AIBU to think a couple moving into in a five bedroom house is selfish?

[activedough]

AIBU here??

I’ve noticed that a couple have recently moved into a 5 bed detached property in my area. They don’t have any children…

I honestly don’t understand it. Why on earth would two people need five bedrooms?! Surely a house that size should be going to a family who actually needs the space?

It just seems incredibly selfish to me when there are families struggling to find suitable homes.

it's their money
they have got their forever home probably

Yes I agree. Totally selfish for a couple to move into a large 5 bedroomed house. Of course what they Should do is buy said house for other people to live in (maybe 2 large families), and then they live in a tent in the garden. Ideal.

Surely when buying a home you consider your own needs and wants first. This isn't 'incredibly selfish". It's practical.

Why do you think they don't need the space? Perhaps they intend to grow into the home in the future with a family or have considered their parents moving in in later life.

Perhaps it will be just the two of them but they need room for guests, shift pattern sleeping, working from home, medical or gym equipment, hobbies, storage, a home business etc.

I think YABU to pass judgement on them with reference to "families struggling to find suitable homes". If there are not many 5 bedroom with an additional 2/3 reception room properties on the housing market the burden of responsibility for this does not lie with this couple.

I imagine that if OP say won a few million on the lottery, she would not be moving but buying houses for other families who can not be housed to live in, definitely not buying a house with an extra bedroom or a large garden.
I won’t lie, if I won a few million I would share some with family to make sure they are in secure housing, for example paying siblings mortgage, but I definitely would be purchasing a large home. There are loads in our area, they can’t sell them. They are large, expensive and cost a lot to heat, repair and renovate.

A tent? Pretty selfish when there's homeless people around. They should give their tent away and live under a tarpaulin propped up by a stick.

That makes no sense...the carbon footprint would be the same (if not higher), with a family living there.

Maybe they plan on having 16 kids. Maybe they plan on fostering multiple children. Maybe they both work from home in jobs that require each to have an office. Maybe they have hobbies that require a dedicated room - damn I'd love to have an office for work, an art studio with loads of light for painting, another room for sculpting and ooh somewhere for a kiln, some nice rooms for entertaining that I can keep the dogs out of...

As it is I can't have a kiln, and cram all the above things into what was a dining room, and use our tiny third bedroom/boxroom as a storage room.

Maybe you think that as a childfree couple, my DP and I should not even have a three bedroom house, we should hand it over to a couple with two kids, and move to a 1 bed flat?

Tarpaulin propped up by a stick? Luxury! They should give the tarpaulin away and live under a leaf.

Why is it selfish. There are plenty of big houses on the market but people with loads of kids cant afford them.
Tough shit...they should have had fewer children. Its not as if this vouple are moving into a five bedroom council house.
I live on my own and if I could afford it Id move into a bigger house too.
Thats like saying families who move into bungalows are robbing elderly people of a home!

Thats like saying families who move into bungalows are robbing elderly people of a home

I've been told exactly that on a previous thread. Apparently bungalows should only be for elderly and disabled people.

A WHOLE LEAF?

or whoever else buys it has to.....

I would not be accepted to foster (don't want to anyway) must I move out? and why do you need 5 bedrooms to foster?

Councils will only allocate as many bedrooms as is needed. So for example, a family with 2 same-gender children will be allocated a 2 bedroom home, based on the children sharing a bedroom. A family with opposite gender children or 3 or more children will usually be allocated a 3 bedroom home. The only exception may sometimes apply to disabilities, where it is proven an extra bedroom is needed. So a 5 bedroom Council house wouldn't be allocated to a childless couple in any circumstance. It seems that the couple OP is referring to have bought this house, in which case it is none of anyone's business.

You are quite right, it’s isn’t. Also, if a family have been allocated a 3 bedroom social property, when those children grow up and leave, the parents aren’t expected to hand said property back and move somewhere smaller. Why is it only “selfish” if people do this with their own property that they have purchased?

My MIl downsized to a 5 bed detached. She lives o her own and has more rooms downstairs then she knows what to do with. The grandkid/ child’s use the bedrooms but not often: winds me up

Why does it wind you up?

I agree - why does this annoy you? I assume she used her own money to buy the house and isn’t asking you to pay any running costs? Are you expected the clean the house for her?

or do you think should should have bought you a bigger house while she lives in a small flat - beciase you feel you are more deserving of the space and her money?

Normal families?

What a daft post.
People who are struggling to get decent housing are not likely to be looking in the 5 bedroomed category are they?
Maybe the couple have a large family, or have visitors who stay, what about if they both work from home and need an office each?
You sound jealous.

That's what I'd like to know!

You're absolutely right. I do know about council housing allocation as I live in a council flat myself. I just thought for one moment that the couple concerned may have been waiting for children or extended family to join them. There's a similar situation near me - although it is rather unusual. And you're also right that it's none of the OP's business. That's how capitalism works. If you can afford to buy something, then it's yours.

why?

Agreed. We also don't know what this couple's long term plans are, whether they plan to start a family in the future or not. Should they wait until any future children are here before buying a suitable property, if they have the means to do so? I'm sure the people calling them "selfish" would have plenty to say if they were in a one bedroom flat and decided to have children before finding somewhere bigger!

Me and DH have a 5 bed home. Granted we bought it when the kids were still kids, but now they have moved out we are not selling! We only use one bedroom as a bedroom, then the others are a guest bedroom, a dressing room, a second dining room and a games room. Why not?