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

[smokinaces]

Oi cowbag! You'll be saying my kitchen decor is bad next!

No, this one was an exchange so there wasn't anything apart from dirt left. But my previous house did have a whole loft full of crap. And a garden. And walls where they'd pulled all the paper down and the floorboards were awful. We begged and borrowed to decorate that place as it wasn't habitable at all, but we were homeless when we got it, and broke.

[Groovee]

My mistake I thought it was the couple with their son who was on a medical list. Wish we could know how they got on.

[NettoSuperstar]

One more thing about my HA.
I am about to get a new bathroom, I need a walk in shower.
The HA are insisting on replacing the toilet and sink too, with identical ones to what I have.
I have told them, and several people from there, many times, that I don't need or want a new sink or toilet.
They'll be replacing them anyway, as that's policy

[Groovee]

Netto, My husband works for a company installing boilers for a local council and they've been told to remove things which really don't need replacing and replace it anyway. The company cannot believe how much waste the council have when they are installing new kitchens, heating and bathrooms.

[NettoSuperstar]

It's madness.
They make up lies so as not to give me £117 to fix the mess my house was in, but insist on spending whatever it costs to replace my toilet and sink, for identical ones.

[williaminajetfighter]

Just a depressing show all round. The grandpa with two daughters seemed to expect to be housed by the council for the rest of his life like the council were somehow responsible for him. Ridiculous.

As a private tenant and owner I've moved into flats that were in worse condition and where I've had to shell our my own money for repairs and redecoration. And people are balking at having to spend money likely given to then by the govt as part of their income to do up a totally subsidised house.

The mind baffles at the mentality of some people and their belief at their expectations of govt support and involvement in their life. Entitled vs grateful is how some people came across with just a complete expectation of cradletograve govt support. Dire and depressing.

[JakeBullet]

I have also had to do the same william in private lets AND social lets. Apart from one home I have never been given anything towards decoration. One thing I WILL say though is that with private letting I had a choice, I could walk away from the property if it needed too much decoration....you cannot do that with a social let in many cases. Two offers and you are off the list.....even if each offered property does need work.

Also remember that social housing generally houses people who don't have the money to spare for decoration and yet many manage. When I got this house it had graffiti on the walls and 8 black bags full of rubbish in the garden....yes I counted every bag I filled. A private letting agency wouldn't have touched it with a barge pole until some of this was remedied yet it is perfectly acceptable to let it to a social tenant.

I am not moaning, I am bloody grateful to have this house and I welcome the lifelong tenancy because my son is autistic, he might always need to call this house home. I got nothing towards decoration but at the time I was working so was able to do this work (yes amazingly out of my own pocket....not everyone in social housing is unemployed).

Now two years on it looks okay here, the graffiti is covered, the garden looks like a garden, the floors are carpeted and it's a home....not the drug den it apparently was when the previous tenant was here.

The granddad with two granddaughters he had taken on ....he needed housing, I agree he doesn't need a lifelong tenancy in a three bedroom property but the system is at fault here not him, they could have given him a 20 year tenancy to be reviewed when the tenancy was up and he could have been rehoused at that point into a smaller property. Not his fault that the system needs looking at and addressing though.

[RedHelenB]

William - he had sole care of his grand daughters at his age - putting them in care would cost a lot more & he was promised council housing for life when he signed up in the 60's to the block that was being demolished by the council! i certainly didn't think he sounded entitled & where was the money for privaste rent to come from?

[dirtyface]

nettosuperstar thats crazy re the replacing the sink and toilet, where is the logic there, its just a complete waste of money

idiots :/

[Blondeshavemorefun]

Netto. What a waste of money and sure their budget could be spent better

If someone gets life tenancy does it get passed to their children? Hence the prob with 3bed houses and a single person living there?

Still don't know why grandad got a 3 bed place and not 2 and the girls share

What does annoy me - the families that say they need more space as overcrowded yet have more children

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

I think there was a backstory with the grandad getting a 3 bed place. He wouldn't normally be eligible no matter what priority band he was in so I assume there was another person who perhaps chose not to be filmed. I wondered if his child (daughter?) was still around but for some reason not able to care for the children full time.

[JakeBullet]

The tenancy only gets passed n if the child's name is on the tenancy agreement I think. I may have to do this at some point in the future as DS is autistic and might always need to call this house his home but it would be nice to think he could live independently.

I know a friend who was not allowed to take on a tenancy when her Mum died, despite the fact that she had been living there with her son for a significant amount of time.

If and when my son does manage to move out then I might well be able to downsize. I only have a two bedroom place though and judging by the home swap sites people seem to want houses with 3 -4 bedrooms. Hardly anyone wants to downsize which is amazing given the cut to HB.

[Nancy66]

The one I felt the sorriest for was Gertrude - the 83 year old who took on the first floor flat.

Within the next 5 years she's going to be either housebound or desperately trying to be rehoused.

[JakeBullet]

Yes that is crap Nancy much more thought and planning needs to go not allocation of places. Hard though because properties are so scarce but maybe that's why we should be allocating them more wisely.

[smokinaces]

Blondes if something were to happen to me, my boys could have my tenancy in trust, so someone like my sister could move in and care for them and they'd get the tenancy when they turned 18.

I wonder if the grandfathers girls weren't sisters, but cousins?

When I was originally housed I was given a three bed house even though I had a two and one year old son. There are very few two beds here, so priority housing often gets given three beds. The two beds were those that were bought first in the right to buy.

Gertrude the 83 year old made me sad too, desperate for her own place but at her age already struggling with the steps :-(

[Blondeshavemorefun]

Smokin - that's nice to know that of something did happen to you that your boys are looked after - tho assumed would go and live with their dad?

Yes the older woman was sad - guess there are not many ground floor one bed flats about - assuming anyone who is disabled /has disabled children want ground floor so they get first pick

Or make sure places with high floor flats have working lifts

[smokinaces]

Not neccesarily blondes re. The going to live with their dad. I need to have a think about it all in all seriousness but he wouldn't cope with full pr and care. So it would most likely be a split thing, with my sister and mum involved but them staying primarily resident in their current house.

[Blondeshavemorefun]

Then I hope you have a will making your feelings known smokin

If not then please get one. Not having a will when dh died :( caused me so much hassle and we were the easiest to sort out - as in married but no kids

[78bunion]

And there is nothing you can put in a will which removes the remaining parent's rights (although if the other parent says they are happy not to have the children with them that is all fine - but they can insist whatever the will or a letter of wishes might say)

[smokinaces]

No, its not written down, but its not something I would insist on if that makes sense. They know my feelings, I have the shared care option and my house if they want it. If their father does feel he can have full care then that's fine, but he knows there are options if he doesn't. He is their father and able to make that decision, I can just advise. All money if I die goes to my mother and the children and that is done through legal paperwork.

[williaminajetfighter]

jakebullet your points are valid but a lot of private renters have to do a LOT of work on properties; not everything is left to landlords. I just think there needs to be a realization that it's not super-easy for people in private or house owners who have to buy dumps and invest in doing them up.

Redhelen I still stand by the grandfather seeming overly entitled. Who cares if he was told he would have lifelong tenancy in the 1960s? Who assumes they are going to be housed by the govt for the rest of their lives?! Plus using that claim that 'if he wasn't looking after the children they would have to be looked after by the state' is bonkers logic. I've read this before on MN when carers say they are saving the local authorities loads of money because if they weren't caring for their relatives the LA would have to. It's just bonkers logic especially as fundamentally no one should assume the govt is there to look after one's family and relatives. I work and look after my children - should I get a voucher from the Local Authority for doing this and saving them money?? We need to put an end to this kind of super-crazy way of thinking. The govt should be a LAST DITCH support for people not a nanny state.

[CoTananat]

It's not bonkers. All the long stay hospitals have closed. Now carers do that work, much more cheaply. If they did not do it the state would have to reopen the long stay institutions. It's wrong to treat carers as an economic burden, as it is wrong to treat disabled people as same. No one chooses to have a broken neck. You chose* to have your children; do you not see the difference?

*Though of course it's pragmatic and wise for us as a society to create circumstances within which that is a possible and rewarding choice, as we need children to sustain society

[JakeBullet]

However William, if a child is disabled then caring for that child os a whole new ball game when compared with caring gor a child who is not disabled.

For instance parents of children NOT disabled tend to get a full nights sleep once those early years are over. I am still not getting a full nights sleep witb a 10 year old who is autistic. The issue is SO severe that it cost me my job. I left before things got worse but the bottom line is that I was making mistakes in a job which I just couldn't afford to make mistakes in.

That's just ONE difference.

I am now DS' s carer, not a decision I took lightly, on fact I agonised for 18 months trying shorter hours before I finally made the decision.

I am now in social housing. ...long story but at tbe moment I have no option. Not everyone will earn enough to use the private sector. Maybe that grandfather was one of them and needs lifelong social housing.

I am fortunate as until three years sgo I earned enough to privately rent and before thst had a mortgage. Some people will never be in that position. I doubt I will ever earn enough to be in my previous position again. Nor will I likely give up my tenancy as my son might always need to csll this house his home.

Many people work and earn for their children, sometimes though life is harder. Some disabilities are exhausting and reach into all areas of life. Fact remains that if we DON'T support carers and they go under then tbeir children WILL need care at a substantially greater cost to the tax payer.

I worked for nearly 30 years before giving up work. When I did finally make the decision I was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. A year on I feel like a new person. ..I care for my son, I actively volunteer to support other families in similar situations and I will work again in the future.

My friend whose daughter is physically disabled might never work again. She is not being idle or just expecting the state to pick up the tab. She physically cannot do thst snd care for her child. The cost to the state of full time care of her daughter would be astronomical. ....she saves the taxpayer a massive amount.

[williaminajetfighter]

CoTananat and Jake I completely see what you're saying and I realize there are always going to be circumstances where the state needs to intervene and provide support. Life isn't perfect and situations arise where short and long-term support is needed.

I think what I'm fundamentally opposed to is this cradletograve notion that people go to the state for so many elements of their life, from their housing to assistance with jobs, care etc with the the local authority on speed dial. I'm not originally from the UK (but British citizen now) and find the attitude here, particularly in some communities, really bonkers in the way they view the state and their entitlement to support and involvement. I think the aim of every functioning adult is to have as limited govt involvement in their life as possible but I find my view is VERY unpopular here and considered almost rude. why?

So what I found irritating about the show was the way the man just assumed that he was going to be housed forever and the housing assn/council was going to sort out his accommodation for him and even then he was going to complain about not being satisfied. Free accommodation buddy. Complain away.