How to get a £500k house free

[Judy1234]

www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23405477-details/Jobless+couple+with+12+children+are+give n+a+%C2%A3500%2C000+home/article.do

No they had to find the house and stick a new kitchen, carpet and double glazing in!

I worked for a housing association who knocked two houses into one for a family with 9 children

does it say in the article that they got new carpets? becuase its not usual practice.

BELIEVE it or not. people on benefits are entitled to a decent home. wellslap my cock and call me bambi

It said it in the mail - I pinch it from the man who sits next to me and love flicking through it - DH only lets us have the telegraph or the observer - no gossip or great stories that encourage intelectual debate in those you see!

i think i should tell my parents to get onto their council.

they have a bog standard 4 bed. they are rather gratefull for it so have never questioned the fact they could maybe get a bigger house.

ooh....will let them know

"Their latest home, formerly a hotel, is estimated to have cost £350,000 to buy and a further £150,000 to renovate with double-glazing, carpets, central heating and furniture."

From the original link.

I absolutely agree that people on benefits are entitled to a decent home. I don't agree that people should be blatantly milking the system. It is, of course, a flaw in the system that people can be financially better off on benefits than they are working.

Message withdrawn

I don't completely agree that people should have only the children they can afford to support but to have that many more is kind of taking the p*ss. Mind you, 3 sets of twins?? That's kind of "unlucky" in the "let's have just one more child..." scenario.

exactly the council would always have to make a purchase/or rental in order to meet their statutory duty to house a family of this size(if they met the criteria). People are always complaining baout thsi but it's the law.

The thing is we can all make our judgements about this family but they do have a right under our welfare state system to be supported by the system - and that will be the statutory entitlement to the incredibly low benefits and any housing into which they are in need.

I would prefer that the odd freak case like this got supported if it makes sure that other people who are also in genuine need with a different set of circumstances also got the help they require with means tested benefits.

In my day as a welfare rights adviser we always had to deal with people who got on their high horses about the fact that Princess Di was entitled to get Child Benefit - I'd have loved to have known if she claimed it! - because we have a system that didn't discriminate on the grounds of income (it is a 'universal benefit'). How much less ridiculous was that than this?

Anyway, I prefer the Blairite stance 'its a hand up, not a hand out'

even if it's not "worth it" to work (in terms of losing benefits) I still think that "work" is about more than that - it creates a sense of worth for your children.

I know a couple who (thanks to a huge wad of money, millions of £) don't have to work, so never have. I'm keen to see what kind of lives their daughters choose for themselves when they grow up.

'its a hand up, not a hand out' But that is not the attitude put across about this case. They are not planning on working. I think it's that part that makes most people cross. If they were desperate to work and either can't find work or are incapacitated in some way (other than by their large family) I doubt it would have raised so much complaint.

SD i do understand people's frustration but my point is that the system we have has to fit many many circumstances and some people will get help even when it appears that they are on the scrounge/taking the ps. Most people who get help do not have the attitude which the media are portraying this couple to have and see it as a hand up not a hand out. Think how many people MNers gave presents to other MNers in need last christmas - loads of those could be seen in the same unsympathetic light. I would rather that my hard earned taxes went to make sure there was a safety net that nobody could fall through rather than one with huge great big holes made by our prejudices and snobbery. No way would I want to go back to the national assistance boards.

£44k is not a massive joint income esp in that area of the country and when you add up what they get in real terms per month (assuming the rent is notional - it's not cash in to them), it would appear from the article that their monthly cash in hand income (jointly) is £840 which doesn't seem like a massive amount to spend on food, bills, clothes etc when it has to stretch to 14 people. It doesn't smack of a life of luxury - their lifestyle won't match the external appearance of the house. Seems like a teensy bit of envy on many parts that we would all really quite like that house in that part of the country...but I would also like the income to match the appearance of the house .

Its still a fair old whack of cash for not working!

The more I think about this the more nutty I think they are - you have got to be pretty insane to think having 12 kids is easier than getting off your arse earning a living and paying your way. 12 kids I mean how hard must that be - I struggle with 2!

Fuck it - give me 2 kids a bloody job and some dignity and free time any day!

Hannahsaunt - it is more than £840 per month - although difficult to work out from the article exactly how much as the figures quoted at different times don't actually add up at all! I think the article is badly written and designed to be inflammatory. Judging by the response on here it has worked!

'even if it's not "worth it" to work (in terms of losing benefits) I still think that "work" is about more than that - it creates a sense of worth for your children. '

PMSL! I really am! Creates a sense of worth?! LOL!

i don't understand what you're saying expat

It doesn't get you FA when you make min wage, bundle. It really and truly doesnt.

If there's one thing I've learned, is that one's sense of self-worth should never be tied to work.

Being a working poor is a crock. There's nothing but exhaustion and frustration that comes from that, certainly no 'self worth'.

Puleeze.

so do you think that people should just do nothing?

And debt.

And homelessness or moving every 6 months or so.

And constant worry about when the landlord's going to decide to sell up.

And constant worry about the next financial crisis that's going to finally mean bankrupcy for you and your family.

I could go on and on.

Did I say that, bundle? No, I don't think so.

I think jobs should pay a living wage so that it's NEVER better to be on benefits when you're able bodied and in a two-parent relationship with able bodied children.

of course the jobs should pay. but what kind of job would pay enough to support a family of 12? I can barely "afford" to have 2 children, living in London, with dh working full time, me part time.

And that's the crux of the matter, bundle. That's why so many on this thread have said that having so many children when a person is deliberately reliant entirely upon the state is irresponsible at best.