How to get a council house

[JazzAnnNonMouse]

Who deserves it more?

Wtf what kind of country are we living in when we have to choose who deserves shelter and who should be homeless?!

Urgh

[EeTraceyluv]

We were incredibly lucky getting our lovely house 13 years ago. We have now bought it - yes we one of 'those' but nearly everyone in this street has - I think about three of them still are - the solution of course is to plough the money back into housing stock - but sadly labour didn't implement this as they said thy would so it has continued. If we were to rent this out, we could get over £1000 a month without anyone blinking a eye- those which are still social housing are £600 a month

[RedHelenB]

78Bunion = the sort of landlord that rents a room for £400 with no lock are raking it in! And I certainly don't agree with taxpayers money supporting it!

[Davros]

Mind you, I've known a lot of people who own their own homes but have moved out of London to afford something bigger and better. It isn't just renters who find they have to leave an area they like and have fri DS and family nearby.

[expatinscotland]

Renters who do not have an asset to sell, Davros, are a different kettle of fish from homeowners, and those who need HB to top up their rent because they are in low-paid work are at serious disadvantage.

Compounding the issue now is that there are now more renters as fewer and fewer are able to purchase a home. So competition is fierce and HB applicants are going to be at the bottom of the pile, right under the Beds in Sheds people and illegals.

[pining]

The family that turned down 12+ properties due to not liking the kitchen cupboards etc. Really? And they were in band A.....something isn't right. 2 choices and back to the bottom of the list is much fairer.

[expatinscotland]

They changed the policy now. 3 refusals and you go to the back of the list.

LOL at her wanting a parking space when they had NO CAR!

[Catsnotrats]

I was particularly impressed by the woman who turned down the flat due to the lack of parking, however I just want to defend her a little bit.

The building is a no-permit development which means that nobody in the building can be issued with a residents parking permit. If its like where I live there are no permit free streets so effectively you are banned from owning a car if you live in the building. It wasn't that she wanted a private space, she just wanted the option of owning a car.

I have a little bit of sympathy as they had been waiting for 12 years and I'm sure in that time she'd been dreaming of her perfect new home. When you have been waiting that long then I can see why it would be tempting to hold out for the perfect property if you are top of the list and won't lose your place if you turn places down.

[expatinscotland]

Then move out of London or get a job and rent that perfect place on the private market. Her children were all well past early years. PMSL at the option of owning a car. In Central London. Oh, diddums, I'm effectively banned from owning a car and stuck living in this gorgeous half-million pound flat with TWO bathrooms, three big bedrooms and all new appliances built in for cheap rent.

Then hire one when you need it! Or join a car club. Car club cars are able to park in certain areas. Or buy one and pay to park it somewhere on a private lot.

That flat was to die for and they were in an overcrowded tower flat.

I'm glad you can't just go turning down again and again. What a joke. She was a pisstaker. She'd only waited 12 years with that family crammed in because she was a pisstaker.

[EeTraceyluv]

[Catsnotrats]

I agree with restricting the number of times you can turn down.

But just on the car issue. I live in an area that is more central to where that flat is. I used to be a member of a car club and get the tube to work. I've now had a car for 2 years and tbh it costs me less to use it to commute to work than the tube and has cut my journey time in half. Plus I don't have to plan car journeys 2 weeks in advance to be able to use the car club one. My friend lives in a no-permit building round the corner from me and its a complete pita for her. She has looked in to hiring a private space, £150 a month compared to the £70 annual charge I pay for my permit.

I don't think it's reason enough to turn down the flat, but I just wanted to correct those who thought she wanted her own private parking space.

[Vivacia]

Just watched this (partly by accident). It really makes you count your blessings. What a minefield. What a disaster it was selling off the social housing.

[EeTraceyluv]

But she said they didn't have a car but might like to get one in the future!!!!

[JakeBullet]

In my area you only get two offers and then get removed from the list. If you are homeless/come out of the refuge etc then you get one offer and that is it.

I am in a lovely two bed house with a garden which I got because DS is autistic. It can't be bought which is fab because DS will have a home here for as long as he needs one.

My friend who came out of a Refuge was offered a two bed maisonette on the local sink estate...so bad it is slowly being demolished. She hates it but had no option other than accept it.

When I was offered this house they took me off of the Choice Based Lettings system they usually use and rehoused me as a priority under medical need. I am more grateful than I can say for my home.

Under Choice Based Letting locally you only get the address and a photo of the property exterior and don't get to look inside. If you bid and are successful then you get to look round but if you then turn it down it counts as one of your two firm offers.

Oh and you HAVE to bid a certain number of times, miss too many and they remove you from the waiting list.

[cantsleep]

I waited 6 long years for my council house. At the time I had 2 dcs and was living in one room. Despite us being overcrowded and dcs having medical problems I was band c for 5 of those 6 years only being moved up to the highest band when dd was seriously unwell.

I had to view my house with 5 other applicants, none of us knew what. Number we were we just had to say if we would take the house if offered and later that day I got a phone call telling me I was first on the list but could I consider it carefully as the people second had 4 dcs and were in b+b accomodation.

I was a bit shicked they said it to me, especially giving out details of others circumstances and trying to influence my decision. I since found out it costs LA lots to have families in b+b long term so maybe that was why they tried to put me off.

[cantsleep]

Shocked not shicked !

[dirtyface]

Under Choice Based Letting locally you only get the address and a photo of the property exterior and don't get to look inside

see that makes me mad jake. as if us people in social housing are somehow lesser than normal renters or buyers. they get to look round a house, often several times if they want, and take their time, understandably. but its like they are saying no, you filthy council dwellers, you dont deserve that, be grateful for a shitty picture, take it or leave it we dont give a shit if its disgusting inside, its tough. ffs

disgusting

oh i could rant for hours about this whole subject

[Jux]

I would increase Council Tax 400% on second homes, unless they are occupied full time - ie not just a family who like to spend a bit of time in the country, and don't really contribute to the local economy, and take up a home which a local family could live in full time.

I hate all the holiday homes around here which are empty except for a few weeks a year, and the odd weekend. We have so many young families having to bunk in with parents and so on.

[DioneTheDiabolist]

I live in a council house. It is not "social housing", it's my home. When I applied I was treated with kindness, respect and the utmost sensitivity. My housing officer was one of the few stars in a very dark part of my life. She listened to me, understood me, got me and DS a home (like how huge is that?) and her kindness and wisdom gave me hope.

Yeah, it's a home one street away from the Entrance To Hell, but it's quiet enough here, my neighbors are friendly enough and it has been our happy home for more than 5 years.

The benefits officers I have encountered here have been very helpful and lovely with it. I am aware and have experienced less lovely staff in other places.......But

And I think this is a big but,

I think that at these times I was a huge pain in their asses. I was clearly only going to be claiming for a short time. I was always looking for a job or had one lined up and just needed enough money to tide me over for a little while. Who wants to have to do all that work when the likelihood is that the claimant will have a job before you manage to get through all the paperwork involved in their claim.

I think that the benefits system should be made much easier. So that people who really just need it as a stop gap between jobs are not afraid to take work where we find it because it's temporary and the amount of hassle signing off and then on again and then off again is cut right down. It took my initial claim 3 months before I received any money. That puts people off taking the risk of getting a job that may not seem secure.

[MurderOfGoths]

"Under Choice Based Letting locally you only get the address and a photo of the property exterior and don't get to look inside."

Ours doesn't even necessarily use the outside of the property, just a property in the general vicinity. It's odd. I know the picture of our home wasn't actually our home and was instead one of the neighbours.

[JakeBullet]

I used to drive round to see where places were when I was in the bidding system of Choice Based Letting. I never got any of the properties I bid for as there were just too many people ahead of me.

In the end it was DS being autistic which got us housed by a housing association and then there was no bidding. A straight letter offering me the tenancy of this house once I had viewed it and deemed it suitable. It was and is suitable.....won't mention the previous tenant, the graffiti on the walls or dart board marks etc. I didn't get offered anything for redecoration either....had to do it as I had the money a little bit at a time.

[DioneTheDiabolist]

My LA don't provide money for decorating. But I was fortunate, my family bought me some cheap paint and helped me out with furniture. The ex tenant of my house sold me her washing machine, cooker, fridge freezer, wardrobes and sofas for £500. My mum gave her the money and I paid her back over time.

It is so much more difficult for those without support.

[creighton]

there were lots of things in that programme that show that a root and branch change of housing and housing allocation needs to be carried out in London in particular.

you shouldn't be able to fetch up in the country and expect to be given a council flat - man from the phillipines who then questioned the man interviewing him about his African origins

you shouldn't be able to turn down more than 2 properties without good reason without being put at the bottom of the housing list.

private accommodation should be subject to spot checks, it was unbelievable that a room was being rented out with a broken lock/door.

all property should be of a lettable standard i.e. there should be a functioning kitchen in the 3 bed house not a rubbish tip, so that the pensioner in this case could move straight in with his family.

showing five families a flat at the same time, how humiliating. I know that it costs a fortune to have staff waiting around all day to show a flat to several families but that was ridiculous.