To be jealous of my friend’s social housing house?

[Crankitcrew]

I have a house with a mortgage. I can barely afford to pay for repairs to the house. It’s falling apart.
My friend has recently moved into social housing and has a much more spacious house than mine, but the biggest reason I’m jealous is if anything goes wrong with the house it’s fixed by the housing association within days. No cost. She only pays a small contribution towards her rent. The rest is paid. She doesn’t work and claims PIP because she has PTSD and depression.

She and her partner are talking about getting some decking done in the garden and paying £600 for it. There’s no way on earth we could afford that, we can’t even afford to have the re plastering done that is falling off, not to mention the damp problem.

People say to me “well, at least you own your home” and “you can leave it to your children” but what if we never pay the mortgage off? What if we end up needing care and the money from the house goes to pay that instead? Which is what happened to my grandparents.

I saw getting on the property ladder a right of passage or something, but I now realise it’s not all it’s made out to be.

Get yourself some PTSD and depression and crack on then, im sure you'll love it

@Snowmoab sorry I should have made that clear her rent was £400 - no help just low rent, ours is £1600 which is the rental market rate.

It's pretty ignorant to assume that people with mortgages don't suffer from the same health problems as people in social housing.

There's some very black and white thinking on this thread.

OP wanted to have a conversation about the pros and cons of mortgages vs social housing. Instead it's become entirely about disability.

Plenty of disabled people have mortgages too.

As you say, OP, being in the property ladder isn't all it's cracked up to be. If you didn't give it thought before you took on a mortgage, that's on you for not thinking it through.

It’s a shame this thread can’t be about different tenure types and the pros and cons of social housing versus home ownership……..

Yes they do and they'll be able to claim PIP if needed, and there is support for people who have mortgages but are unable to work. If OPs friend had a physical disability I'm sure there wouldn't be as many people chiming in with how she doesn't deserve it. Horrible.

I agree with the posters who say not to compare.

Decking is a nightmare for encouraging rats and slippy if not maintained so I wouldn’t be having any decking envy.

I also own a ‘doer upper’ so I can empathise with the costs of getting work done.

Hasn’t it occurred to you to get it fixed yourself?

Why should any tenant pay for repairs like this one? Something minor perhaps, but not a kitchen unit falling off a wall. That's the responsibility of the LL.

Also in the case of SH you're not permitted to carry out certain repairs yourself. Kitchen units are the remit of my SH provider, for example, as are boiler repairs, all bathroom repairs and so on. If we repair these things ourselves we are liable for a chargeback.

Why should any tenant pay? Because she has been waiting 2 years.
That’s ridiculous for such a simple job. Hanging a kitchen unit is usually just drilling 2 holes and the appropriate size plugs and screws- you could do it yourself if you can get someone to hold the unit in place while you drill. Or if you can’t use a drill then pay a mate/handy neighbour. I can’t understand waiting 2 years for this.

That’s awful! Two years?

Have you complained?

OP, I know of one person with a lovely social housing home but she's a single mum who would never be able to own her place. I don't envy her at all, I'd much rather have something of my own, no stress at all, im a single mum too but more money. As others have said, comparison is the thief of joy.

Yep 5 years without a proper bathroom floor in what was supposed to be a wet room.

The shed is falling to pieces, the land lord has changed and the new one doesn't repair sheds, so I'm stuck with a dangerous shed I cannot physically move and can't afford to have it moved / repaired.

I will never own this place because accommodation for disabled people doesn't have a right to buy / acquire.

I have no idea if the rules about renting could change, ie I live in a two bedroomed place, then they brought in the #bedroom tax'.

OP

I bet your friend would swap PIP for a mortgage and the ability to work, I know I would.

"I bet your friend would swap PIP for a mortgage and the ability to work, I know I would."

You can get a mortgage and be on benefits.

Not sure of this is just a council tenant baiting thread but often in cases where people are living in properties which are falling apart and they can't afford to maintain, you tend to find they have overstretched themselves and wanted bigger than they could realistically afford.

In practically every street around me there's at least one 3 bedroomed house falling to bits which has seen no maintenance in decades and has an elderly person rattling around inside it who can only afford to heat one room while the house falls apart around them.

I always think if they downsized even to 2 bedroom they could live like a king in luxury most of us will never know, have tens of thousands of pounds to play with and still leave a generous inheritance behind.

Is it possible you've just overstretched yourself and bought something you couldn't really afford?

I can't. Even with an excellent credit history.

This is honestly something you can submit a complaint over.

www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/illness-and-disability/getting-a-mortgage-if-youre-ill-or-disabled

Lenders aren't allowed to discriminate over benefits.

YANBU many social houses, especially those built in in the last 10-15 years to modern building standards are lovely. Once you’re in the system you can be made for life as no need to leave if your circumstances change and you can apply for swaps and reasons like overcrowding to get bigger/better places or nicer locations.

Ive known several people who have managed to get themselves into lovely modern social housing, paying about 1/3 of what the private rent would be e.g. £400 a month for 2 bedroom modern semi detached property in a very desirable small village with small local primary (~60 pupils total). Only private rental I’ve seen in the same village was £1300 for an ex council 3 bed semi.

I have been diagnosed with c-ptsd and have had depression for 20 years.... I've always tried to work though and we have a mortgage. (social housing near where I live is a bit hit or miss). I have a colleague who was offered a beautiful new home (social housing). Her home is nicer than mine, but all she does is complain about the council tax! That is based on value of the house - her old house was band A now she has moved to Band D and she is absolutely appalled at the injustice of it all. She has written to the local MP and everything!

You just need to get on with it - most of us have areas of our life where we are lucky and areas where we need to make our own path. Personally the day I give up working and try to claim PIP will be the day I give up on a better life so I can't imagine it is a good prospect. I know that sounds like I think everyone has capacity to work and I know they don't but accepting that of myself is something I am never going to do easily. I would rather keep on trying to create something worthwhile, difficulties and all. Maybe I am an idiot though!

This sums it all up!

Personally the day I give up working and try to claim PIP will be the day I give up on a better life

You realise you can claim PIP whilst working? It's not based on income. The ignorance continues apace.

This.
I’ve shed a few tears this morning over the things that need doing in my house. I have CFS, cannot think how I can get them all done and been ripped off by local trades people so reluctant to ask anyone else. DP ( he died) would have got each one fixed so easily.
Everyone’s life is different and your friend’s living with PTSD and depression must be very tough, even with an “ easier” house.

As others say, comparison is the thief of joy.

If it wasn’t this you were comparing yourself to others about, it would be something else…it’s a mindset.

Give your head a shake, remember how many people long to be home owners and never will be, know the hard times don’t last forever and good health is priceless.

She is very lucky to have social housing but very unlucky to be mentally ill. Swings and roundabouts?

You. OTOH, have good mental health and own your own home. Both are wonderful things. Even though money is tight atm eventually you will have a massive financial asset.

it's not unreasonable to be envious of her - you can't control your feelings after all. But home repairs and disposable income aren't the be all and end all of life.

I used to own, I now live overseas where I rent a housing association property. Here, pretty much anyone can apply for HA properties. They're often not as cheap as social housing in the UK, but still a pretty good deal. I pay about £750 month for a 1-bed flat in a desirable town, and that includes water, electricity, heating and tv license fee. I love it. I have a secure tenancy, I can decorate however I want, and am allowed to have pets. If anything breaks, the HA fixes it. Because I have a good income and the rent is relatively low I manage to save quite a bit, so currently not too worried about what will happen when I retire. Maybe in the future I'll buy again, but for now I'm pretty happy not to worry about repairs etc.

The problems in the UK is that secure affordable tenancies have become like gold dust and the alternatives are either expensive insecure private lets or buying. A well regulated rental sector could really help a lot of people.