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?

I live in a street where half the houses are private, the other social housing. We are doing well, all of us, expect one idiot who is now in police custody. Very green and full of amenities market town. I was talking with a colleague about general things around my street and he said: so now people who know that there are people on benefits around you will think you too, are on benefits. I started laughing hysterically. He himself is married to a woman who lives on a council estate, having inherited the tenancy from her mum. Like really

Someone needs to do the low paying jobs. Society would fall apart without those who work in nurseries, supermarkets and the such like.

Not everyone is capable of working in high paid jobs either.

Chosen a low paid job? A lot of you lot would be fucked if child minders and care workers walked out for better paid jobs tomorrow

Its always fascinated me on here how some are happy to have the children and elderly relatives they claim to love, looked after by people they obviously despise.

@FancyQuoter we are lucky. Our landlord charges a sensible rent.
It's an ex council flat and I believe he bought it donkeys years ago so there is no mortgage.
We have to renew the lease every year which is always a bit scary because I can never feel 100% secure and I wish I was allowed to put up pictures and shelves.
But I am very very lucky.
Most private tennants are not.

Private landlords could actually save money if they let their tenants do their own decorating (like councils tennants are allowed to).
that would destroy most properties, it's the last thing anyone would want to do!

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.
often because the mortage is higher! Simple. Most of us don't have a 100% mortgage, a lot has been cleared through a bigger deposit.

but private landlords frequently are taking the piss.
why? because they run a business? Why shouldn't they earn money?

Why do banks get away with charging interest on mortgages whilst we are there? Start with them.

Can you quote me where I said I think I should have the right to have everything?

The fact you think people CHOOSE to have a low paid job, JFC! This is the first job I've been able to get after spending the last 20 years caring for my dd! Now she's an adult she needs less care and I can work full time. I work over 40 hours per week. I don't CHOOSE to have a low paid job, nor do I work part time! How privileged of you to assume people CHOOSE low paid jobs!

There's always been a negative attitude towards social housing everywhere since I can remember( I'm in my 60s). When I was at primary school in a village there was a council estate and my mum told us not to play with the council house children.
No one in my family or any extended family has ever lived in a council house and I've never known any one who did, so I know I still have a negative attitude towards them.

There are some new build housing estates near me and the social housing parts are nearest the road( so have more noise), don't have front gardens and were built from different, presumably cheaper, materials saw them being built). There has certainly been an increase in pale grey tracksuit wearers and very young women with babies in prams so which is very different to the usual village demographic. I have no idea whether these people have bought their homes but given the prices I doubt it.

So if you don't believe in social housing for people who are on low/modest wages but can't afford to buy - WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY MEANT TO LIVE?

yes and there is a place for smug people like these, who neglected their own relatives and gloated about their high salaries, pissed up the wall on shiny kitchens in which no one cooks and massive cars which are really so ugly

the bitterness is real on this thread 😂😂

There are a couple of people on this thread who are really making me angry and quite upset ( @FancyQuoter you are one) so I'm out.
Have a good evening (well the nice people on here).
Bye all.

Are you going to tell your child minder tomorrow how much you despise her for having a low paid job

So is the utter smugness about having a silver spoon stuck up your arse!

If there is a limit on how much a person in HA should earn to be allowed to keep living there, then what's the incentive to go for a better paid job? Who, in their right mind, would do anything to jepodise their home. I've done private rent and was evicted so the LL could sell it, no way on this Earth would I ever put myself in that position again so I'm grateful for my lifetime tenancy and will be here until I go toes up. I give no fucks about what anyone else thinks because, if people were honest, they'd be the same.

my child minder (ex, my kids have grown) has a bigger house than mine 😂😂

And the people in council housing work bloody hard to pay their rent. But ultimately you will pay your mortgage off. The people renting will always have to pay rent (unless they qualify for assistance) so I really don't understand why you are angry that someone has less than you?

I would do the same, but since I don't benefit but subsidise I don't think this is how it should work. I'm sure there is a way to disincentivise staying in a HA property. Or to better regulate the private rental market and give tenants more rights or both. I think social housing should be reviewed periodically just like UC and PIP. I really don't get why the gov obsess about PIP but not social housing. Surely it's a lot more costly.

You say it doesn't make sense to try and earn more if it meant youd have to rent privately. It reminds me of people deciding not to earn more than 100k because of the tax implications. Surely both is a trap and the gov could easily change it.

The social housing system definitely needs some kind of regular review system with people being moved to housing which meets their needs. All housing should be safe, clean and comfortable but should be subject to moving when you need more or less space given the demand.

This is so bizarre to just assume someone will pay their mortgage off. As if people go through it with a breeze. You mustn't get seriously ill, lose your job, having to take a lower paid job, get divorced or try and earn more to cover higher interest rates.

Speaking of subsidies.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/money/martin-lewis-says-without-any-30459902

But that's not the whole story. I rented my flat out when I couldnt sell it due to some technicalities around the leasehold.
The rent I charged was about £550. Of that 15% (£80) went to rental agency. I paid around £100 per month in service charges/ground rent. My mortgage was about £400 a month. So I was actually renting it at a loss. On top of that there were maintenance costs when tenants broke a brand new washing machine for example, or they pulled curtain rail off the wall, or burnt a hole in the carpet, or decided to paint my wardrobes and drawers so badly they had to be replaced, or dried washing inside despite their being a tumble drier, and created a mould issue. Yes I got some money out of their deposits but it nowhere near covered it.

@Tiredandtrying the cost of renting out a place far exceeds mortgage costs. There is maintenance, insurance, agency fees, some kind of sinking fund for major repairs every 10-15 years. And service charge for a leasehold. My service charge in 2018 was 200 a month.

You do realise that a lot of people who live in social housing aren't actually on benefits?

Social housing is a benefit dear.

I was on benefits when I got my council house. I was on my uppers after a split and that wee house was an absolute godsend for me and my DC.

It meant they had stability instead of being in temp accommodation. So they could put down roots and build stable friendships. Have a normal life after witnessing abuse (of me).

it was pure class. In the worst Estate but I didn’t care.

it meant they went to sixth form and one’s a teacher and the other an accountant.

AND it gave me enough stability that I went to uni too and I’m now in a professional career.

and I left there and cried buckets giving it back when I bought my now house.

don’t underestimate the stability effect.