Page 24 | To think social housing should be means-tested annually like benefits?

EqualLedgerJay · 2025-12-07T17:25:29+00:00

Situations change, why should lifetime tenancies exist if income rises? AIBU to think fairness cuts both ways?

PeonyPatch · 08/12/2025 12:33

Frequency · 08/12/2025 12:32

You have no choice, unless you want to live with bare walls and floorboards.

When I moved into my house, there was no floor in the kitchen, living room, and 2 out of 3 bedrooms. There were no wall coverings in the living room, kitchen, or bathroom. There were no skirting boards in the living room or any of the bedrooms. Several floorboards needed to be replaced, but this was classed as cosmetic because they were not rotten; they were just too uneven to properly fit a floor covering, ditto the kitchen plastering, which needed to be done, the wall was bad enough that only a thick vinyl wallpaper would have covered it and who the fuck wants wallpaper in their kitchen but it was deemed to be cosmetic as it was not cracked just badly done by previous tenants. There were no window coverings, curtain poles, or white goods, as there are private lettings and no lightbulbs except the fluorescent tube light in the kitchen. Oddly, there was also no grass, only the HA knows why they saw fit to dig up the back garden.

I was given a £200 Wilko's voucher to pay for all of this. Now, bearing in mind I was moving from private rented where maintaining decor was not my responsibility, so I had no equipment such as paint brushes, rollers, trays, etc, or paste tables and paste brushes, hammers, step ladders, plastering float, trowel, mixing bucket, etc, please explain how I could have made the house habitable without spending a large sum of my own money?

We did do it as cheaply as possible, and a lot of it is now being redone to a higher standard now that we are in a better financial position, but when we first moved in at least £1500 if not more, was needed to make the house habitable, plus the cost of white goods. All in all, it cost me at least £3000, before rent in advance, to move here.

I assume if HA housing becomes temporary, the cost of this will be shouldered by the HA or the taxpayers demanding this, and the effect this will have on affordable rents has been taken into consideration?

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But that’s the case for most folk who buy their own home. You do it up gradually.

Kirbert2 · 08/12/2025 12:37

Frequency · 08/12/2025 12:32

You have no choice, unless you want to live with bare walls and floorboards.

When I moved into my house, there was no floor in the kitchen, living room, and 2 out of 3 bedrooms. There were no wall coverings in the living room, kitchen, or bathroom. There were no skirting boards in the living room or any of the bedrooms. Several floorboards needed to be replaced, but this was classed as cosmetic because they were not rotten; they were just too uneven to properly fit a floor covering, ditto the kitchen plastering, which needed to be done, the wall was bad enough that only a thick vinyl wallpaper would have covered it and who the fuck wants wallpaper in their kitchen but it was deemed to be cosmetic as it was not cracked just badly done by previous tenants. There were no window coverings, curtain poles, or white goods, as there are private lettings and no lightbulbs except the fluorescent tube light in the kitchen. Oddly, there was also no grass, only the HA knows why they saw fit to dig up the back garden.

I was given a £200 Wilko's voucher to pay for all of this. Now, bearing in mind I was moving from private rented where maintaining decor was not my responsibility, so I had no equipment such as paint brushes, rollers, trays, etc, or paste tables and paste brushes, hammers, step ladders, plastering float, trowel, mixing bucket, etc, please explain how I could have made the house habitable without spending a large sum of my own money?

We did do it as cheaply as possible, and a lot of it is now being redone to a higher standard now that we are in a better financial position, but when we first moved in at least £1500 if not more, was needed to make the house habitable, plus the cost of white goods. All in all, it cost me at least £3000, before rent in advance, to move here.

I assume if HA housing becomes temporary, the cost of this will be shouldered by the HA or the taxpayers demanding this, and the effect this will have on affordable rents has been taken into consideration?

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I didn't get any vouchers at all.

Thankfully we'd recently got my sons DLA backpay so some of it went on making sure the house he's living in had actual flooring.

Frequency · 08/12/2025 12:38

PeonyPatch · 08/12/2025 12:33

But that’s the case for most folk who buy their own home. You do it up gradually.

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No one said it wasn't. I was replying to a poster who said that if tenants spend their own money on the social housing decor and maintenance, that is their own fault. It is not a choice.

Bambamhoohoo · 08/12/2025 12:39

Crazybigtoe · 08/12/2025 12:24

I agree there should absolutely be a review of this- and the process around it.

All other benefits are just for people to get on their feet- but with housing you get to keep the benefit even if you are already on your feet. I wonder how many of those currently in social housing would, given their circumstances today, qualify for the same home they are in right now?

State pension isn’t to get you back on your feet is it? It’s 67 until you die. Even if your feet are fucking huge

HoneyParsnipSoup · 08/12/2025 12:40

PeonyPatch · 08/12/2025 12:33

But that’s the case for most folk who buy their own home. You do it up gradually.

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Before losing it through eviction, repossession or the far more common ‘downsizing as we can’t afford it any more’

justwaitingformyturn · 08/12/2025 12:47

No. I believe it should revert back to the people it was intended for. The English/Scottish/Welsh working class.

Bambamhoohoo · 08/12/2025 12:48

HoneyParsnipSoup · 08/12/2025 12:40

Before losing it through eviction, repossession or the far more common ‘downsizing as we can’t afford it any more’

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FWIW mortgage companies are frequently forced (or offer) to support families where there are disabilities and mortgage arrears.

my friend lived in her mortgaged property for 13 years after her husband left, only paying a minimum token amount with the interest frozen.
When she remarried they were able to resume repaying.

Bambamhoohoo · 08/12/2025 12:48

justwaitingformyturn · 08/12/2025 12:47

No. I believe it should revert back to the people it was intended for. The English/Scottish/Welsh working class.

The white ones?

kittywittyandpretty · 08/12/2025 12:50

Frequency · 08/12/2025 12:32

You have no choice, unless you want to live with bare walls and floorboards.

When I moved into my house, there was no floor in the kitchen, living room, and 2 out of 3 bedrooms. There were no wall coverings in the living room, kitchen, or bathroom. There were no skirting boards in the living room or any of the bedrooms. Several floorboards needed to be replaced, but this was classed as cosmetic because they were not rotten; they were just too uneven to properly fit a floor covering, ditto the kitchen plastering, which needed to be done, the wall was bad enough that only a thick vinyl wallpaper would have covered it and who the fuck wants wallpaper in their kitchen but it was deemed to be cosmetic as it was not cracked just badly done by previous tenants. There were no window coverings, curtain poles, or white goods, as there are private lettings and no lightbulbs except the fluorescent tube light in the kitchen. Oddly, there was also no grass, only the HA knows why they saw fit to dig up the back garden.

I was given a £200 Wilko's voucher to pay for all of this. Now, bearing in mind I was moving from private rented where maintaining decor was not my responsibility, so I had no equipment such as paint brushes, rollers, trays, etc, or paste tables and paste brushes, hammers, step ladders, plastering float, trowel, mixing bucket, etc, please explain how I could have made the house habitable without spending a large sum of my own money?

We did do it as cheaply as possible, and a lot of it is now being redone to a higher standard now that we are in a better financial position, but when we first moved in at least £1500 if not more, was needed to make the house habitable, plus the cost of white goods. All in all, it cost me at least £3000, before rent in advance, to move here.

I assume if HA housing becomes temporary, the cost of this will be shouldered by the HA or the taxpayers demanding this, and the effect this will have on affordable rents has been taken into consideration?

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Honestly, not trying to be an arsehole but that’s exactly the situation and I found myself in when buying my house
Except the £1500 that I’d allocated towards curtain bowls etc. Was suddenly required by the solicitor because everybody had miscalculated the actual purchase price.
So I moved in two weeks before payday and we had nothing literally nothing.

Except a newly acquired 200 g worth of Debt
My son and I sat and cried on the stairs.
I appreciate at some point. The house will look lovely and it’ll be finished and it’ll be great.
But that point seems very very far away
And it would definitely get to me a lot sooner if I was paying the £500 mentioned in rent earlier up the thread rather than the 1500 in Mortgage

Frequency · 08/12/2025 12:51

Also, I am almost 100% certain that vendors do not remove existing floors and wall coverings when they sell up, leaving uneven, gappy floorboards and bare plaster walls for the buyers. When you buy, you can do it gradually because, unless you've bought for cheap with the intention of renovating, it's a matter of personal taste. When you take on a social letting you either do it all at once or live in a cold, bare shell. It's not about things not being to your liking; it's that there are no floor coverings, just bare floorboards. I'm pretty sure SS would be involved damn quick if tenants opted to continue living like that with children in the house.

HoneyParsnipSoup · 08/12/2025 12:52

Frequency · 08/12/2025 12:51

Also, I am almost 100% certain that vendors do not remove existing floors and wall coverings when they sell up, leaving uneven, gappy floorboards and bare plaster walls for the buyers. When you buy, you can do it gradually because, unless you've bought for cheap with the intention of renovating, it's a matter of personal taste. When you take on a social letting you either do it all at once or live in a cold, bare shell. It's not about things not being to your liking; it's that there are no floor coverings, just bare floorboards. I'm pretty sure SS would be involved damn quick if tenants opted to continue living like that with children in the house.

How many houses have you bought out of interest?

Bambamhoohoo · 08/12/2025 12:53

HoneyParsnipSoup · 08/12/2025 12:52

How many houses have you bought out of interest?

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I’ve bought 7. The only one that had no flooring and bare walls was a fixer upper that I purchased for £150k less than the others on the street.

whats your point?

justwaitingformyturn · 08/12/2025 12:54

@Bambamhoohooi said what I said.

HoneyParsnipSoup · 08/12/2025 12:56

Bambamhoohoo · 08/12/2025 12:53

I’ve bought 7. The only one that had no flooring and bare walls was a fixer upper that I purchased for £150k less than the others on the street.

whats your point?

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Isn’t my point obvious?

Bambamhoohoo · 08/12/2025 12:57

HoneyParsnipSoup · 08/12/2025 12:56

Isn’t my point obvious?

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Your point appears to be that people frequently purchase properties in the same state as social housing.

not routinely they don’t. And never do they without knowing about it and having the opportunity to say no to it.

Bambamhoohoo · 08/12/2025 12:58

justwaitingformyturn · 08/12/2025 12:54

@Bambamhoohooi said what I said.

You should look up some history of social housing. Many housing associations were started by, and funded by immigrants for their own people. Take MHT-

started by a wealthy Jamaican woman to house the windrush generation.

we should feel lucky they let us white English people in the homes they paid for, really.

www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/windrush-to-g15-the-history-of-metropolitan-thames-valley-69830

Frequency · 08/12/2025 13:01

HoneyParsnipSoup · 08/12/2025 12:56

Isn’t my point obvious?

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No, it is not, but I'll answer your question anyway. My dad owned his own building company, so I was involved in the renovation of dozens of newly purchased properties. Fitting a new kitchen or bathroom always involved removing the existing wall and floor coverings.

My ex was into property (letting/buying to renovate and sell on), so although I have not bought a house myself, I was involved in buying and renovating around 5/6 properties while with him. All of them had some description of floor coverings. Only one had no wallpaper because it had been rewired.

HoneyParsnipSoup · 08/12/2025 13:02

Bambamhoohoo · 08/12/2025 12:57

Your point appears to be that people frequently purchase properties in the same state as social housing.

not routinely they don’t. And never do they without knowing about it and having the opportunity to say no to it.

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Well we moved 3 months ago.

We have spent about £3,000 so far and will have to spend more - a lot more.

Outwardly it looked absolutely fine.

As soon as we moved in we discovered the built in washing machine didn’t work. Went to replace it, discovered the floor had been laid after the machine went in. Had to rip up the floor, discovered a leak underneath. Had the washing machine installed, had to relay the floors. This cost a fortune given 2 dud call-out fees where ‘we can’t fix it but have to charge you for the assessment’.

The oven wouldn’t heat over 180 degrees and food was coming out uncooked. So that had to be replaced.

The back door, already quite old, suddenly wouldn’t fit back in its frame so there was a gap at the top whenever it was locked with cold air coming in. The handle came off a few weeks in. 2,000 for that to be replaced.

Do I get to now stay here forever, guaranteed?

Bambamhoohoo · 08/12/2025 13:06

HoneyParsnipSoup · 08/12/2025 13:02

Well we moved 3 months ago.

We have spent about £3,000 so far and will have to spend more - a lot more.

Outwardly it looked absolutely fine.

As soon as we moved in we discovered the built in washing machine didn’t work. Went to replace it, discovered the floor had been laid after the machine went in. Had to rip up the floor, discovered a leak underneath. Had the washing machine installed, had to relay the floors. This cost a fortune given 2 dud call-out fees where ‘we can’t fix it but have to charge you for the assessment’.

The oven wouldn’t heat over 180 degrees and food was coming out uncooked. So that had to be replaced.

The back door, already quite old, suddenly wouldn’t fit back in its frame so there was a gap at the top whenever it was locked with cold air coming in. The handle came off a few weeks in. 2,000 for that to be replaced.

Do I get to now stay here forever, guaranteed?

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Yes. I’ll let you. Anything to stop you being jealous of the most disadvantaged in society.

HoneyParsnipSoup · 08/12/2025 13:07

Bambamhoohoo · 08/12/2025 13:06

Yes. I’ll let you. Anything to stop you being jealous of the most disadvantaged in society.

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They’re not the most disadvantaged in society.

justwaitingformyturn · 08/12/2025 13:07

@BambamhoohooSocial housing started long before the Windrush people.

My point stands. I live in housing association myself, in a small village. In my street I am the only English person, locals cannot get housing and it’s not right.

When I applied we had to be from the area, or have a connection. Now as much as I like my neighbours, non of them are from here or have any connection to the area. They’re mostly Eastern European apart from an Indian family and family from the Philippines.

ShinyWorthKeeping · 08/12/2025 13:08

I was a preschool teacher for 5 years until a new manager came in and bullied me out, she quit during my notice so I retracted it and carried on working.

I fell unexpectedly pregnant a few weeks later, my work refused to pay me any maternity pay as I hadn't been there long enough yet

So my partner and I ended up in an upstairs council flat.

An incident during my c section caused me to develop DQD in one arm rendering it pretty much useless from elbow down. It was assumed to be carpal tunnel for the first 6 months as the pain and lack of mobility came on over those 6 months.

I fell pregnant with my youngest about 4 weeks before my DQD diagnosis.

I am not allowed to leave my pushchair downstairs and even if I was i can't safely carry 2 under 2 down/up the concrete stairs so essentially I am trapped unless my partner has a day off work or someone can come and help me.

My youngest was born with Tracheomalacia, she's had covid and bronchiolitis all before a month old (now 3 months old) and because the flat has no extractor fans/ no garden to dry laundry and shitty windows we have a ton of mold.

We've begged and pleaded to move, we've been on the list for ages, we've quoted Awaabs law but the best we get is a man who gives us a "special spray" to help get rid of it. It's ruined 2 pairs of curtains and a double buggy (and probably all of our lungs)

The fairness certainly isn't cutting my way and I know my case isn't isolated, a woman next door can't leave her flat as she now needs a mobility scooter but has been told she needs to carry it up the stairs after each use or she will be fined.

Etc etc etc...

Needingtoanewjob · 08/12/2025 13:09

The Government could be building social housing.
Low cost genuinely affordable housing would benefit everyone. There would be more money into the general economy rather than being trapped in housing.

Frequency · 08/12/2025 13:09

HoneyParsnipSoup · 08/12/2025 13:02

Well we moved 3 months ago.

We have spent about £3,000 so far and will have to spend more - a lot more.

Outwardly it looked absolutely fine.

As soon as we moved in we discovered the built in washing machine didn’t work. Went to replace it, discovered the floor had been laid after the machine went in. Had to rip up the floor, discovered a leak underneath. Had the washing machine installed, had to relay the floors. This cost a fortune given 2 dud call-out fees where ‘we can’t fix it but have to charge you for the assessment’.

The oven wouldn’t heat over 180 degrees and food was coming out uncooked. So that had to be replaced.

The back door, already quite old, suddenly wouldn’t fit back in its frame so there was a gap at the top whenever it was locked with cold air coming in. The handle came off a few weeks in. 2,000 for that to be replaced.

Do I get to now stay here forever, guaranteed?

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Sure, if I can also stay in my house if I stop paying rent, as the only way you will lose your house is if you stop paying the mortgage. The same applies to social tenants. If we stop paying rent, we are evicted, except that there is no end date on our rent. In 20-25 years, I will not own this house. I will still need to pay rent despite having paid the equivalent of a mortgage. When I retire, I will still need to pay rent. When I die, my children will not inherit a valuable asset; instead, they'll have 2 weeks to empty my house.

Bambamhoohoo · 08/12/2025 13:10

justwaitingformyturn · 08/12/2025 13:07

@BambamhoohooSocial housing started long before the Windrush people.

My point stands. I live in housing association myself, in a small village. In my street I am the only English person, locals cannot get housing and it’s not right.

When I applied we had to be from the area, or have a connection. Now as much as I like my neighbours, non of them are from here or have any connection to the area. They’re mostly Eastern European apart from an Indian family and family from the Philippines.

where did I say it started with the windrush generation?

MTVH now house hundreds of thousands of people. All from that Jamaican investment. Lucky us.