New build social housing

[mrsclaus1984]

Our house is currently on the market, and DH wants to arrange to view a house for sale on a new build estate. It’s around a year old, not totally brand new.

The house itself really is beautiful, but I’m reluctant because the adjacent road is full of social housing.

I have said to DH that I feel we should at least have a drive around the estate at a couple of different times of the day/evening to get a feel for the place generally, as well as the social housing roads, before arranging to view and potentially falling in love with the house without seeing the bigger picture.

I’m sure that there are many people in social housing who are great neighbours, but let’s face it these properties do come with problems at times and I would absolutely hate to live close to any issues.

has anyone else bought a home on a new estate and not had any problems with the social housing?

All "feckless jobless thugs" are definitely not all in social housing.

I know of feckless, jobless thugs in million pound houses in gated communities. They’re called villains

There is no doubt that you are more likely to find ASB, crime and other nuisance where there is social housing. Those who are arguing otherwise are kidding themselves. That doesn't mean that most social housing tenants are nuisance neighbours, nor that all homeowners are saints.

I would never choose to live near social housing. It's not just the nuisance angle either. This won't be popular with some people, but it's a fact that most of us want to associate and socialise with people like us.

I don't want to live in a community where many or most of my neighbours are benefit dependent and don't work. Especially if it's a lifestyle choice (and despite what some might think, it often is). I have nothing against those people, but I have little in common with them either.

Having worked in social housing, I have found that social housing tenants don't usually want to live among people they perceive as different to them, especially if they perceive them to be more privileged. It's perfectly normal for all of us to want to associate with people like ourselves.

How about HAs take some responsibility and accountability for who they allocate homes to.
Im 50 years old teetotal have NEVER been drunk, have never touched drugs and am child free by choice.

I live above an abusive alcoholic on 16 cans a night.

We are NOTHING like each other, but the fact that you think we are explains the shitty rude threatening letters we get because HAs think we are all the one big homogenous mass that they have created by turning housing estates into hostels!!!

It's perfectly normal for all of us to want to associate with people like ourselves.

Personally, I don’t limit myself to only certain types of people. I can generally find common ground with anyone. Except those who look down their nose at others. I’ve zero time for those types.

I think we agree.

You don't want to live near the awful person in the flat below you and I don't blame you. He/she sounds horrible and not like you at all. As I said in my post, people want to associate and live among people like themselves. In your case, sober and non-abusive.

Unfortunately, because you live in social housing, you are more likely (note I said "more likely", not "inevitably") to live near people who cause nuisance.

HAs are well aware that most of their tenants are decent neighbours, but they are also aware that ASB, crime and neighbour disputes are a common problem on their estates. They can't ignore that fact or sugar-coat it in the way that many mumsnetters would like, because they have to deal with it every day. They would be letting their tenants down if they didn't.

It would be lovely if HAs could refuse to allocate housing to people who are likely to cause a nuisance to their neighbours, but they can't. It is their responsibility to provide for these people if they meet the qualifying criteria. They have to provide homes for individuals and families with complex problems and needs. Neighbourhood nuisance often comes with those problems and needs. It's the nature of their business.

I am truly sorry for your situation. I have seen many decent people suffering in similar circumstances. That is why I would not recommend living near social housing to anyone who has a choice.

Yeah, thats an absurd statement. I used to live in a lovely period building in a nice part of London. The landlady /flatmate was a single working professional but one of her downstairs neighbours were what would be called a “problem family” for want of a better phrase .

They had form for going through others mail and the children clearly had behavioural issues . They were private renters probably paid for by housing benefit as neither parent worked despite their kids being school aged - I assume it was some kind of special school as they’d get taxis there hence the parents didn’t even have to do the school run . Every other tenant in the block was part of the residents WhatsApp/ committee whereas they didn’t get involved at all - not a crime in itself but together with everything else paints a picture of what kind of neighbours they were.

I also used to work with similar families, as a support worker and nearly every single one was in privately rented accommodation.

It would be lovely if HAs could refuse to allocate housing to people who are likely to cause a nuisance to their neighbours, but they can't. It is their responsibility to provide for these people if they meet the qualifying criteria. They have to provide homes for individuals and families with complex problems and needs. Neighbourhood nuisance often comes with those problems and needs. It's the nature of their business.

i think it depends on the particular estate/development. I don’t know about all the other developments my HA owns but mine which is a new development, was selective as it’s a mixture of privately owned and rent to buy flats and the criteria you had to meet to move in meant everyone had to be working (or have access to enough funds to show they are going to be able to buy a house in the near future) . It was only built a few years ago, so most people who live there are people who were chosen by the HA.

If anything, it’s more of a worry that in years to come when the first wave of owners decide to move somewhere bigger, and rent the flats out to people that the HA won’t have such control on everyone who lives there. But that can and does happen anywhere.

Private rented accommodation is often used by councils for families eligible for social housing while they wait for suitable council or HA accommodation to become available. Those families and their problems eventually end up in social housing.

Where are you referring to ? There’s a massive shortage of housing stock in a lot of places in the UK nowadays. Not just London but also in various northern cities and towns , those kind of individual & families eligible for some social housing end up indefinitely in private rentals. Sometimes they never get social housing- or at least not for a very long time .

I knew families in London who had lived in private rent for upwards of 10 years and didn’t see any hope of getting social housing. Their housing benefit paid for the rent and sometimes they had to make up the shortfall.

Even if they did eventually get social housing, the point is they still may spend a significant chunk of their life living in private rented accommodation.

And if and when they leave to HA or Council housing they’ll be replaced by similar families. So, my point is the people in those private rented areas are still living among those families too on a long term basis.

You are right. HAs do have some designated key-worker developments. Usually in areas where property prices and rents are above the means of essential key-workers. They are only a small proportion of the HAs housing stock though.

That doesn't alter the fact that HAs have a responsibility to house people with the sort of problems that might cause them to be difficult neighbours. Those people can be housed on any estate or development that doesn't have criteria that excludes them. That is almost all of most HAs' housing stock.

Criteria can also change. I know of one HA that found they had insufficient demand for their over-65s housing (flats and bungalows) while they were struggling to provide accommodation for younger single adults with alcohol and drug addictions and ex-offenders. They changed the criteria to "solve" the problem. It was an absolute disaster for the elderly tenants.

Yup. People involved in organised crime often live in expensive owned houses.

I don't see how what you have said negates what I have said.

Social housing can include private rented accommodation. If councils are allocating private rented accommodation to people because they are eligible for social housing, the private rented accommodation effectively becomes social housing.

The length of time it takes to allocate those people to HA or council housing is irrelevant.

MN - People living in SH whilst earning a decent wage should be forced to give it up for those less fortunate

Also MN - OMG I'm not living near SH, they're all yobs on benefits.

This place gets more batshit by the day.

@WhatTheHeckyPeck yep ive posted exactly the same in the past

Where are the posts that say everyone in social housing is a yob on benefits? I haven't seen a single one. I think you are the one that's batshit!

My parents have police involvement with their neighbours terrorising the whole road...they are homeowners and the house is 1 mil.

I have social housing neighbours and they are lovely, disabled and pop over with baked cakes and volunteer at the local shelter.

If your in an area of 2-4 bed newbuilds the social housing is most likely going to be families. A wreckhead stereotypical assumed person is unlikely to be given a 2/3 bed house.

:)

Poor people having a potential neibour such as you

Homeowners are never anti-social are they, and are guaranteed to be perfect neighbours🙄.

You know no one has said that.

Homeowners can be antisocial, but antisocial behaviour is more likely where there is social housing.

Most social housing tenants are good neighbours, the occasional wealthy villain might live in a multimillion pound house, you might find yourself living next-door to a vicious old busy-body homeowner.

None of these things negate the fact that you are far more likely to experience neighbourhood problems where there is social housing. If the complaints I received as a housing officer were anything to go by, the people who actually live in social housing know this better than anyone, even if they can't admit it here.

So single young adults ended up in bungalows?

If nobody is saying that, why is the op posting about being worried about living near social housing? Basic assumption there is that homeowners will be totally fine to live beside.

I'm afraid so. It was devastating for the elderly people who thought they would only be living with other elderly people when they moved in.

Not just "nice" young adults either, alcoholics, drug addicts and ex-offenders, some straight from prison.

Nothing guarantees "totally fine", but not living near social housing makes it a greater possibility.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/22/richard-blakeway-ombudsman-england-social-housing-health?CMP=share_btn_tw