Leaving a council tenancy to move back in with mum need some reassurance

[prestatynprlck]

For context I am 28 and single. I was given a council tenancy on a one bedroomed flat three years ago. Since then my circumstances have changed and I now earn 38k a year and I am in a position where I could buy a 2/3 bedroomed house soon. I have a 5% deposit saved but I need 10% really otherwise I am going to get stung my interest rates. I could save this in a year moving back in with my mum. I need to bite the bullet and do it however I know I would never get given another council tenancy again and I feel a bit scared of letting it go. Am I mad to consider giving up a secure tenancy to move back in with my mum?

Yes I agree with you and I think some are being unkind to the OP because her plan IS to move on from her secure tenancy into ownership - her question is when not should she.

You have stability NOW. Don't throw it away.

The sensible thing to do would be to stay put and save up slowly.

Moving in with your mum makes you extremely vulnerable.

I agree with everyone else - do not give up your council tenancy. That would be such a foolish thing to do.

So, if you think it can take you a year to save at your mum’s, you can stay in your stable situation and reach the same target in two?

In that case, stay! You are still working towards your goal in a reasonable timeframe, you maintain your independence and it is much lower risk.

Don’t gamble to speed it up by a year. Unforeseen things can happen that require money (I had to go private for emergency surgery, an unexpected large bill) and you are stuck faaar longer than expected.

How is she taking money from taxpayers? Council or HA properties are NFP. They are charging an affordable rent that simply pays the cost of the property. The OP is paying that rent herself. The rents are not subsidised by the tax payers. She's not planning to stay there for ever, merely until she has saved the deposit to buy. I did exactly the same when I was her age!

Really surprised by some of these comments.

House prices only seem to go one way, if you can save more by being at your mums you will get a place sooner. Imagine seeing the houses you want go further and further out your reach as you are only saving half the amount!

As someone who owns their own house, it’s a no brainer. I moved back in with my parents to save as did many of my friends.

How much extra do you need? How long will it take to save it. Go for it, it will be easier at your mums when you remember why you are doing it.

Leave the council flat you don’t need it let it go to someone who’s desperate for a home. Start looking right now for a property by Christmas you could be in your own home.

Can't you buy your current place with right to buy and then flip it for profit?

Because a council house isn't funded by tax payers, the rent from them pays off the loan used to build them and then the profit goes to the council.

Would you rather they rented privately and that rent money went into private hands, because that's one of the reasons councils have lost out on revenue.

In 2018 Housing someone in the private rented sector cost an average of £110 per week in housing benefit compared with £89 in social housing, an extra 23 per cent. Far fewer people would be reliant on housing benefit if they were able to access council housing in the first place, and the government’s housing benefit bill would also come right down.

Q

You have no idea how council housing works.

But did you give up a secure, lifetime tenancy to move back with your parents?

It depends. Would you enjoy living with your mum for a year? If you think it would work and you’d be happy and able to save more it’s a great idea but if you think it would be stifling or difficult then just spend a little longer saving in your current place.

Leaving the council with 75% of the proceeds and only allowed to spend 40% on building another? I can't think why we have an affordable housing crisis, must be all those immigrants.

There would be no point in buying on the right to buy as the discount has been dropped by so much that it wouldn't make sense and would trap me for 5 years for very little gain. I do like the area that I'm in and to be honest, I would struggle to buy a house in the area that I currently live! For context I was on the housing list for 5 years before being offered this flat.

My brother gave up his HA home for similar 'it seemed a good idea at the time' reasons, also persuaded by our mum. That was a couple of decades ago and he still regrets it every day.

Don't even think of giving up your flat until you've actually exchanged contracts on a home of your own.

At least a lifetime tenancy it means you’re paying for it when you’ve retired. Buy your own property and be paid up in 20 years leave your retirement to enjoy your whole pension.

This is why we’ve got a housing crisis. Council double paying for their properties.

Can we just make one thing clear - social housing/ council housing IS NOT PAID FOR BY TAXPAYERS!

It's not a benefit, it's not welfare, it's not coming out of anyone's pocket.

Most people in social housing work and pay tax just like everyone else.

Long term, councils make a profit from their housing. It's a net benefit to the tax payer, not a drain.

OP doesn't owe anyone a flat. If she wants to stay there, she should.

But OP is planning on buying her own home.

But giving up a secure home in the meantime makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Would you really tell your kids "give up a home for life to come back and live with me"?

It makes absolutely zero sense long-term.

It's not a gamble though. Most 20 somethings, who are saving for a house, are staying with their parents - so it's just the norm! The OP's situation is the outlier, because most young people recognise that renting whilst saving for a mortgage makes no sense. Doing what you suggest will lose @prestatynprlck£6000 over that extra year!

What the OP is suggesting is entirely sensible. Living your life anticipating and fretting over every possible pitfall (in a 'what if' rather than 'what is' manner) isn't sensible.

Is your Mum in rented? Secure tenancy?

What if she gets evicted? (if private rental). Is she allowed to have an additional adult living there

Is your current savings and salary enough to buy 1 bed flat? As a plan B ?

But OP has a massive advantage over people who are living with their parents - she has a home for life already! Why would she give that up just because other people aren't as lucky as she is?

It's also not about "fretting over every possible pitfall" - it's about common sense. Giving up a permanent home to live back with mum just makes absolutely no sense whatsoever

Mum is in a three bed housing association that she finally got when I was 17 😂

Don't give up your home, OP. You'd be bonkers to give up a secure tenancy you waited five years for just go back and live with mum.

Don't do it. You will lose any independence and what happens if you do meet someone? I would stay put!

People saying 'give it to those who need it'. She says save £500 a month in council house, £1000 a month at mums. So I assume rent is around £500/£600? Rent in my city privately for a room in shared house is £600 a month, a flat over £1000.

If OP stays in her council house a couple more years, saves well and buys a house for a mortgage of £500/£600 a month she is out of needing housing.

If she leaves, moves in with her mum, something goes tits up, ends up trying to privately rent. Rent is more than she can afford, it eats through her savings until she ends up back needing housing with nothing.

People need to leave the social housing with the financial stability to not end up back there.