Housing stigma

[Antiquedoll]

Has anyone else noticed an increase in bad attitude towards social housing from property owners? I hought the UK was progressive and believed innequality but it seems to me the division is growing?

Because that's life.

We dont always get what we want, there is always competition for resources.

If you have low income, apply to a waiting list. Maybe you'll be lucky, maybe you won't. But dont evict people who have done nothing wrong!! FFS.

I can't believe this actually needs explaining.

Hang on there @Needmorelego Im sure @Antiquedoll wont mind having her kids looked after by a childminder who lives in one of these facililties rather than her own home. @Antiquedoll kids can use the bunk beds instead of a climbing frame and im sure she wont mind her kids being around unvetted strangers who will also be living there.

The irony. Just because people are paying higher rent than mine. That isn't my business. Nor does it give you the right to assume others circumstances.

No, it’s always been like that.

Exactly life is unfair!

JFC! Why not just bring back the workhouses and be done with it? Clearly people who are less fortunate that you shouldn't be treated like actual humans and should be treated as the vermin that you think they are.

My Grandma was like this. She got a large 3 bed council house with garden in around 1950 I think. My mum and her 3 siblings lived with her, the youngest one moved out around 1975. From then until when she passed away in 2018. To her credit to declined Right to buy, but refused to move to a lovely 1 bed bungalow (10 were built for elderly people in her village, so would have only been moving a few streets) and free up the house, she lived there for 40 years on her own, which I think was very wrong. It was there for her when she needed it after being widowed young.

I feel very sorry for them.

As they age living in destitution and being in poverty is going to be horrendous. Especially as the benefits will need to be cut soon.

I know I am very lucky to have my own home, and the security and appreciating value will provide an inheritance to my children. The poverty trap is going to be increasingly hard to escape with plummeting quality of life and life expectancy. I don’t know how anyone can feel ‘jealous’ of poverty and misery.

Things are going to look vastly different in 5 years time or less, and not for the better for those struggling at the bottom.

I am referring to two separate low paid workers. All things equal but one is given a house so has spending money to enjoy life whilst the other spends every penny on full market rent and lives in poverty. How is that right,?

As long as private rents remain high there will be always those that claim housing is subsidised.
There was a time when rents were on par but the council house was desirable as the tenancy was secure.
Private rents have increased a ridiculous amount for the same kind of properties.

Post world war 2 social housing was for everyone it didn’t matter your income- as demand grew and houses were sold off there came the waiting lists.

I live in a housing association house- the area is completely horrible and the house is old and run down but I know I’m lucky to have a secure tenancy.
A few doors up is rented privately and the rent is £900 - because the landlord knows there is demand so charges what he wants. 2 years ago it was £600

It's the private landlords you should be angry at for that.
Why are they allowed to charge such high rents?

Their mortgages and maintenance bills have gone up I imagine.

The only assumption i made was that you are in social housing, which wasn't wrong. Your attitude is precisely the problem: others are subsidising your situation which you don't seem to acknowledge. If I were you I'd pinch myself. I wouldn't move either unless I had to.

because they are not a charity, and the rent barely covers the mortgage + maintenance + fees.

They could charge a lot more if they wanted to actually earn money from most properties.

Not always.
There are unfortunately a lot of landlords taking the piss.

Social housing should be a safety net, a TEMPORARY safety net, and - because we cant' pay essential workers a decent wage - reserved for key workers on a longer basis.

They really should not be for life, because that's just ridiculous.

But you can say that about lots of life's challenges.

My sister and I, both of us had the same upbringing and opportunities but I went on to have a successful career and bought a big house, she died far too young from cancer. How is that right?

I bought the same bag of jelly babies as my husband, his bag had more green ones (my fave), how is that right?

I do the same job as a person who lives 40 miles away. Just because they live closer to London, they get paid £6k more than me for the exact same job! How is that right?

I had to pay £40k more for my house than my neighbour because we bought it 4 years later than they did. They earn more than we do! How is that right.

I mean, lots of parts of life is unfair. But that's life. You could have applied for social housing if you wanted to.

That's an awful idea. Sure, those who can afford it will likely be able to move out and find their own accommodation.

Those who can't? Who are in your words, the most needy? They will just be punished to make some people like yourself feel better.

Not to mention how it would likely be completely unsuitable for those who are disabled.

So much finger pointing and resentment here.

Everyone has a right to a secure, safe and warm house.

Council house or HA- great, everyone in that house has much better life prospects under a secure tenancy and fair rent. I’m sure you work hard to pay your rent and bills.

House owning- a real privilege, I’m sure you also work hard to pay the mortgage and bills.

private rent- well it’s a house but it’s not secure and it’s very expensive, also working hard to pay the rent.

vote with your feet. If you think it's too high, rent elsewhere. They only charge what someone is willing to pay.

If ALL the rents in one area are the same, then that's your answer, that's the cost. People have a wrong view because they compare with social housing which is supported by the tax payer, nowhere near a real price.

I'm a low paid worker who lives in social housing, not entitled to benefits. I have no spending money to "enjoy life". I was crucified on here a few months back for complaining, because I have the audacity to have TV subscriptions and spend my club card points on Disney+. On here you're not allowed to "enjoy life" unless you're earning 6 figures and own your own home outright.

Yes and no.
A lot of landlords own several properties and are running it as a business.
Many own outright so don't even have a mortgage.
If it's to "pay the mortgage" why is it that many private tenants are often paying 3 times the amount of those who are paying a mortgage.
Don't say it's for maintenance. The amount of maintenance usually needed doesn't add up to those high amounts.
Private landlords could actually save money if they let their tenants do their own decorating (like councils tennants are allowed to).
I'm sorry....but private landlords frequently are taking the piss.

Private rents are directly linked to the interest rates and mortgage costs. Those have gone up really quite dramatically recently, so private rents do too.

Sure, there may be some landlords who take the piss I do not doubt that for a second. But its always been known that this is the case, high mortgage rates, high private rent.

you are allowed to enjoy life, but it's disingenuous to expect to be able to afford all the luxuries you want because you want them. Other people have to do without, that's life. It's not a race to the bottom, but what make you think you have the right to have everything when you have chosen a lower-paid job?

where does it stop?

Some people expect "luxuries" but refuse to work more than 20 or 30 hours a week. You can't have it both ways.

This is bollocks.

my old landlord in 2018, I saw her mortgage statement, her payment was £358 a month. Our rent was £800.