To thiink more needs to be done to stop people accessing council housing who already have overseas homes?

[livinginatravellodge]

I know a person who is a dual national but not has British Nationality. They still have really strong links to their country of origin.
In their home country they have a fully furnished 3 bed apartment that they visit with their children when going home. They also one an apartment which they rent out and the income is kept in a bank account overseas. They also own a prime piece of building land. However, in the UK they live in a council property.

I believe that in most councils you are not allowed council housing if you all ready own property; some councils are more explicit and say in detail that this includes overseas property.

If a person attempted to gain a council property while already owning UK property they could very quickly be found out and be taken to court for housing fraud.

I know of another couple, both from different countries who live in council property in the UK. I am friends with them both on Facebook and every year they go on holiday to their alternate country of origin. Again, they have a property to stay in when they visit their home country. I would think that this situation is more common than we all realise.

I own my own property and have been fortunate enough to never need to live in council property but I find this really unfair.The first person mentioned is not a very nice person in many ways (but that is another matter). I reported him to the council and have provided my name for further information.

I am intrigued to see what the council do but I am anticipating nothing as they may find it too hard to prove.

AIBU to think that more needs to be done to ensure that council housing is not allocated to those that already have an overseas home?

@DadJoke As I said, it would probably be helpful if the thread title was edited.

As others have discussed in this thread, white British people do this social housing fraud too.

Completely agree I think it’s shocking, they are probably also claiming benefits whilst they hide other income. This is why the county is in such a state.

Does anyone have any evidence at all other than anecdotes about the prevalence of this behaviour?

For example, sub-letting is huge problem, with 50,000 properties let on AurBnB. This is well evidenced fraud.

shorttermrentalz.com/news/council-homes-fraud-holiday-lets-uk/

I think you’re speculating a lot here!

I agree with you - subletting is far more prevalent and is a criminal offence to sublet a council or HA property

Yes. The illegal subletting is what my friend experienced as a private renter. It wasn't advertised on Airbnb, it was advertised as a normal private rental. The landlord was upfront about it when my friend went to view the flat (because post from the council might arrive addressed to them).

She'd bought a home somewhere else in the UK which she lived in, and she said she was keeping the social housing flat for her toddler DC to live in when they were an adult. Loads of us would like get housing for our DC, but most people can't afford to do that - and definitely don't commit fraud to do it (leaving vulnerable people in desperate need without a social home).

You can pay after you sell.

I totally disagree. Her lack of readiness does not trump a family living in a run down bedsit surrounded by drug takers etc. Which is the reality for many families. It is her home due to the largesse of the taxpayer. She should be moved to another property, but the tax payer should not fund space for wfh over actual housing for children.

Which country is the overseas property in?

The answer is building more social housing - including for larger families but also sufficient numbers of 1 and 2 bedroom homes.

Downsizing, at least in my area, has caused a serious shortage of smaller homes.

Why should vulnerable single people and only-child families (including the disabled and DV victims) be in run down bedsits surrounded by drugs?

YABU
property abroad isn't here is it..
Imo everyone should be entitled to council housing then it's just a matter of who is priority.
Houses abroad should be taken into account but I'd imagine other factors might make you high priority.
For example my mum is in a council property and owns property abroad
But she's severely disabled and cannot access the property abroad. It also won't sell nor could she rent it out as its dilapidated. She couldn't find a private rental which suited her needs as a disabled person which was near enough her family who help out with her care. So she was housed by the council.

Basically it's complex and should be taken on a case by case basis.
And anyone in any circumstances would is a British national can apply for council housing and is technically entitled to it.. it's just a matter of what priority you are. Meaning people who already own homes would be such a low priority that they would never get a council house.. however like I said there might be mitigating factors.
So no I don't think people who own homes either here or abroad should be banned from living in council property.

Noone should be in them, and yes we need more social housing, however while that is not forthcoming, we shouldn't waste the properties we currently own. There are many parts of the country within abundance of 1 bedroom places, this should not be the case I there are single people in houses with multiple bedrooms.

YANBU

It’s much wider than people realise.

There is also the related issue of subletting and profiteering.

it needs looking into instead of just promising to build the country onto oblivion.

Our area has an abundance of 1 and 2 beds. The issue being that those under occupying will hold out until they find what they want. No flats, bungalows, garden, must allow pets etc at this point I do not think they should be able to dictate it

It isn’t their home, it’s the councils and the fact councils/HA’s do absolutely nothing regarding under occupying and what it’s adding to the housing crisis is disgraceful

Failing to declare properly abroad is by no means unusual.

It’s so incredibly common that Heathrow has its own social work team and page telling returnees exactly what they need to know in order to access benefits and accommodation once back in the UK. They get their children to put them on council tax to immediately bypass the Habitual Residence test, and you may notice, most importantly, no where does it state that the person needed to have sold their property in the country they are returning from in order to obtain housing assistance here. Obviously, areas vary as to availability of post 55 accommodation, but this is something easily checked before coming over.

heathrowtravelcare.co.uk/what-we-do/returning-to-the-uk-from-abroad/

This is a ridiculous example. Obviously the property price will need to be evaluated, that information is passed onto the council who can make a decision. If it’s 5K then, no, the tenant will not lose their council property. I’m sure there’s a cap on what savings/investments an individual can have?

If it’s 500,000, they’ll likely have enough assets not to need council accommodation anymore. Basically, those who most need cheaper housing, should be the priority for lower cost accommodation, that’s what it was designed for.

OP, YANBU, unfortunately I don’t think anything will be done in a hurry but you’re right to report.

The postcode lottery as seen in this thread is another major issue. Some areas seem to have a lot of smaller sized properties, whereas my area has a massive shortage - in no small part caused by downsizers given priority.

I know from friends in London it's even worse there - many very vulnerable single people and only-child families are massively affected. These are vulnerable people (disabled, DV victims, elderly) so shared housing, as suggested by a previous poster, is completely inappropriate for them.

Vulnerable people (elderly, disabled, DV victims etc) need to stay near their family and support. So it's of no help for them that other parts of the UK might have more smaller properties available. Don't you also need to be from the local area to be eligible for social housing?

I also assume if there was large scale relocation of single people and only-child families, the areas they're moved to would quickly also have a shortage of smaller homes. Not to mention extra pressure on health and social care services.

@ChardonnaysBeastlyCat you say it's not unusual - please can you point me at any evidence for this?

@Notmyfirstusername that's not evidence at all this is widespread. It's not even evidence that it happens. It's just vague allegations. You've just pointed at information for returning UK nationals, who absolutely deserve to know their rights. The eligibility criteria come up when they apply for housing.

It's easy. If you said "sub-letting is a big problem" I'd agree - I've seen evidence for it. This, it might well happen, it might be very rare, it might be common, but with any evidence it's just speculation. "I know a guy" isn't evidence.

This thread sounds like you’re basically racist and trying to incite anger and racism.

I don’t even see your problem really.

Hang on, you are the one suggesting it's a ridiculously unusual suggestion.

Why don't you provide your evidence first?

You don't have to believe me, and I'm not going to tell you how I know, but I would welcome a thorough investigation, into second and third properties here and abroad, belonging to council tenants.

Yes, and I do wonder if that’s right. Not having a go at you in anyway whatsoever as you just did what many do. A neighbour of my mum’s had a council house and was paying absolutely minimal rent. There was her, her DH and two adult working children. They owned four cars and the DH alone was earning a very good wage due to his prestigious job. Between them, they could well have afforded to rent privately. They were lovely people but there were people waiting for a council house stuck in a B&B with young children, so I always thought there should be some kind of reassessment if people’s income massively increases.

Thats not to mention Right To Buy, which wasn’t a good idea IMO.

The OP suggested that there is a problem. You said it's not usual. How do you know? It's not my job to prove it. I can't prove a negative in any case.

If it were a widepread problem it would be listed on the social housing fraud page. It is not. Over to you.

Over to me what?

You have a touching faith in what's listed on the social housing fraud page. Bless.