To think you should downsize your council house if it’s just you?

[OuchOuchOuchh]

Oh my goodness I have created war at work and everyone is gunning for me.

My auntie has a huge 4 bedroom council house she has lived there since the 90s with her one son. That has now moved out.

All i said was I think it’s unfair that she’s living in such a big family home perfect for a family to bring their kids up in. Large garden backs on to the woods plenty of visits from deers and fox’s it’s beautiful! Anyway all I said is that if you haven’t purchased the property in a certain amount of time you should have to downsize if it’s just you living there.

Theres families overcrowded and can’t get anywhere then you have my auntie paying £100 a week in rent for a massive house for just herself.

please tell me if I am being an asshole! I appreciate it’s her family home but it just doesn’t seem fair to me.

Council housing isn’t for when you need it as a temporary solution. You have to decorate and carpet/floor it yourself. All minor maintenance is down to the tenant. So someone who has paid a lot of money and put a lot of work in shouldn’t just be turfed into a shell to start again. Flats are also not really the best option for many older folk if they have stairs etc as not all flats are on ground level.

This thread amazes me. Big council house just one person living there is classed as selfish, should give it back to the council as it’s not yours, you are just renting it, the on other threads if you privately rent landlords are scum and it’s your home and they shouldn’t evict you… unbelievable double standards!

The discount is capped at c. £75k (more in London). Ex-council houses in part of the SE go for north of £300k, so the discount is max 25% or thereabouts and you'd still need a fair sized mortgage.

RTB has pretty much died a death here.

Still shouldn't happen though, and never should have happened.

There is an immigrant family who live near me who have been split up for a few years now in 2 separate houses. It isn't all, come over and get given a 5 bed with gold taps like the post read.

Yes there are posters who are saying this. She did actually get put on the list as she needed somewhere smaller than her house at the time. She couldn't manage the stairs anymore. They just didn't have any 1 beds.

I definitely did not mean to refer to people buying their actual council property (aka doing right to buy) so I’m sorry if it came across that way. I agree with council stock staying council stock.

I agree that problems are created from the top.

It would be nice if people could make the connection of “living in a small flat with kids is shite” = “maybe now my kids are gone I should give up my council house so a family in that situation can have it”. (IF you can afford to privately rent).

I think the assumption is by your fifties/sixties many people will be on a higher salary, maybe have an inheritance, and really can afford a nice home without taking up a council home. But that only applies to the people it applies to, if that makes sense. People who can’t afford to give up a council house need not consider it.

Christ. I should've in truth made a bingo card.

Most asylum seekers I know are in unbelievably grotty hostel bedsits, sharing cooking and washing facilities with god knows how many other people. They and their kids eat cold food while sitting on their beds, because there's nowhere to go.

Eventually they get shoved in a car, often not even told where they are going, and driven out of London to a run-down flat in a run-down location where they are treated with hostility, because this cheap accommodation is often in places which are also suffering from chronic government underfunding. It isn't fair on anyone, asylum seekers or locals.

It's hardly the freeloading paradise you describe.

Yeah they really should, wonder why they don’t? Oh yeah it’s because doing that doesn’t generate massive profits for private equity funds 🤷‍♀️

I can see both sides of the argument TBH.
YANBU to say that under occupation of a scarce resource is annoying, unhelpful etc. There are many thousands of people desperate for affordable housing & the situation isn't improving.
YABU to suggest that people should be made to move... it's their home, that they've decorated (she wouldn't be able to get funds to redecorate a smaller place, tenants have to pay for it themselves). IDK if the council would even fund the full costs of physically moving house. There's no guarantee she'd find somewhere local so her friendships, job, support network etc would potentially all be at risk.

I'm very lucky, in a sense... DH & I got social housing a few weeks after we were made homeless. IDK what we'll do when (if) DD moves out. We were incredibly fortunate to be offered something local, most places I applied for were a couple of hours away.

TBH I think if people are willing to downsize, the government/council/whatever should be prepared to cover all the costs, including giving them a reasonable budget to redecorate. Not all social housing is in good condition & you often don't find out any issues until you move in.

To be fair that’s what happens now to migrant families. That’s because the shit has really hit the fan.

Having said that certainly in past 1-2 decades they were most certainly housed exceptionally quicker than many white, British families. Right now though? Nope, everyone’s fucked now, but we can’t pretend that’s it’s always been like this.

"This thread amazes me. Big council house just one person living there is classed as selfish, should give it back to the council as it’s not yours, you are just renting it, the on other threads if you privately rent landlords are scum and it’s your home and they shouldn’t evict you… unbelievable double standards!"

Oh give over, you know these are different things entirely.

Council should rehouse their tenants appropriately, in a neighbourhood of their choosing, within a reasonable period. Private landlords evict for profit, primarily, not public good.

Not if she doesn’t want to. It’s her home and she’s invested time and money and has many memories there. It’s not her fault that social housing is in such a sorry state. Yes I feel desperately sorry for families stuck in temp housing but my anger is aimed at the government. Shuffling existing tenants round sounds logical but it’s a sticking plaster.

No, the answer is because 1 son still lives at home and my daughter has only just moved out 🙄

most of us would love a spacious house with a garden, there isnt the room for everyone to have that, personally I think I should have a castle with a moat, but I live in a small flat, clearly lots of people would shudder at the thought of having to sink to my level😕

YANBU. Years ago in the village where I grew up, the residents were encouraged to move from the council houses into the 1 or 2 bed council bungalows, once they hit a certain age. This freed the houses up for new families to move in.

Just FYI, @MissWings , many British families aren't white.

@Soothsayer1

Sorry yes I would shudder. I’ve lived in small flats for absolutely years. Have had some awful, awful neighbours and it’s not a peaceful existence. Really effected my mental health. Never want to return.

I agree more social housing should be built (for those who have absolutely no other option) and better used to maximise the needs of the people living there i.e. A single person only needs a 1 bedroom property etc.

If you are living in a government owned property, you cannot expect the same as people who own their own home (like being overly picky about where you live). 30 seconds from relatives is not a reason to not move your Nan if she could be placed in a smaller property. Is there a reason she wouldn’t cope 10, 20, 30 minutes from you? Why would that ‘fuck her life up’?

If I was to use an example-if I went for an NHS operation, it would be poor use of resources to put me in a ward on my own (I know its the NHS, so probably lucky to get a bed right now!) and I would expect to be placed in a ward with other people (its a tax funded service so I wouldnt expect a room to myself). If I paid for a private hospital, I would be expecting a room to myself. There is a big difference in life between the services you privately pay for and those funded by the taxpayer and I dont see why council houses should be different to that. Its funded by those who pay tax (which does include ofcourse working council house tenants) so it needs to be used as efficiently as possible.

No, the answer is because 1 son still lives at home and my daughter has only just moved out 🙄

@goldfinchfan you are wholly misinformed, the tabloids have clearly done a good job of misdirecting you. The issue is insufficient supply of decent affordable housing.

But now they've stopped making council bungalows and all the old stock are sold off. There are 8 next to me. 1 bed council bungalows. Well ex council. They're all private now. Along with all but 3 of the 3 bed houses.

Shuffling existing tenants round sounds logical but it’s a sticking plaster.

On the one hand, agreed, it is a sticking plaster compared to what’s needed in terms of action from government.

On the other hand, even if one person who can comfortably afford to privately rent has a fit of conscience and gives up their three-bed council house, and one family crammed into a damp one bed flat gets to move into that house - that’s not a sticking plaster. For that family it’s life changing. Individual cases do matter, this is people’s lives.

Bedroom tax only applies to working age tenants who claim benefits.

Older tenancies (which will apply to many under occupiers) get a much greater discount. My FIL was offered his london flat for £91k last year...

@Goldd

Youre missing the point. Why would anyone want to give up a secure tenancy for an insecure one and all the associated costs that that might involve? Youde have to be bloody stupid to do that. If you can afford private rent you can afford to buy. Some people manage that. The majority of people who were offered council housing in the first place were quite disadvantaged to begin with and it’s unlikely they’ll be able to afford private rent.