Lifetime Social Housing Tenancies

[RowsOfFlowers]

Am I wrong or being unreasonable to think that this new policy that Labour are bringing in is very unfair?

I come from a poor-ish background (as in no one in my wider family has any money). However, my mum and Dad did fairly okay and managed to move up the property ladder (through sheer hard work and sacrifice). My dad died a few years ago and so now it’s just my mom. We never received any benefits - and now my DH and I live in a house and pay a high interest rate (thanks Truss) and I don’t know if we will ever pay off our house (if I am to have children and go part time), so we will need to downsize. We don’t qualify for any benefits either but we are in the squashed middle, so we really feel it when anything rises in cost and don’t get any help.

I feel really cross that someone can benefit from social housing for a lifetime, no matter how much they go on to earn, and then if they pass away, they can pass it down as an asset.

I have a friend who’s parents came to this country, got given social housing, their children paid it off (40% discount) and now they all get to keep a £650k house in London. It doesn’t seem fair to me at all. I feel really disillusioned living in the UK.

Yes and a lot of people have also been evicted and lived in unsuitable accommodation for years and got nothing but still have to put up with some social housing tenants moaning about stupid shit

Because it's made up.

Have you any evidence that the tenancy will be passed on to people who are not legal tenants? There's nowhere I know of where this is legal.

Mortgage =seems secure but life can happen ie health, job loss, relationship break up and you could loose your home. Could lead to eviction and then into temporary accommodation tiat could lead to social housing.

Private renting. Landlord can eviction at anytime . =temporary accommodation for many years leading to social housing if your lucky.

Basically if you want social housing Private rent . Hope you get evicted spend years in unsuitable tempary accommodation

I just want to say I love coming on MN and reading everyone’s differing opinions. I find it eye opening and genuinely interesting. I’m not a bad person, and I don’t want to be attacked online.

I don’t personally see myself as privileged when the CoL is so high that most of my salary goes on mortgage and bills. Yes, I’m privileged in that I do have a home, I agree and I appreciate that, but I barely leave it, lol. I literally just work and exist in my house. Some are saying I’m attacking the wrong people - I want to make it clear that I’m not attacking the poor or social housing tenants. I just want to live in a fair, and just society. I don’t think this is fair policy.

No one pays anything towards my house except me.

As it has been owned by social landlords since it was built in the 60s the mortgage has long been paid. The HA are making a profit from me which is paying towards buying and building more social housing in our area.

I am also a taxpayer FYI.

It does sound rather far fetched. Why on earth would they be getting rehoused by the Council, when they already have a roof over their head? Social housing stock is at a premium. They are not handed out like smarties!

Making up bizarre lies about 'subsidising' is presumably intentional – you're trying to stir up hatred and divisions in society. Very nasty, dangerous behaviour.

Perhaps be grateful instead that you benefit from the rents council tenants pay, which are in effect extra taxes going towards public services for you.

She says she won't be able to afford her mortgage if she goes part time. Neither would I, so I work full time.

I think there's a lot of hate for social housing tenants and how good they have it. But the hate is directed to the wrong place. People hate it because its not available to all, which it should be.

Surely widening social housing provision and limiting right to buy would be the better way ro create a fairer society? What you're suggesting is making more people have difficulties finding secure housing, rather than making it better for everyone.

I don’t think moaning about having to pay a mortgage is reasonable in this context. At the end, you will have built an asset and some wealth. Good on you.

Social housing just houses you. No asset. That’s it.

Some people would argue that it is unfair that some people are able to buy their own homes, and in effect can have a choice about where they live. Council/ Social tenants do not have such a level of choice. They will never own their property, as not everybody is in a position for right to buy etc. Not fair? Life is not fair! It is nothing new!

A huge amount of social
housing tenancies do not allow children to succeed a tenancy. It’s usually just a partner that can take on a tenancy.

Exactly this. I was a social housing tenant for a long time. Always paid full rent, always also a tax payer.

Social housing rent is set at a level above its cost to the local authority. It's only 'subsidised' through housing benefit etc, which would also be the case for private tenancies - but in that case the money is going into the landlords pocket. Social housing is better all round, there's just not enough.

But you can save while you’re living there.
You didn’t have to pay thousands on stamp duty, solicitors fees, deposit, and then high mortgage due to high interest.

Actually, I agree - there should be more provision and social housing should be open to all. I can’t afford to not work full time, and I’ve just been diagnosed with two health conditions.

Your inflammatory language directed at me is most unwelcomed.

I could flip your very argument on its head and say that the security of a home is a basic human need, so why am I having to quite literally work myself into the ground to afford it? While others can rest knowing they have it for life and not work as hard.

You seem to have little empathy for the work that I put in and cannot see how this is not equal.

I’m sorry, but that is not reasonable. No one is forced to buy a property. It’s a choice. You are comparing two different things.

Owning property has a cost. But it has benefits financially that social tenants will never have. If you want cash in your hand, then I agree that tying it up in property is not the way to go. But owning a property is a choice and one that pays off financially over time.

So where would you expect me to go @bombastix ?

The problem with this approach, is that you then have a block, or estate where only the poorest people live. Imagine what that looks like. The cut off for living there is likely to be very low, so only people that don't/can't work?

No one has incentive to work because they'd lose their home, although that would increase the number of people doing cash in hand work or making money from illegal activities.

Cut off should be higher? So you need to be on minimum wage? I'm afraid you'd have the same problem - any payrise or promotion or slightly better job and you'd lose your home and be significantly worse off than you were on min wage.

Successive governments have done a lot of things wrong when it comes to social housing. But lifetime tenancies isn't one of them.

I’m not having a go at you, but honestly, work, pay the mortgage, like many others do. I’m not saying it’s easy. But it pays off. If you don’t want the strain, sell the house. Rent. Then you have a different set of problems but maybe you’ve made some money on the property.

It used to be very hard to buy property or get a mortgage. No one has to buy a house.

I remember a time where I was looked down on for having a council house, now I'm envied.

Having a secure home helps people improve their lives, it gives them a solid foundation and security.

If that would be taken away if they become the 'squeezed' middle they aren't going to be inclined to improve their lives (just to be worse off) at all.

But this is my argument I guess, for someone such as myself, there is no good choice. So I feel somewhat demoralised. I’m stuck in a system that doesn’t work the best for me. If I was to get sick and I can’t afford my mortgage, I have no security.

Everything about social housing is unfair.

If they charged market rate for renting it, there could be more of it to go round, but instead the state likes to favour a privileged few.

But isn’t that true for anyone with a mortgage? It applies to me too. Yes it can be a strain, but this is life’s challenge for many of us.

Buying property pays off long term. That doesn’t mean it’s not a struggle to maintain it, or that’s easy