AIBU to question Reform's plan to prioritise married couples for social housing?

[QueenSophia]

Reform have proposed to prioritise social housing for various groups : 'Rules would be changed to reserve at least half of all social homes in England for British-born workers aged under 35, with prioritisation also given to married couples, veterans, victims of domestic violence and care leavers.'

I agree with DV victims, those with children, care leavers : veterans are also at high risk of homelessness. But why prioritise married couples over single people? I'm not convinced that's fair. I assume it's to encourage marriage which is a good aim but I'm not convinced if this is the right decision.

she very likely does have a mortgage or private rent. It’s a minority of people who don’t.

i agree with this poster and im a home owner, no one in my family has ever rented

They have only signed up today and already claim to know everything about you

I never claimed to know anything except that you’re obviously a social tenant who’s never had to pay private rent or a mortgage. It’s obvious from how you talk

It’s not a small minority. If she had to pay private rent or a mortgage she wouldn’t be acting like £100 a week rent is anything

In My utopia all rents would be social rent also.

mortgages only feature because the model is small landlords who can’t afford to fund properties taking out very high loans against them. If you eliminate private landlords that goes.

maintenance is pretty minimal on a professionally maintained asset (proper servicing, adhering to standard replacement cycles) but most landlords don’t work to this optimum model. Also because they’re so small scale they pay significantly more for maintenance than ie a housing association does

Well. Here's a list of possibilities.

(a) I rent privately in the south east of England.
(b) I own outright in a devolved nation.
(c) I have a socially rented flat in Andy Burnham's North.
(d) I have a string of luxury properties in London, New York, Sydney and the Bahamas. Plus yacht.
(e) I have an extensive rental portfolio and live in whichever is empty at any one time.
(f) I queue up for a bed in a homeless hostel every night.

None or any of these could be true. Why does it matter so much to the pp? The internet is anonymous and anybody could say anything they liked. It proves nothing except you should listen to someone's argument instead of inventing a backstory for them.

Ah. I was starting to wonder. Thank you.

You shouldn’t speak on something you have no experience with

Probably using AI to come up with a profile.

This has been happening on other threads.

Really annoying for those of us posting in good faith.

If someone pays £100 a week in the (expensive parts of) the south east they have lived there for decades.
New renters pay far far more than that and even for legacy tenancies I recall the minimum rent target being £106 a week before service charges over 10 years ago.

I’ve been on mumsnet for over a year. I name change regularly to protect my identity and my kids

You have been told your assumptions are wrong, why not accept that and respect the posters own privacy?

It’s one man in a one bed flat. Built decades ago. Been a couple years since he told me his rent. If you’re on the list you can still move into an old council home they have even cheaper rent than the new build ones. People die not everyone moving into a new social home is a new housing association one some are old council houses built ages ago

I’m just assuming she has no experience private renting or paying a mortgage (unless she’s a lot older and paid her mortgage years ago) based on what she’s saying. I haven’t actually asked her to prove or verify it and yeah I might be wrong

They do if it's a flat and building has that cladding and safet windows? Even houses have to have fire door if over certain floors.

Well he's not hurting anyone, is he? It's not like a one bedroom flat is suitable for a family with children so he's depriving them. It was built for a single person, and he's a single person.
Average SH rent in SE for a one bed flat is £480 to £585, so if he told you his rent a while back that's about right.

Bloody hell they’re lucky!

How much easier life would be if more of us qualified for social housing!

Plus the small one bedroom flat will have a lot less stuff in it because it will only contain the belongings of one person instead of two

I originally brung him up because people always accuse teen mums of stealing all the council homes (I had my first at 16 and I privately rent so it irks me) then they bemoan single men with no kids (or single people in general) not getting given their god given entitlement from the council of an entire home.
Well here’s a middle aged man with no kids who was given a council flat. He’s spent the majority of his early adult life drinking and drugging!* The reason people with kids get priority is because kids are more vulnerable than adults and there’s no reason an able bodied adult can’t get a job and buy/rent their own property!
Those little one bed council properties would be better served given to young adults leaving foster care or disabled people. Why does everyone think being given an entire property for doing nothing is their god given right anyway?

*He's actually a nice guy but the point still stands

Oh im SOOO glad you brought up one bedroom flats and disabled ppl I think you might regret bringing it up though because it shows you have NO idea of disability My DH is 76 Twenty years ago he had a heart attack which left him with disabilities He also has COPD Now i will tell you what happens with disabilities when you live in a one bedroom flat. There is no where to store or charge disability aids like mobility scooters. DH had to store his in the communal hallway He STILL has the permission letters from the HA to do this. Then in November 2017 a "tort" notice appeared telling DH to get rid of his mobility scooter or they would destroy it. It was the new housing officers way of introducing himself!! Now i tried to discuss this with them calmly through the proper channels. Got nowhere so took to social media Then on the 14th December someone from the HA came round to discuss it (probably feared it might go viral over Christmas when the office was closed) Plus they could have done this in the first place. Its not a tower block Its a block of FOUR flats so he only would have had to knock on four doors to find out whose scooter it was. Upshot was DH got a scooter shed to store and charge it in WHICH HE PAYS FOR INCLUDING INSURANCE and hes happy to do so.
A friend of mine who is now disabled cos hes spent too long on a NHS waiting list also lives in a one bedroom flat He asked about having somewhere to store and charge a mobility scooter and has been told NO!
So needing more room isnt always about kids. Which is a choice Disability isnt
Some of the people who died in Grenfell were disabled tenants in flats on higher floors

I think most people who support social housing would want there to be enough of it so that everyone who couldn't or chose not to purchase a home would have it as an option.
Unfortunately right to buy and rebuild restrictions the Tory government placed on councils decimated stock, and its going to take decades to rebuild to the point capacity gets even close to demand.
My hope is that the current government are around long enough to give this a good shot before another party deprioritises it again.
Meanwhile, yes, decisions have to be made based on greatest need and children and vulnerable adults should be top of the list.
No one should be complaining about mums with children regardless of age, and the teen mum
stereotype is disgusting and I'm not surprised it winds you up.
Its also terrible you were in a HMO with your toddler with no hope of rehousing.
But it doesn't do to make other tenants the focus of your anger, and begrudge them their homes. It's not their fault successive governments have let us all down.

I’m not sure why you’re trying to make out like I said something bad about disabled people when I’ve literally said they’re the ones who should be prioritised over able bodied adults. Guess you’re just going to twist whatever I say now and make out like I’m a bad hateful person

You said disabled people should get little one bedroom flats Dont blame me because you cant think critically