To think he’s choosing to be homeless and it’s right that he doesn’t get a housing association property?

[Casparr]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-68033982

Man works 50hrs a week. At minimum wage that’s 27k and about £1900 take-home each month. He sleeps at friends’ houses or his ex-partner’s, presumably for free. Why can’t he just get a room in a house share (under £600 a month in Glasgow) and save up a deposit for a flat?

Actual Glaswegian here. Flats are in short supply: landlords selling up because of red tape and eviction laws, massive increase in international and rest of UK student recruitment without enough accommodation, less disposable income/high prices. Flats go within hours of going on the market and need a large deposit, references etc which presumably he doesn't have.

Flatshares often want students (no council tax) or don't want a single man of his age. There's fewer spare rooms, my colleague and I had both to stop renting out ours because the bureaucracy made it impossible.

A lot of the cheaper rentals are on housing estates miles from the city centre with poor public transport especially at night when I guess he'd be finishing.

So the SNP can add housing to their long list of devolved responsibilities to blame Westminster for...

This is an incredibly complex issue and the problem is the government have now got it that people are bitching at each other - why should they get social housing, why shouldn't I get a 2 bedder, why should they be higher on the list than me, why are approved asylum seekers seemingly given places- some of the things you read are total fallacy's- designed to push an agenda. The fact is since the 80s the government sold off vastamounts of social housing at ludicrously low rates- and have failed to build enough social housing of all kinds in areas where there is work and facilities. There was a reliance on the private sector but it has all gone wrong as for various reasons landlords are selling up and those that aren't now are in a position to pick and choose and charge whatever they feel like- which is above the rate covered by UC allowances virtually everywhere apart from the cheapest areas- as others have said it's common to ask for guarantors or several months up front and the computerised approval scoring means it's quite strict affordability criteria- even if you have a perfect record- that's why when I see posters saying for people in bad relationships to just leave and rent somewhere- it really isn't that straightforward these days in most areas-

How do you look at this article and see him as the problem?

just for funzies I’ve worked out a mini budget based on this ‘amazing’ £27k salary and a 1 bed flat in East Kilbride and never having his child overnight since according to Op he doesn’t need to bother.

£1821 pay

£270 CMS
£500 rent
£116 ctax
£100 gas/elec
£20 broadband
£13 tv licence
£35 car insurance (benefit of the doubt his car insurance is roughly same as mine)
£270 fuel(assuming one tank of fuel a week gets him to work and back and a 4 week month)
£10 sim only phone
£200 food(assuming a 4 week month)

so on a 4 week month he’ll have approx £300 left assuming he has no debts or anything to pay. 5 week month not even £200.

This flat is also unfurnished so he needs to find furnishing. this doesn’t account for clothing, hair cuts, spending time with his child, Christmas gifts, if anything goes wrong with the car or anything needed replaced in the flat.

its fucking depressing.

I think it's possibly because he's a man.

If the article had been about a woman, and people had repeatedly talked about the appalling situation of homeless women that would also have been understandable.

Tbh, far better than sofa surfing or living on the streets. Not ideal obviously, but as he appears to have an ok relationship with his ex, maybe she can facilitate him spending a day a week at hers to see his dc. Meanwhile he can live in his HMO and try and improve his job/salary, or save a bit for a deposit on a private rental.

Completely agree! There isn’t enough housing to go around for an ever-increasing population.

I read this story, and my initial reaction was the same.
You can rent a 1 bed within walking distance of the city centre for £750pcm, giving him the best part of a grand for bills etc. And while I know he has a daughter (meaning an HMO really wouldn't be suitable) there's nothing stopping him sleeping in the lounge of a 1 bed flat and giving her the bedroom.
It's not ideal but it's possible.
HOWEVER, we don't know his full circumstances. I can only assume he has issues such a debt to resolve which affect how much money he actually has each month. It may be also that he is struggling to get a deposit together, or is struggling to pass the affordability checks by letting agents. We just don't know. And to a certain extent it doesn't matter because his story shines a light on how - even if you're in work and working lots of hours - it's not enough for many people to live on.
Rents have gone through the roof (as have mortgages, but the rises there are nothing like as massive as rent increases) and being a single adult is really tough financially - unless you're on a very good salary. There's very few socially rented properties available either, leaving people who are potentially vulnerable or struggling at the mercy of private landlords - some of whom are best described as "slumlords", profiteering from people's misfortune.
It is crazy that 27k, while not a pittance, is barely enough to live on if you're a single adult wanting to live on your own.
I hope he gets himself sorted soon.

He does have a dependent.

What about the mother of the child who is obligated to have him in her house despite them not being together because there is no suitable place for her father to facilitate a relationship.

He has parental responsibility, he should be adequately housed to meet that responsibility even if he is not the resident parent. The fair and reasonable way to balance split families is to ensure only one household can claim child related benefits, not to not even give the NRP a home in the first place.

we rent nice family homes and have done for 20 years - we have a very long perfect track record, quite high income , absolutely fine credit referencing -but are older so can't get mortgages - but we do keep a lovely home-
we are late 50s/early 60s- even we have twice in the last 8 years been asked for a guarantor- not quite sure who they would suggest!! My 84 year old FIL ?? We just told them to shove it and went elsewhere

and even if his financial circumstances were perfect, PPs are right that he likely wouldn't meet affordability checks.

That's really true and depressing.

Also consider that these days £200 for a food budget may not be adequate, especially once prices go up in April.

Possibly, but the point is that the government of the day recognised the need for good quality housing, with agreed standards, (long gone) for anyone that didnt want to engage with ownership or private rentals or couldnt

That part of the market is now non existent, a solely private market has failed.

Also, something that has long been forgotten is that my parents got a mortgage through the council, they couldnt get a bank to lend them a mortgage. We dont do that any more, is that something that should be brought back....

To reiterate what others have said - the rental market in Glasgow is extremely difficult. Increasing bureaucracy and restrictions mean many private landlords are leaving the sector meaning more people are chasing a diminishing pool of rental properties.

In my ignorance I didn’t think a single male would make the housing list. I actually do know you could in my home town but there is lots of social housing available, or there was last time I knew about it.
The reality is that most men in his position would probably move home to his parents, I assume they aren’t around. It’s what I’ve known happen mostly when people split up.

Yes, he could have debt, or a drug or alcohol or gambling problem, or he could be supporting a family of seven in Berlin. That would be relevant background and would make the story make sense. As it is, it’s either half a story or one that is basically saying “it’s tough to afford a place when you’re single and on a low salary” which is the case for literally millions, so isn’t newsworthy.

I’ve got nothing against the man, if he feels eligible to apply then he should crack on, but fail to see how it’s newsworthy.

It's not long since Sturgeon and her cronies were shouting that 'refugees are welcome in Scotland' and trying to get one up on Westminster.

Glasgow is an absolute mess right now and most of it is down to it's SNP council. The housing situation is shocking when a grown man, working long hours, can't even get a little place to himself.

Why do housing threads bring the racists out?

The foreigners who should be booted out are the rich overseas people who buy flats and houses here as investments to let them out and siphon the rent, which is British money, overseas. Not refugees, who by definition have fled war, famine, and inhumane treatment from their own governments.

Some of you are talking as if he hasn’t even tried. He’s clearly tried and can’t find anywhere he can afford. You have no idea of his financial commitments. He has a child and could well be paying maintenance, he could be contributing towards his ex partner’s rent, he could have a student loan, or another loan, he might be supporting his parents. You’ve got absolutely no idea. This is a vile thread. Mean spirited and nasty.

Lots of people commenting who have zero understanding of the rental market. As if you can just walk into renting those cheaper properties because you can afford the rent.
In lots of cities there are way more people looking to rent than available properties. So landlords ask for things like guarantors and pick and choose who they will rent to. A single man sofa surfing even though working, would be seen as too risky by most landlords.

And many of whom are willing and able to work, but the system doesn't allow that.

His lack of fixed address will cause problems at road tax renewal time and when his bank want to send him a new card out.

Yes, he could have debt, or a drug or alcohol or gambling problem, or he could be supporting a family of seven in Berlin

Or , looking at another side of the coin:

Where was he living before ? At 37 yo maybe he had his own house / flat .
Maybe he had to move out and his ex partner and their child are living there .
Look on all these posts on MN where the advice is "Get him to move out , you have the right to stay in the house as you have the custody of a child "

Maybe - because the article isn't very extensive - he cannot get a housing authority accomodation because he already owns a house .

But no he's a bloke so he must be dodgy . .

I put a random week in February into Air b n b and there were 810 properties where you could rent the entire property (not a room within) in the Glasgow area. Some of these properties might have people living in them that go to stay elsewhere when they get a booking but I expect most are empty. There will also be many, many more empty properties that are not let out at all.

I think the government should keep going with the multiplying of Council Tax for empty properties/second homes (I don't know if the Scottish Government do this?) I think that letting your property out short term should require planning permission for change of use to a holiday let and that this should not be granted for ordinary residential property.

We need to get the visitors/tourists into hotels and the locals into the residential property rather than the other way around.

I have also wondered why the government don't buy properties raising the mortgages from banks or their own sources and then pay their own mortgages instead of private landlords mortgages so that after 30 years the mortgage is paid off and the state own the house.... and no "right to buy".

I think the point is a single person working full time - if they are on a low/moderate income - is unable to afford housing at the current crazy prices which is why social housing is so sought after right now. And by housing I mean a proper home, not a room in a shared house like a teenager.

Landlords are spooked by new laws or moving over to air bb as easier and less hassle and more money