Keeping a 3 bedroom council house when your children have grown up

[Iwishitwerewarmer]

Just pondering - what are everyone’s opinions on a single parent raising their children in a council house/housing association house and staying there once their children have moved out? Should they downsize into a one bed flat/smaller property or is it their right to remain in their home/neighbourhood?

Added extra - they have looked after the property well, have landscaped the garden, installed a new kitchen and generally added value to the property.

I wouldn't blame them for staying if they can, but given the housing shortage it would be reasonable for the council to move them to a smaller property.

You suggested that the lender should influence people’s behaviours. They do.
Until we get lifetime mortgage mortgages whether the rate is fixed for the duration as they do in America, but it is a higher rate
The markets do influence peoples Housing’s conditions until the asset is paid off

I think technically they should downsize yes, as no way should a single adult (or couple) with no children at home, be occupying a 3 bedroom social housing house. But the council/social housing landlord should offer them a 1 or 2 bed property - like a bunglow or flat or smaller house, with the same lifetime tenancy, and the same affordable rent. (Within 2 miles of their home.)

If they don't have enough smaller homes for older people to move to (to free up the 3 and 4 bed homes,) then they need to build them. No-one should be expected to, or made to leave a secure lifetime tenancy. I would NEVER leave, even if I had 3 extra bedrooms, unless they offered me a 2 bed bungalow, close to where I live now, with the same lifetime tenancy, and the same affordable rent.

That would be what I want. Not moving into a flat, or another house. Bungalow only. If they can't provide what they want, I will be staying in the 3 bed house.

@YorkshirePuddingsGreatestFan

I fully understand why people don't want to move on. It's not just a home, it's a support network of relationships they have built over time. It must be daunting moving to a new place and not knowing if they people you are going to be living next to will be as pleasant as the ones you're leaving behind.

This. ^ And this is why they need to find somewhere close to where the person lives. The closer the better.

Oh by the way, people in social housing are NOT living at the taxpayers expense. 🙄 Social housing is NOT FREE!

Actually, I'd be very surprised if this wasn't true. Poverty is a real driver of crime, if you are in social housing these days it's much more likely you you have serious social problems and poverty than if your parents are home owners.

That isn’t a council housing subsidy. It’s a benefit for someone on a low income subsidy.

They do.
Its called council tax
And house maintenance
And heating bills
Etc

It's a choice they make because they own the property.

If councils decide to change the way council tax is charged and count the bedrooms minus the occupants then it will be more formal

But that's what they do on unoccupied homes so I daresay we're not far off.

I think it depends on how you view council and HA properties.
If you view the housing as a commodity thats provided for those who need it, then it surely makes sense that as the need changes you should move to meet whatever matches your current need.
Council and HAs no longer offer lifetime tenancies because need and housing stock are mismatched.

Somewhat sad, but i think we need to appreciate that buying a house is the only way to guarantee choice about where we live long term.

This is disgusting! The system definitely needs more scrutiny.

Maybe as part of social housing the government should have the ability to access your bank accounts to see if you really warrant it.

As someone else said Social Housing should be for need not want. It also should be seen as temporary and not as a long term lifestyle choice.

@blossomtoes even before housing benefit, £400pm for a two bed new build house is clearly subsidised.

I don't think they should be forced out and into another property with no choice in the matter, however when you're applying for council housing and on the register you get the choice to bid on properties. So maybe they should be referred back to the housing register and given the choice to bid on smaller properties when they come up.

Completely disagree.

If you can't provide your own house, then it should be up to the agency/authority providing it to optimism their housing stick so that everyone dependent on subsidised house gets fair and proportionate access.

Wanting to say in a 3 bedroom when you only need 1 room is selfish, even you are being subsidised.

And its also not true
There is one usually one succession of tenancy as a joint tenant with my Dh i succeed the tenancy if he dies before me and vice versa our kids cant continue to inherited the tenancy
I would beceben more ludicrous to beleive adult children of tenants who haven't lived in the house for a long time can inherit their parents tenancy.

They should absolutely be allowed to keep it if they want to. Social housing was always supposed to be for life and to allow everyone a secure home. If someone wants to move to a smaller property then great but it shouldn’t be enforced. Why shouldn’t a council tenant have room to have grandchildren stay over, or to have their family over for Sunday dinner? And why should people have to move from a house with a garden to a flat? Gardens aren’t just for families.

A lack of suitable social housing for families is a structural issue and not caused by small numbers of people remaining in homes larger than they end up needing. Stopping Right to Buy and funding councils to build more family homes (maybe by taxing developers or having them fund x number social properties per y number private homes?) would do far more to help families in need than forcing people out of their homes. More social housing and far fewer private rentals is where we need to be.

They don’t tell you that you have to move from your three bed or take in a lodger purely because your kids have moved out.

I live in a 2 bedroomed council house,my child has moved out.We asked to move maybe to a 2 bedroomed flat or bungalow.there are none available on the ground floor (disability ).The ones I’ve seen (but not eligible for due to age ) are like £40 extra.
we pay full rent and council tax,and wouldn’t mind paying a bit extra but I don’t want to pay more money for a smaller property.

sister in law is in a small 3 bedroomed private rented house and pays £175 a week more than we do on our house,

She can go on homeswapper. It’s for all properties regardless of need. I work in social housing and we support all applicants onto homeswapper provided they’ve completed the first initial year of their tenancy.

The list may well "go on" (old Bob next door would be lost without Mabel popping in to seeing him etc) but again, no reason is good enough IMO for someone my age to be rattling around in a 3/4/5 bed house when families are crammed into tiny accommodation.

What has "dignity" got to do with it 😂? What about the dignity of a family who have 4 kids in one room? An older person can keep their dignity in a smaller place you know

Maintenance, repairs and refurbishment are met from Council Tax/council funds. Rent is subsidised.

Yes! People like me who work and don’t claim any benefits. It is not our fault that private rents are disgustingly expensive. My council bungalow was built in the 60s so 60 odd years of rent payments have more than covered the costs involved.

They should be able to stay. It’s their home. The issue isn’t people remaining in homes when there are so many people waiting for one, the issue is a lack of council housing.

But they can squeeze you at any point to make that a necessity.

And they will do this, it is quite clearly the plan to follow the American model so Property taxes will force people to downsize. Along with healthcare costs.
There’s more than one way to skin a cat

Not everyone who lives in council or social housing is in poverty

Because it’s not a caravan. It’s a family home - just one they rent because they can’t buy.
Houses aren’t just about investnents . They did up the kitchen tk make it a nice house for their family. Who lives in the house and for how long affects the whole community.

Not everyone who lives in council housing gets housing benefits - some people work and pay the full rent required.

Think it's a bit twatty tbh.....your rent is subsidised which you have benefitted massively from. Whilst you're rattling around a 3 bedroom house which you no longer need entire families are crammed into hotel rooms dragging their poor kids from place to place because because they can't find affordable housing.