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?

Has it got nice and frothy yet? Have we had subsidised and free houses yet? Always make for a juicy read...

Bravo OP

You would be crazy to give up your tenancy unless you could afford to buy but it does seem wrong as social housing is so scarce.
The whole system needs to change so tenants circumstances are evaluated every 3-5 years so there is a better chance for everyone to be in appropriate accommodation.

Yes, "free house" has been bandied about and there's more frothing than Cresta.

So interesting that this thread started with everyone criticising the OP's family and now it's the OP people are criticising ..

with regards to the couple that want to swap with you, why on earth would they have 1 baby in a 1 bed flat let alone 2.
I have no sympathy for people like that and definitely don't think its your moral responsibility to fix their poor life choices

It would be interesting to know how many posters on here own a second home which the only use for holidays. In many areas such as Cornwall this has caused a housing crisis.

This!

OP I personally don't necessarily agree with your decision. I feel neutral about it because one bedroom flats for single people are in short supply too. You'd be taking up a social housing property either way and you've a right to. I can see why, if you can afford the £30 a week extra for the bigger property and you're happy living there then you'd want to stay. Smaller and cheaper doesn't necessarily mean better. It could mean a worse property or in a worse area/street or worse neighbors. I can see why you wouldn't want to risk it if you're happy, and can afford, where you currently are living.

The only thing I'd question is whether your family are coming at this from a point of view of caring for you in old age? It's easier to clean a flat than a house, cheaper to keep warm, etc. Are they trying to get you into sheltered housing where there may be a little additional help/someone official keeping an eye out for residents? Not that the way they're going about it is right, but I could see they might want it if they're looking at providing old age care themselves. TBH they seem so controlling that if I was you I wouldn't want them caring for me. And all this may not be relevant anyway depending on your age.

found out they 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

This is massively overstepping the boundaries and possibly some sort of identity theft. I'm glad the HA are trying to sort it out. This is why I'd want to disown them.

Are you 8 years old?

Succession usually means you succeed a tenancy but not necessarily that properly - especially if it’s too large for you. You would normally be expected to move to an appropriate sized property. You had special circumstances as someone else was there at the time too , who has now been rehoused.

I would advise you DO NOT swap or exchange nor ever give up a council or HA tenancy. Private landlords will never give you the security you have now. Government rules are making it hard for landlords and many are selling up.
But instead register for a move , and as you will be releasing 2 bedrooms you should get a very high priority banding.(most HA or councils offer that as an incentive to get back desperately needed bigger properties ) .
This would mean you would then be in a great position and stand a real good chance of getting the best properties in a suitable size for you. Including new builds etc .

You hold all the cards, you’d only bid on what you want in an area you want.

* Please also check this out as I’m not sure of current rules but previously uni students could not claim housing benefit. They had to pay rent out of their loans. Therefore Downsizing would make financial sense - energy bills, water rates etc., and you’d have more cash for you to enjoy .

Are you a child? You don't know the term sock puppet?

This

Why do housing associations not have some sort of policy that says if there is one able bodied adult in the house, and two additional unused bedrooms at the property, then the tenant has to be moved to a smaller property so they can house more people in the bigger place?

I work for a housing association- so long as the rent is paid on time, you look after the place, and no one complains about your noisy dog or asbo behaviour, we don’t care how they’re occupied or under occupied !

Come on, you must be a child taking the piss 😄

Its like reading the fucking Daily Fail. If all the self righteous posters on this thread sat down and wrote a letter to their MP complaining about the lack of social housing, rather than berating the OP (who sounds like she's really got her head screwed on BTW) maybe that would be helpful. We should ALL be up in arms at how housing stock was sold off through "right too buy", at how properties like blocks of flats are built and sold to overseas landlords, and lack of regulation around building affordable housing. That's where the issues lie - not with the OP.

OP for what it's worth I like your plan, you have a secure home, keep it. Your spiteful family have behaved appallingly, possibly criminally, I hope you have other support in real life, away from them - they couldn't get your house, so they didn't want you to have it either, utter bastards. Huge good luck with your studies.

Social housing is people business because it's a reduced rent for people who need it. You should go on home swapper and try and get a 1 bed you will be entitled to more if you have a family and you won't get the issues you are currently having. There are teenage boys and girls sharing bedrooms kids be sing abused by siblings due to not having space. You are being impral. No don't become homeless or lose a secure tenancy but you should swap when a nice smaller accommodation comes up you never know what position you could be in wishing someone else was moral. Tables always turn x

I would talk to the ha to see if they could offer me a smaller property that met my needs.

But I've been on the other side of this. Evicted by private landlord (no fault of my own, they wanted the property back for a relative to live in) and I was facing homelessness with two young disabled children and being disabled myself. It was a horrible horrible time so if I ever found myself in your situation yes, I would exchange to a smaller property because I know there are people out there who desperately need a home and due to their circumstances can't get accepted into private rental.

I just couldn't sit alone in a three bed while there are families out there scared their kids will end up in foster care or they'll spend years in a b&b.

It’s possible for anyone to fall on hard times. You could find yourself homeless with kids in tow. It happens. It’s happens to people who thought it would never happen to them.
You can’t judge unless you know exactly what they have gone through to end up in this situation. Maybe their protection failed and they don’t believe in abortion, maybe they lost a job and couldn’t stay where they were, maybe illness has left them no where to go.
You have no idea what life choices they have made. And you have no idea until it happens to you just how easily it can happen.

A lot of people on here are being really horrible to the OP. Sometimes people get the opportunity to get a step up in life and most people would take it.
If you were having a go at wealthy land owners, maybe I could understand it.
There are lots of people who are are UC. For many their own decisions have put them there, usually having more kids than they can afford or with someone they know is not suitable. Hopefully the OP will finish her studies, get a good job and buy her own home eventually.

Regardless of what anyone thinks about you occupying your house, and whatever the investigation concludes (e.g. did the sibling commit criminal fraud or not), if my sibling advertised my home using their email address I wouldn’t want anything to do with them ever again.
You could disapprove of a sibling having a large thirsty car because they are single and big cars are environmentally damaging. That doesn’t give you the right to try to sell it. It’s theirs.
I assume that as you are the tenant, she used your name on the swapping sites and her email address? That can’t be legal. She’ll probably say you asked her to, but I wouldn’t let her get away with this.

I worked in the housing department of a London Borough years ago and met a few people like you OP. It never ends well. Communities are very aware of the desperate need for family housing and will ostracise you.
And quite rightly in my opinion.

Have you looked at what being a full time student does to your benefits? You'll be expected to take a student loan out to get by and pay the full rent.

Circumstances can change very rapidly.
The op could find herself in a very different situation .she could meet/marry/have children at any time.
she has no obligation to give up this tenancy ,any more than an elderly person would in the same situation.
It's her home,and has been for many years.
If the local authorities have no issue with it.then it's nobodies business.
What her family have done though is unbelievable,maybe even illegal.and is now putting unnecessary and unfair pressure on her.the registration on these sites to do home swaps should be reported and removed.
And then the family should back right off.

I think you're being extremely unreasonable. Social housing is meant to be there for those who need it, and you don't need such a large property, and you're also depriving a family that do.
Using the argument "I'm entitled" doesn't make you right; and definitely not morally. It just makes you sound like an entitled a**e.

Honestly what your family did was wrong but I can see why they are frustrated with you being so terribly selfish.