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.

Some private landlords don't do repairs for their tenants. Some private tenants pay a lot for sub standard premises

Yep, I had water coming through the wall and ceiling, a radiator with a hole in so I had no heating, tons of damp that wrecked my belongings.
I reported it so many times and nothing was done.

I have two sets of friends living in sub standard private lets and one of the homes is causing the family health issues due to damp and mould

Honestly, it's a waste of time explaining this. Or ANYthing....

The social-housing-tenant haters just simply don't want to hear anything other than 'social housing is subsidised, and funded by taxpayers,' 'all social housing tenants are spongers,' 'social housing is free,' and 'as soon as the household income goes over £30K they should hand over their secure lifetime affordable tenancy (and home) and move into a private let flat... ' (A private let flat that is £600 a month more rent than their social housing house was.)

Then their social housing house can go to someone who is 'more deserving' (and this someone is ALWAYS a young mum with 4 kids who have been living in a 1 bed flat for about 10 years! ) Oh yeah, and no-one should get a tenancy for life, in fact maybe all tenancies should just be one year long. Coz it's only fair innit?! 😎

Seriously 😂 I'm done ... Off out for a Good Friday walk.

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That is not a surprise and does not seem to be that uncommon.

I know a lady who is in the same position... damp and mould causing her little boy health issues. Except she is in council housing and even they are being crap about getting it dealt with. They got moved into a hotel whilst it was being "dealt with", which was basically cleaning it up. It has come back.

I can assure you the ideas are not "outdated" but based on empirical experience.

As for the tone, hmmm, having had the misfortune to visit some social housing areas where there are broken toys and household articles littering all the front gardens, a trail of dog shit and broken glass on the pavements, washing lines full of single sheets with big yellow stains in the middle and females leaning out of windows yelling at their kids " behave you little bastards or I'll come down and burst you ! ", I have my doubt as to how the "tone" could get any worse.😒

And do you think that's how all council tenants live?

I did say "some". 🙂

Outdated stereotype. You’ve been watching too many 1960s kitchen sink dramas

How do you “burst” a kid?

Shameless,I think
I bet they gave never been near a council estate in their life.

Feed them too many chicken nuggets?

Errr no.

I have seen it for myself recently.

It's a Scottish phrase

Sounds like old neighbours of mine. Who owned their flat.

I have no idea, it's a Scouse expression.
I would guess it means a "good hiding" is coming their way. Doesn't sound good in any event. 😮

😃😃

I've lived in very rough areas - for 25 years - but I don't live like that. I also live in a much nicer area now with a mix of council flats. People who have bought their council homes and people who private rent - I had significant trouble with neighbours when I moved in and had to call police

People can be anti social anywhere

When thry leave the need to check they don't have to undo all the changes they've made.

This is because it absolutely is subsidised. This is why it will always be a finite resource and why we need to be very careful as a society about how we allocate it. Many will believe it should go to those people with the greatest need. How you define that is of course subjective but it's hard to argue that a single woman has the greatest need for a three bed house in this day and age with families living out of hotel room .

A basic bit of maths to prove how social housing is subsidised for those that don't get it. Tenants save an average of £800 per month through renting social housing as opposed to renting privately meanwhile a new BTL landlord with an interest only mortgage (i.e. not using the rent paid to pay off the house) will make on average £50-£300 profit a month. So basically if that landlord wanted to be a non for profit landlord then they wouldn't be able to compete with social housing. Why? THE COST OF CAPITAL. This is relevant even if you've paid your house off. If you have money sat in property then there will be an opportunity cost for the council and private individuals.

The government has to pay 5% in public debt each year. If they could sell social housing this could save them a hell of a lot of interest payments and reduce the money they owe.

Hmm, my mum has been in her council house for 40 years, and has paid full rent all that time (which does go up, like everyone else's).
How is her rent subsidised when if she owned, she would have paid off the mortgage years ago? And have a house to pass on to her kids to show for it. Where is her rent money going? It is not paying for her house, that is for sure.

I think some of you forget this. With a lifetime tenancy, you are paying rent forever and never own anything.

Ultimately, if you have a lifetime tenancy then it is your home and no shouting of "its so unfair" is going to change that. Each tenancy is specific to that home. If you move you get a new tenancy agreement. So my lifetime tenancy agreement is for my specific property.

When you own a house then the deeds are in your name. But its a piece of paper, just like a tenancy agreement. Why should your piece of paper be legally binding and mine not? Because you've paid money? So have I. I've always paid my own rent.

It's acknowledged that its up to the tenant to make it a home by the fact its a bare shell when you get it. Should I not spend my own money buying carpets or painting the walls because hey its not "my" house? If a landlord was telling me my time here was temporary then I wouldn't be expecting to spend any money on anything I can't take with me when I go (just like a private renter). Can councils and HA's afford to kit out all their properties with carpets, white goods etc? Of course not.

Private tenants are never guaranteed to keep their house/flat. It's not "your" home. The council are crying out for properties for families. It's unfortunate but they need to downsize in my opinion.

Anyone who has social house that is too big for them their family is a leach preventing a family in need from having one.

That's because you are renting an asset off of an individual when you private rent. It is theirs, but you live in it in exchange for money.
Different to social housing. Different tenancy types.