Family wants me to give up my social house and I'm not - wwyd?

[spicy2001]

I currently rent a three bedroom social housing property and I live on my own. Most of the rent is paid for by universal credit and I have to pay 25% bedroom tax which is very affordable to me which is for two rooms and a shortfall of £30.55p.

I did speak to a housing officer and they said I am legally allowed to occupy it, and as long as I pay the rent on time, tax and shortfall, then everything is fine. I don't feel guilty for occupying this three bedroom house, it's been my home since I was born.

Recently, I noticed that my family were talking a lot about me downsizing. I asked why are they talking about me downsizing? They said because I don't need this property and have to downsize.

I explained I'm legally allowed to stay here, this is my property and not yours. I get that I don't need this property but I'm staying here because I'm allowed too. I found out that they actually joined a site called "home swapper" and a site called "glass bob" my sibling set up an account using her email address to advertise my property. If I'm correct, I've never joined these so I don't know 100% but they're platforms where you can do mutual exchange and advertise your property.

I phoned my housing association and explained the situation, they've started an investigation and they are speaking to various departments to see if they can do it from the end to see if they can do anything as they approved it but they don't know if they can disapprove it.

The other day a tenant from another part of my cul-de-sac came round and told me she knows I'm downsizing and she has a friend whose currently living in a one bedroom flat with his wife and they've got a one year old daughter and another baby on the way. I explained to this person my family have been trying to get me to downsize to a one bedroom flat and I'm not actually looking to downsize so I won't swap with them but told her I do sympathize with their situation.

She told all my neighbours about her friend and now all the neighbours are peed off at me because I'm not downsizing. My family are also peed of that I'm not downsizing. As far as I'm concerned I don't care as I have the legal right to stay here for as long as I like or want.

I just wanted to know though what would you do if you was in my situation?

@Confusedmumannoyedson having kids was a choice the last time i checked.

PS I'm not jealous since I own my own home. Just cannot understand the selfishness of people blocking a family home from a family whilst it is underoccupied. Pure selfishness when families need homes.

👏

What about private tenants on UC or LHA or Support for Mortage Interest? All are subsidised by the taxpayer.

Council Housing in my local authority makes millions in profit each year that is ringfenced for council housing inprovements and developement. It is self sustaining. The council not being a greedy landlord doesn't mean the lower rents subsidised.

In our local authority, the couple in the one bedroom flat would not be allowed to swap to a three bedroomed home if both children are the same sex.
They would only be entitled to swap to a two bedroom house/ flat.
Likewise,the op would only be allowed to swap to a one bedroom home,as a two bedroom one is still "too large" for her circumstances.
So the neighbours might need to look into that rule before they start badgering a young woman occupying her family home.
There's a lot of judging what is immoral on this thread.
Perhaps we could all take a step back and let all the saintly people comment. The people who would never do something others would regard as immoral.
I can guarantee this thread would have ended at the ops post. Or maybe there are a few people out there who feel that it's still their right to comment .
But I doubt it. We all live our lives by our own morale compass,that does not mean you can apply that same compass to someone else's life.
Far too many sticky beaks out there .

They choose to subsidise, which is a perfectly legitimate choice, which I entirely support, but it's nonsensical to claim that the rents are not subsidised.

Yes it is a choice that some (you by the sound of it) would deny to people if they need a social housing home. The OP sits in a social housing home paying under market rent and blocking a family from moving in. Very selfish. By your 'choice' then everyone would be restricted by their home size to the number of children they have so poorer people than have to rent might struggle to ever have children. I'm fortunate and don't have to worry about social housing but do consider the needs of people that do.

Can you explain how they are then? I'd be interested.

What about Ops mental health, she's obviously quiet young, early 20s, recently bereaved No parents.

Who's going to actually help her move? Can she afford to move, new flooring, curtains, decorating, actual cost of removal van?

If she downsizes now what happens in a few years if she does have kids? Won't be that easy to get another decent 3bed.

It's not as simple as just taking another house that has been someone else's.

How many people would sell the family home if they were bereaved in their early 20s to move to a flat?

What about private tenants on UC or LHA or Support for Mortage Interest? All are subsidised by the taxpayer.

I would say so too.

The council not being a greedy landlord doesn't mean the lower rents subsidised.

I don't agree with this though. Letting people have things for less than they are worth is pretty much the essence of subsidy.

Social housing rents are set much lower than the market going rate for private rental - ergo they are subsidised because the social landlords chose the take less rent and forgo the profit....if they set at market going rate then it would be equal ish and people wouldn't want them so much and they could invest their profits back into more housing. Social housing is very sought after compared to private housing (although there are other reasons too - tenancy is safer etc).

I’d stay where I was. I think that it would be a sign of low self-esteem and people-pleasing tendencies to listen to the judgments of people that don’t know me. It isn’t your fault that Margaret Thatcher sold off so many council houses and there isn’t anywhere near enough social housing.

Private renting is awful OP and God knows how many people are in temporary accommodation because they can’t find a place to live. You’d regret it if you moved out of your house. The people who moved in certainly would not thank you for it.

That’s if this is a real post…which I doubt.

The landlord could get a better rent on the open market. They choose instead to rent at below market value for other reasons.

Equally if I let my kids live in my second home for nothing then I'm subsidising them.

Stay where you are and good luck at university.

This with bells on!

Good luck at university OP, and I hope the HA pull their finger out and remove your property from the swap list. Your family sound jealous and are bang out of order going behind your back to try to set that up.

@JenniferBooth you need to take that chip off your shoulder.

It's clearly not comparing SH tenants to Scofield, it's making a point about OP and morals vs legality.

If your cared for SH tenants you'd be flying the flag for her vacating her over-occupied property to a family more in need.

@Confusedmumannoyedson im child free by choice I have lived in a one bedroom flat since 1994 BECAUSE i have not had children.

Maybe people without kids are fed up of only being entitled to the smallest home, flat or bedsit while also coming last when it comes to holidays in the workplace because parents get first dibs. Maybe its being sick of coming last due to not having living proof of having sex without contraception.

As i said i live in a flat and we had loud music till 2am last night because some new druggies have moved in a few doors down.

Do you think it's a good idea then if someone has kids that they can't afford? There are obviously reasons why some people with kids end up in this situation (abuse, divorce etc) but apart from those reasons...is it really that intelligent to have children if you can't afford to house them?

Not looking to start a moral debate, but there are definitely some families in social housing that are taking the piss (number of kids etc) just as there are some corrupt landlords.

However I do agree that the OP is being morally selfish.

@Cloudspace10 OP IS a social housing tenant

And caring about social housing tenants means that they shouldnt be moved around like chess pieces.

I would disagree that a council house is worth more than a private let in most cases. Aside from the tenancy assurance you are financially responsible for much more in terms of upkeep. Council homes are empty shells when you get them. No flooring of any kind, no white goods, not decorated at all. Garden, minor repairs (small leaks, cracked plaster, damp, window seals, bug infestaions etc) 100% your (the tenant's) responsibilty.

So basically what you are all saying is that every Council/HA tenant should be forced to move out when their circumstances change.

You are going to force people to move from their HOME that they have loved and lived in for decades, where they have brought their children up, where the have so many memories just because they have not been fortunate enough to own that HOME

That's cruel

Your life, your home!

No, I understand that. I mean people already on the list waiting for a bigger property. OP said her HA are really good for inspecting properties and making sure they are being well maintained so it stands to reason they will do the same for smaller properties in the same area.

There is virtually no social housing in my area but it's a lovely area that I am grateful to live in (despite my awful landlord and the fact we are over crowded). I just know from experience that there will be lots of people on a waiting list to get an extra bedroom in the same area so it's not about needing extra housing in this case, just swapping.

But yes, it is a massive issue that they are not building more but realistically there will always be a shortage and none of us are entitled to anything, we're lucky enough there are some.

And just before someone says 'well, if you don't have much social housing then how do you know the OP does to be able to swap?'. Because there isn't even an HA that covers this area. There are a few 2 bed council houses in our village and the only reason I got my private rent is the landlord is awful, so the rent is still high but within housing benefit because of the area and the fact he does no repairs.

Not to mention costly. The admin of forcing people out, and swapping them around would be substantial. Best to sort the housing crisis out with more affordable housing then bullying people out of their homes.

You have to look out for yourself in this world, however unfair it might seem.

If you downsize or give up a social housing tenancy I bet you'd be regretting it in 5-10 years when you likely will have children of your own. It's highly unlikely you'd get another social housing property or be able to upside to a decent place.

Ignore the people blasting you for daring to claim universal credit. Workers on universal credit are taxpayers too. The government has decided that your full time wage isn't enough to live on. They should be focusing their anger on the poverty wages a lot of employers pay, not the hardworking and underpaid workers.

By all means OP, return the property if you're lucky enough to afford to buy your own home one day.

As for your vile family, they would be dead to me. They do not have your best interests at heart. I'd let them know that the housing association are angry and considering involving police due to what they did being considered fraud. Keep a journal of neighbour harassment and keep your cctv on in case you need it