To think I should be able to have a council house?

[frustratedmumof3]

Ho hum - must stop my addiction to MN as will not have time from next week so my cunning plan is to piss off as many people as possible so I will be frightened to come on here .

So, my local council are building lots of lovely new council or housing association (don't care what they are) homes in my area with brand spanking new kitchens, bathrooms, lovely new carpets etc, etc and I am thinking why should the so-called vulnerable members of society (who are most probably going to wreck the places) be higher on the housing list than us.

We rent privately (since we sold our house 2 years ago as could not afford the mortgage) and I don't see that we will ever be able to afford another house. We pay well over a grand for a 3 bed (3DCs) and have the insecurity of potentially having to move every 6 months at the owners whim which is the worst thing (have already moved 3 times since started renting).

It really makes me mad that quite a few of DCs friends have council houses where they pay only 350 per month and probably earn similar wages to us (the ones that work that is). What makes them deserve one more than us? I know damn well that we will not get one of the new homes as there are about 5000 people in the queue before us and they will probably go to single parents, immigrants and and generally useless members of society who do not work and have no intention of doing so. We pay our taxes and would appreciate any help we were given (as we need it now) but will get sweet FA. Makes me want to scream!! This thread may be unusual as I am not dissing council house tenants as I desperately want to be one (in a new build anyway).

glad you're suitably housed now, nork.

we left an entire region of the country because of the shortage of affordable housing for working poor families to rent.

we didn't want a pokey flat with no outdoor space.

so we made the decision to move on.

needs must and all.

it needs to be pointed out that many councils have transferred their entire housing stock to a housing association, so that 'council' and HA are one and the same thing in many areas.

in still others, a person's need for housing is assessed in combination - council and all the HAs in the area, with whomever has the most suitable available awarding the home to the recipient.

some councils assess need on a point-based system.

others, like Edinburgh, do it on 'stars', which basically needs you need a gold (medical need) or silver (homeless/fleeing violence) to really have a chance at all, and even then, you're going to need a lot of luck.

All the best with that, TinkerbellesMum, I will be keeping my fingers crossed for you. I know how desperate you get. Before we were moved I'd put up pleading notices at the local elderly persons club. They were so nice and sympathetic but usually couldn't afford to move, financially or practically.

One lovely man had a 3-storey four bed house but could only use the first floor as he couldn't make the stairs

know my gran is generally useless members of society who do not work and have no intention of doing so

snort

expat yours is a great example of differing circumstances. I would have moved too but DD needs to be as close to a Haemophilia Centre as we can be. I was single at the time and the only transport was via my Dad, so we were pretty much stuck with the SE.

But you are also a fine example of people getting on with it. I'm quite familiar with your posts on this subject and do admire that. "useless members of society" indeed!

we're glad we made the move.

but we certainly don't have the £60K income of the OP , not to mention her kids are all school-aged and one is in secondary school so no all day childcare required.

i have a feeling, though, she'd not be happy to take what was offered if she were in fact a priority case for council/HA housing.

we are private renters, too.

it sucks, but wouldn't it be better to campaign for revision in tenancy laws than assume everyone who gets a 'council house' is getting a brand new house?

i mean, my SIL lives in a building that's actually slated for demolition and where plenty of junkies and criminals live.

expat we band, similar to the stars. Band A is homeless/imminent homelessness, Band B is medical need, Band C is the others - IIRC. Band A they act quickly, being in Band B I'm at their mercy.

I was just thinking the baby could be here within 5 weeks so whatever happens I'm not likely to move before she comes, even if I can set up a mutual exchange it's going to be difficult to move in that time and this baby is already threatening to come. If I have to wait till after she comes I'll get another medical note to say I'm no longer able to get in and out of my home so effectively making me homeless.

Thank you Hellbound. I'm in a similar situation to you that I can't really afford to move away from my estate because I'm so close to the hospital and other essential amenities.

I think we should all reserve our vitriol for people who sub-let affordable housing. It is rife in my town. A member of my family had a 3-bed he just let his teenage sons doss in and wreck, (they officially lived with his ex) while he lived with his new GF.

They have now moved into a lovely house bought by his Mum and the GF's council house is being rented out at market rate while housing benefit pays for it in her name as she is "single". These are the lowlifes of which the OP speaks while newcomers to our town / country get all the blame.