People in Council houses should be reassessed…

[AlwaysAnnoyed]

I want to tread carefully. But then again I’m pissed off.

I live in a 3 bed house with a mortgage. On our estate there is a selection of Council houses. I have no issue with people having Council homes, people fall on hard times and DESERVE support.

however what really grinds my gears, is on our estate we have one Council house which have 2 brand new Audi’s. Top of the range. Just got back off holiday to Florida. Weekends away. they pay £350 a month to the council for this 4 bed property. (They are very loud about telling everyone this)

it really really winds me up. We have a COST of living crisis, people are going to be struggling to pay bills but yet there are people who are in these Council houses on holidays and brand new cars.

it doesn’t seem fair. Surely Council houses need to be regularly means tested… How can this happen? Able to afford 2 brand new cars but cannot afford to pay their own rent/mortgage!

or am I just being a moany witch!

Indeed we should all be on the very bones of arses!

Good Lord! Just when I thought I had read everything on here. You actually RESENT 2 working adults WITH JOBS AND THEIR OWN INCOME having a secure tenancy on a council house? WTF is wrong with you? You sound so bitter and angry and resentful !!! NOT a good look.

A woman I know has a mortgage on a house in an area where half the homes are rented by the council, (the other half were bought on RTB and have been sold over and over, over the past 35 years or so.) She sees people who pay RENT on their homes (yeah SOME PEOPLE DO PAY RENT!!!) getting remedial work and repairs done, and don't have to worry about any maintenance (expensive or cheap or in between.) They have the life of Riley apparently!!!

She rants SO MUCH about these people who rent, and how privileged they are, and how angry she is that SHE (and her DH) have to pay for their OWN REPAIRS, because they didn't have the privilege of being entitled to a council house, (coz they earn too much!)

Bizarre. Agree with @gamerchick and @x2boys ... Being angry at people who rent their property, and work hard to pay their rent and bills is just batshit.

Apparently so.

When I became a HA tenant, I actually owned a property - which the HA were fully aware of as it was they who suggested that I apply for the HA house.

That's fine it was my understanding people couldn't own a house I stand corrected.

@PaperMonster

When I became a HA tenant, I actually owned a property - which the HA were fully aware of as it was they who suggested that I apply for the HA house.

WTF? Never heard of this in my life. Why should anyone be entitled to a social housing tenancy when they own their own property?

This makes absolutely ZERO sense.

Because we were in danger and they suggested rehousing us. We then sold our house. It was only supposed to be a temporary move but it didn’t work out that way.

I also knew a couple who applied for a HA house with adaptations for their disabilities who owned a house, again they subsequently sold their house.

If your arse still has bones then you're clearly living the gluttonous life of Riley.

I think it's probably extreme cases tbh but not everything is black and white so I'm sure it can and does happen.

I know someone who owned a house, was fleeing domestic abuse, and didn't know if they'd ever get their share of the property without it dragging through the courts for years first as financial abuse was also a factor. Meanwhile they had DC and needed to be housed so the council housed them in a three bed house. The property they owned did eventually sell and the proceeds split, after legal fees it was enough for them to update their clapped out car, get a new sofa, and pay off some debts accrued while leaving the previous relationship.

Owning property won't necessarily bar you from obtaining social housing depending on the circumstances, they look at each case on its merits.

As a council tenant I agree. Too many people abuse the system. Not their fault it’s so easy to do, but if it was means tested then new tenants are more likely to make further plans that don’t mean relying on the government for eternity.

We were homeless, my young children and I. We had our stuff in a suitcase terrified about what would happen and spent the next few years being moved from one temporary accommodation to another. When we got our council property the gratitude I felt was immense, I finally had somewhere safe for my children and I wouldn’t have cared if it was private or not I just wanted somewhere to call home. For that reason alone I’ll always respect my tenancy and the help I was given when there are some families left in hostels for decades.

When my children are old enough I will hand back the house we were lucky to get because I don’t see it as mine to keep. There will be another family in desperate need who can make use of it as I’ll no longer need a family house as a lone adult. In the meantime I’m bettering myself to give my children a good future, it doesn’t just stop once you get a council tenancy imo, the cheap rent means a possibility for some to build savings and buy/rent later on.

It’s understandable to be bitter about those with council properties when you’re in a bad situation, particularly when there are single adults/childless couples etc who can afford private rent/buying a house but chose not to. Sadly that’s the state of the country now, too many entitled people who think they are more important than others and owed everything they want. Nothing will change but here’s hoping the housing system improves for the next generation.

Blame Thatcher. Blame all the successive governments who failed to legislate to make replacing sold council house stock compulsory. Blame the politicians who have given landlords more or less free rein to hoover up properties and do what they like with very few repercussions. Protest, write to your MP, vote for change.

Stop eating yourself up over what your neighbours have - that's what the politicians want you to do, divide and rule.

Council housing is non profit. Many of the older properties have been paid for many times over which is why the rent is cheaper. The rent is for covering maintenance costs and employing the staff in the organisation. Newer housing stock tends to have higher rental costs, probably because it is still being paid for.
Council housing was designed to be a home for life for those on mid to lower incomes (ie average workers). They aren't subsidised. There is little point in putting rents up to market value (which is far to high for lower income families) simply to then go through all the admin costs of then giving housing benefit to many of the tenants. Private rentals for a family size house cost more than I earn per month. I would have to claim housing benefit which would then go to the landlord and paying a private mortgage. At least Council housing rentals mean those on lower wages can pay without help. Saves £££ on admin costs.

I’d actually also forgotten about a friend in a similar situation- although when the house did sell she got nothing.

To the people saying I was angry and resentful, I wasn't. I absolutely do not think that those people weren't entitled to their homes the point I was making is that when you're desperate and can't get help, it's frustrating when other people can.

My sister has a friend who has a combined household income of £90k and they live in a council house. What pisses me off about the fact that they're not means tested, is the fact that people who could easily afford a private let, like those friends of my sister's, are depriving someone who really couldn't afford a private let, of having a council house that they could afford.

I don't think OP is being spiteful as someone said - she said that these people are very loud about what they're spending their money on, and it does give the impression that their cheap rent is allowing them to do all these other things and they're boasting about it.

I have friends who earn around 85/90k a year between them. They live in a council house.

the thing is he has a long term health condition which means he will likely have to give up work within the next 10 years (a good 15 years before retirement age) and so doesn’t feel that getting a mortgage would be sensible as he is by far the higher earner.

And come on. Would you move your family from a house with a secure tenancy where you and your family can live safely for ever to the uncertainty of private renting? Would you?

so they have a council house and a fairly flashy life style. But you never know what’s going on in peoples lives.

I do think that perhaps the level of rent you pay should be means tested and borough somewhat (but not completely as it ridiculous) in line with private renting. But people shouldn’t have to give up their stable homes. The problem isn’t working people in council houses, but the general
lack of them.

is the fact that people who could easily afford a private let, like those friends of my sister's, are depriving someone who really couldn't afford a private let, of having a council house that they could afford.

Does that thinking apply across all situations, or just people living in a certain type of rented accommodation?

To flip it on its head - if there’s no incentive for a HA tenant to find more work/better themselves if they’ll lose their tenancy, how long do you think the electorate will support social tenancies?

the point is there isn’t enough social housing, and until such time that there is, rent should be means tested and properties reevaluated for occupancy every 5 years. That’s the payoff for rent below market rates.

I know what you mean. I have renovated the inside of my council house, stripped back decades of wood chip wallpaper, gutted it to be honest, then had it all re-plastered out of my pocket and then all brand new carpets and flooring put in, again out of my pocket. Then decorated "which I did".

Am I not allowed to have a nice presentable home because I work full time, and am a loan parent 🙄 it's bizzare.

It's like people expect us social tenants to live in slum conditions, and seem to forget why social housing was built...to get rid of slum conditions 🤦🏻‍♀️

So many 🙄

How does the electorate support it out of interest. SH is not a benefit.

It's like people expect us social tenants to live in slum conditions

This is so true. I’ve come across a few people at work who firstly seem very surprised I live in a house and not a flat. They assume social housing = council block. Then they’re more surprised when I’ve talked about various decorating/home improvement things I’ve done or are doing. They seem to almost see it as some sort of cheekiness that I dare to make a SH home feel like my own. I suppose they’re like some on here that think if I have the money to decorate I don’t “deserve” SH.

I think it’s bitterness and resentment rather than jealousy. Because if they really think about it, I don’t think any of them would want to give up their house to go into SH. But there’s this element of them feeling that they somehow worked “harder” to get to where they are and resent others having any kind of “advantage”. They don’t actually care about the families living in B&B’s. It’s an excuse to try and drag us down. It says more about them than it does about us.

It's like people expect us social tenants to live in slum conditions.

Many do live in slum conditions, some housing associations are horrendous in Ireland and the UK placing families in accommodation with chronic dampness throughout the property.

DC left with longterm lung conditions, tenants spending hours and expenses trying to remove the ever growing mould.

When these tenants speak out publicly they're criticised for not being grateful paying £350/€400 rent monthly until they die they're expected to put up and shut up.

I get where you are coming from OP. My DH's grandparents lived in a council house and apparently had loads of foreign holidays before they were really a thing, so must have had quite a lot of disposable income (and this was also before council houses were so hard to come by, so I see why it would be annoying now). DH's other grandparents owned their home but had no other money.

All I can say is that council houses are really difficult to come by now, so if they have one, they must have good reason, unless they've been in it for decades.

Okay, social housing tenants need to give up their homes when they reach a certain income threshold because the stock needs to be released for other people, and the current tenants don't need to have extra money.

Okay, private landlords with other sources of income need to release their assets to the market because they don't need to make extra money from other people's basic requirement to live somewhere.

Are rental and property prices not obscene compared to people's income? Really, we're happy with how it's going?

The private housing market is the biggest scam going.