Discrepancy between social housing rents verses private sector rents - how is this legal/fair?

[floffy]

I cannot understand how the discrepancy between the cost of social rents versus private rents is not breaching some kind of equality/discrimination/human rights laws .

My neighbours live in an identical sized property to ours, they have the same number of kids with no disabilities and roughly the same income as our household, yet they pay 1/3rd (or less) of what we pay and have a secure tenancy, whereas we have to always wonder whether our landlord will extend past 6 months. How can this possibly be legal or fair?

I am a bit confused. Long time ago I lived in a rented house for nearly five years. About 4 years into my tenancy, an identical house in my street was rented out. Those tenants paid double my rent and were on 6 monthly tenancy agreements. Should they have asked my landlord to double my rent as it was unfair?

Do you live in social housing ? What gives you the right to tell ordinary people to get out of their homes because you don't like the fact they pay less rent than you?

This is a fucked up country for sure.

I think it should be seen as a natural progression into the mainstream housing market - it is a given that landords need to be fair and treat their tennants well - but in the same way as someone who is not in work makes the progression into the workforce, imo it should be the same with housing.

and fwiw nothing gives me the right to tell ordinary people to get out of their homes, but I do have the right to muse on how a system that seems to be broken could possibly be changed.

Tilly - I'm talking £1m+

But they have a house that they rent , social housing is not just for poor people

Neverknowingly - then I suspect you don't know much about the history and purpose of social housing or much about housing policy. It is not and never has been intended as the bottom of the heap, crappy damp miserable scummy homes exclusively for people on the breadline. Council housing was created to establish decent homes for workers - for ordinary people who weren't able to buy outright. One happy result was that people could avoid getting into debt - the rents charged were not affected by an ever-inflating property bubble and landlords chasing profits.

So once again the people at the bottom are expected to solve the housing crisis.

Is this the big society then?

not currently Blushing, but I believe it should be. (with a buffer zone to help people perpare to enter the commercial property market)
They have a house that they rent that has a waiting list of people who are in far greater need of financially subsidised housing.

The politics of envy, to me, refers to all those who look at what "the rich" have got and think how they would like a bigger piece of it. After all, how many people believe that, if the world were fairer, they would themselves be worse off?

Thing is, I believe we would be better able to "feed and house" everyone if those who are able to contribute do so, and those who need to "claim" (for want of a better word) take what only what they need. Not actually all that far from the Marxist doctrine: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need". Interesting.

Much 20th Century council housing was built to far better standards than developers bothered to attempt, btw. The Parker Morris (IIRC) standards ensured decent construction, decent room sizes and decent storage. The market didn't always provide the same for people buying homes from developers. Maybe the state should have intervened more to stop developers building shoddy houses for sale?

fair point - thehistory of social housing isn't something I know about, I am purely looking at the problems that are here today.

brabourne - there are an awful lot of threads on here that demonstrate plenty of people envy the poor, and are spiteful about the supposed (imaginary) advantages of being poor. They begrudge every penny that is spent on housing benefit, for instance, never stopping to think that perhaps the problem is the system or the market. They assume that unemployment is a personal failure, ignoring the economic situation - even in the middle of the biggest economic and financial crisis the world has seen for 70 years.

Very odd. If you are going to be envious, surely it would make more sense to envy those who have the biggest slice of pie, not those who have a few crumbs?

We have a social housing problem.
We have a stagnating economy.
We have a lot of unemployed trades people.

I wonder if there is a way of lessening all these problems at the same time?

I think it probably helps to know what the purpose of social housing is, and how we got to where we are today. You have to know how the problems we have today happened before you can work out an effective way of tackling them.

It always amazes me that people are envious of people with the least.

I'm envious of the richest people in this country not the poorest.

I do understand that, and I get that it isn't a simple fix.
I am also aware that it is almost impossible to talk about it without emotion.
I wouldn't ever personally want to see someone have to leave the home that they love and want to be in, I just also know that the resources available arelimited.

I have a great little house (1 bed) that I rent out to an eldery chap and he pays through his housing benefit. He is too fit and young in spirit to be in an old peoples home but he wasn't high on the list for social housing as a single man and had lean resources. There really aren't many 1 bed houses around and that is all he needed and all he could afford.

I just don't think that social housing should HAVE to be the answer for families who are working and earnign a fair/good income.

Dione where would the money come from to pay the trades,?

"claim" for want of a better word "beg" maybe bradbourne, do you want people to beg for a roof?

How many people think they would be worse off if the world was fairer, do you think you are worse off because some of your tax supports people who are less "fortunate" of course you do, that is what your problem is.

I agree with you Blushingcrow. However I think it is becoming easier and more acceptable to put the boot into those who don't have much.

Georgefatcatosborne - I am getting a bit sick of your personal attacks.

If the world were a fairer place we would all be a lot worse off. You only need to look at the billions who live on the brink of starvation in the third world to see that. We are all bl**dy lucky to be able to sit in our homes, with the benefit of electricity and running water, tapping away on our laptops all day long and (in some cases) bleating about the evils of capitalism.

Neverknowingly perhaps it could be diverted from NHS reforms or Free School, or any of the other non essential initiatives that are currently being pushed through by the government. A social housing initiative, would not only provide housing, it would provide a much needed cash injection and help the economy grow as the wages of the trades people would support existing jobs. Doing it at this time when salaries are depressed would be much cheaper than waiting. It would also benefit those NEETs in need of apprenticeship places.

Bradbourne how would a "fairer" society result in most people being worse off?

Sorry, all people being a lot worse off? Oops.

bluhing crow

your right I was advised not to say anything to anyone about the fact I was getting a H/A house .As in scale of time I did not wait to long( 9 months after my accident and bearing in mind I had no bathroom or washing faclites to use)

And this was a adapted house as well .As apparentely the houing officer would get a lot of earache

Bradbourne 100% shared equally would not make all people worse off. I think your opinion is based on your own situation and not on sound economic and political theory.

In the states as ex: 1% of the population hold something like 37% of the wealth/property, richest 10% hold 80%, how can a fairer distribution make all people worse off

I don't like the idea of my 81 year old blind and deaf father being made to move, at the moment he lives next door where I can help to care for him. If he has to move possibly miles away-the state can do it because I have a small business,my own home,2 children and I may even have less to live on because I refuse to beg for universal credit.

I agree that we need more affordable homes and a project to build them would be good for the economy and good for individuals and for young people who benefit from training and employment.

Affordable homes is obviously an emotive issue for many, almost without doubt, people who just see housing as an investment.