Should we stay or go?

[tom0ve]

Currently live in a 2 bed flat with garden in an affluent area of greater Manchester\Cheshire. Very happy here, lovely school. But we did leave London to come here as we managed to get onto social housing and now have an assured tenancy.

We now have 3 children, and dhs friend in a big 3 bed house in a lovely village near Brighton want to do an exchange with us .He thinks this is amazing and wants to move there. I do not know the area at all! But he thinks it's amazing because we only just under a hour to London and in-laws and bigger space, etc. the tenancy is fixed term.
My eldest is in year 1 and very settled in school.

Do you think it would be better to move for the long term? As my husband thinks I'm crazy for not being excited about wanting to exchange as I've been complaining I miss London (well richmond) so much!

Why don’t you agree that you will go there for a holiday over Easter and spend some time seeing what you think of the area?

Oh that's a great idea!

@tom0ve Im from Sussex, can you name the village?
Would you be giving up an assured tenancy for a fixed term?

What is the village near Brighton? I am a local...I won't mince my words.

I think it’s a good idea to really check out the travel times and prices for going into London, the train is probably really expensive for you all, and so is parking, and in traffic it might take and long time to drive so you don’t go into London as much as you think

Yep! Which I'm apprehensive about but I've heard they are abolishing fixed term but we never know do we! And it's Hurstpierpoint! Be honest!

Hurstpierpoint!

Hurst is naice.

I used to live in Hurst (as us locals call it 😁)! It’s a very nice village, a couple of roads didn’t have the best reputation a few years ago, but I hear they are a lot better. Might be unfair if I name the roads here, but if you want to know them feel free to PM me. The village in general is quite middle class. Stephen from Googlebox has a hairdressers in the high street if that is your thing!
Though I wouldn’t give up an assured tenancy for a fixed term personally.

I would not give up an assured tenancy but I understand the pull of being closer to parents.

What's a fixed term?

Fixed term for 6 years then they will review if I still meet the requirements then renew. For example if I still need 3 bedrooms

So when your kid turns 18, they may not renew? I wouldn't give up an assured tenancy

Blimey, this is a tricky one OP. I would be very inclined to jump at a three bed with garden in a nice village. Close to the sea and to London as well and warmer than Manchester. What's not to like? But the fixed term tenancy thing is a concern.

Why is your DH's friend wanting to exchange?

I know! If I was moving from a bad estate like the one I grew up on, I would be jumping but where I live is very nice, it doesn't feel like a "estate" its very very nice

And he wants to downsize due to being elder now and his only son lives near here so he approached dh

I would seriously consider how different living in a village is compared to suburbia with kids and ultimately teenagers. Unless there's great public transport you could end up being mum's taxi service until they can drive themselves or leave home!

3 kids in one bedroom? That's not sustainable at all. I'd definitely opt to move.

He's worried we won't be able to upsize as dd will need her own bedroom and we can't have all 3 sharing forever. We have tried looking for a swap but the 3 beds don't want to leave/downsize and the areas wanting to swap I wouldn't want to go because then I would be in a nice area! It's hard

I wouldn't be in a nice area I meant

Do you still have the "right to buy" fixed term council houses? I didn't know fixed term was something councils did. I thought they were all assured tenancy. Anyway, it might be a thought for the future, that you could buy a nice three bed house at a substantial discount.

Your friend's reasons for moving seem to check out. I wondered if it was to do with the tenancy. How old are your DC? If they're only young presumably you won't be kicked out of the house for needing fewer bedrooms for quite some time. If it happens at all.

I wouldn’t give up a social housing tenancy for anything less.

I will have to ring up the council and check! And my children are 5,2 & a 7 week old :)

That was my husbands thought and the garden is huge so he thinks if children couldn't afford to move out in 20 or so years there is more than enough space for extensions/outhouses and all that

Yes, do some homework. Find out if you retain your right to buy. On those grounds alone it would be worth moving. You really can't stay where you are, and deep down you probably know that.

This is the sort of opportunity that people in social housing (I am myself) dream about. But you must check out this fixed term tenancy thing and the right to buy.

I meant to add that with kids that young your DH is right. You're not likely to be kicked out for years, by which time you could've bought the place (tenancy permitting).

A Fixed term tenancy will still be a social housing tenancy and I presume it is social rent not affordable rent (no statutory right to exchange an affordable rent tenancy).

The risks are this:
9 months before each fixed term of the tenancy expires the landlord will carry out a review and could
Decide not to renew your tenancy for reasons set out in their tenure policy e.g

if you don't need a 3 bed house, or
you've breached the agreement, or
you no longer qualify for an allocation of social housing.

That said some housing associations are moving away from fixed terms so they may convert to an assured periodic tenancy rather than a 6 year fixed term assured shorthold tenancy in due course.

If its still a fixed term when the kids have flown the nest you could be forced to downsize.

Same applies if it's a council flexible fixed term tenancy.