50% of their mortgage payments and using it to overpay.