Ex Council houses vary a lot. Some are part of massive estates and others from just a small cluster of 2 or 3.
When there are larger numbers of houses and when many are still owned by a housing association or are owned by those who bough under ‘right to buy’ then the social demographic is that of social housing. So unless you’re looking at a very expensive area which has been gentrified, the demographic is less likely to be professionals and more likely to be blue collar workers, or those less well paid or perhaps those on benefits.
There is nothing wrong with any of these things or people. And some of the houses might well be occupied by quite different people too, but the fact remains that in larger areas if ex council houses, there is probably a lesser concentration of middle class or professional people.
In the past, the working class was a bigger group and many people doing working class jobs had social housing. They had decent, solid jobs which perhaps didn’t pay all that well and were decent, upstanding members of the community. Many went onto save enough to buy their houses under the right to buy. They were the same blue collar workers they had been once they were owner occupiers than they had been before.
Today, many ex council houses are privately owned. They are often the cheaper houses in an area and so in many areas, the less affluent buy them, unless you’re looking at an area where only the highly paid can afford to buy anything. The houses that are still rented by a housing association are often rented to those on benefits today as it is harder to qualify for social housing if working and having a wage. Some social housing is rented by workers, but increasingly, it is people on benefits. Lots of these people will be just like any other neighbours, but there will be a proportion of people with difficulties which could make them more tricky neighbours. Some might be anti-social.
So, without making judgements about people...quite simply the feel of an area can be different in those with large proportions of social housing. Stereo types are just that, but often grounded in a level of reality. None of these things apply to everyone or even most who live in social housing or ex social housing, but there will often be enough to make the feel of an area different to that of one which is totally privately owned. It could include less attention to keeping garden is good order, it could include having old cars or vehicles in a state of disrepair, could include being more noisy, could involve conspicuous large gatherings of people, could involve neighbours arguing and conflict or domestic conflict. Note I’m not saying all people will be doing these things or that there is anything wrong with most of these behaviours, but they are more noticeable in some ex council areas. And they are behaviours that many people are often not that keen on and therefore avoid the areas where there is more chance of them.
All of the behaviours I mention can equally happen in private rented accommodation or in privately owned accommodation too. However, people displaying such behaviours are more likely to more spread out and less concentrated in smaller areas, so the whole area isn’t impacted in the same way and a whole neighbourhood doesn’t take on a particular feel.
There often is something snobby about attitudes to ex council areas. However, lots of people buy in them and love living in them....for the generous room sizes, to green spaces, to location to neighbours for many. Others love the houses but find a proportion of the people difficult and there is no avoiding the fact that there are people who are difficult to have as neighbours because of their behaviour, and some of them are housed by the council and they can be concentrated in some areas and change the feel of an area.
I had an ex council flat. It was great for several years. Big rooms, great location and most people were great. When it came time to move though, I was pleased to move into a private area. There had been a minority of people in my local authority area who had been troublesome and annoying. The Polcie had to come and sort out domestic incidents. One or two played loud music which blared out in the summer. A couple let their kids run wild and annoy others. It was a small number but they made it a less nice place to live. None of it was terrible or awful and of course everyone has to live somewhere, but if I could avoid it, I would choose to. You could get similar neighbours anywhere, but less likely to have so many in privately owned areas.