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Original poster

How to get a council house

260 replies

JazzAnnNonMouse · 01/08/2013 21:02

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

OP posts:
JakeBullet · 07/08/2013 09:37

I definitely see what you mean William, the house I am in is less than 10 years old and before I was here it was occupied by a girl who wrecked it. When I moved in there was graffiti on the walls, marks on the ealls from dart boards, holes in the wall and many bags worth of rubbish in the garden.

The previous tenant was just 21 and had absolutely no appreciation for what she had been given here. She (or a boyfriend) had also hot wired the electricity meter which cost the supplier in replacing the meter etc. Police called intermittantly until their records wete updated trying to find the previous tenant and others.

I am 47, I have lived life and had private lets, mortgages and a lifetime (nearly) of work. I totally and utterly appreciate what I have here.

I will say that I have no idea what the life history of the previous tenant is....I assume given her behaviour here that it wasn't great. I suspect a difficult childhood.

williaminajetfighter · 07/08/2013 09:48

Yikes Jake - nightmare. How do you hotwire an electricity meter? There's a skill that I need to learn!

Auntfini · 07/08/2013 09:57

But William it isn't free accommodation. I do agree with some of what you say, the attitude of some people that they're entitled to a council house is fairly astounding, but they do pay rent!

xuntitledx · 07/08/2013 10:46

I watched this show and like others, felt a mixture of cross and empathy!

Re. the decorating, I'm not sure why people felt entitled to this? When we bought our house, it was also in need of complete redecoration, skip hire, new fixtures and fittings and modernisation - we didn't receive any help with this and nor would we have expected to. We couldn't afford to buy a more expensive house that didn't need this amount of work doing to it so we had to make do with what we could afford and do much of the work ourselves.

I also found it quite distasteful that families were able to sit at the top of the list turning down multiple properties because it didn't quite match their idea of the perfect home. My opinion of these people was that they were taking advantage of the social housing system - they clearly weren't desperate to move or that bothered about the overcrowding if they could afford to be so picky.

I also didn't feel that the show was geared up to 'benefit bash' either - there was barely any mention of the families situation and whether they were working or not working.

williaminajetfighter · 07/08/2013 11:19

Auntfini I know many people do pay rent and in some areas council rate is relatively similar to market rates so not cheap!

But it is free if the govt is paying for your housing benefit to pay for 100% of the rent. If someone gives you something I think that is called free.

The likelihood is that the grandfather was receiving £ to fund the rent but I'll not know for sure of course.

JakeBullet · 07/08/2013 15:34

...hot wiring an electricity meter.....I haven't a clue lol. But then again at 21 I doubt I knew what an electricity meter was, much less how to hot wire one. I suspect one of her boyfriends who probably learned it from his Dad before him.

Interestingly when the technician came out to fit a new meter he said it was rife Sad.

I moved in here mid December 2010...the electricity company instructed me not to touch the meter when I contacted them (took me three days to realise that the meter was a key meter with no credit on it...yet I still had power). The technician couldn't get out until the first week of January so I had three weeks of free electricity.

I have no idea if they pursued the previous tenant for the losses and for tampering with the meter. What I do know is that she has had another baby.....oh joy. She is still under 25.

GameSetAndMatch · 07/08/2013 18:06

netto. me too. its disgraceful

NettoSuperstar · 07/08/2013 19:15

I do believe people on this thread mean well, but are quite possibly falling for the editing.

I turned down three properties which were all great, then refused to move for a month into one of the most sought after in town.
I demanded money to sort it out, got the HA to do jobs they should never have had to do, and was a huge, entitled PITA.

I didn't turn down any properties which were suitable, I accepted the first one, and was very excited about it.
I was offered it well over two months before I was allowed to see inside it, and when I was allowed to see inside I had to sign for it immediately, and then be responsible for the rent from the next day.
That meant I had to pay rent on two properties, and find the money to move immediately, and everything that went with it.
I refused, as there were no floorboards, no heating, and my OT advised me not to.
I spent the following month getting work done on it to move in, and did as soon as I could.

That was January 3rd.
Christmas was spent in tears, and/or ill and having to pack my stuff into bin bags.

I love my home, I am lucky to have it, but don't kid yourself that the HA's are on your side.

Next chapter-the HA woman who told me I should move immediately as I'm not, 'fully disabled'.

RedHelenB · 08/08/2013 15:51

As you say William, you don't understand the concept of affordable social housing which the Grandad signed up for. presumably he got the bigger house because he was a priority case as his flat was about to be demolished! Good luck to him, it 's hard bringing up 2 kids at his age & i for one am glad he got that house!

Sleepyhoglet · 08/08/2013 21:10

Ooh getting racist!

BettyandDon · 08/08/2013 21:12

Terrible the young family don't want anyone to give them anything...except a house. Quite.

Sleepyhoglet · 08/08/2013 21:16

Then you're going to end up with nowhere to live.

Not my fault is it?

Speechless!

WetAugust · 08/08/2013 21:30

Can't see why the single chap with the serious heart condition is affected by the 'bedroom tax'. If he's so disabled that he cannot work then he'll no doubt be exempt from the rule?

Problem with this programme is it's too easy to get your judgey pants on. If you do people will tell you that all the cases featured are 'exceptional' when it's becoming increasing apparent that there is a sector of the community that simply will not (not cannot) take responsibility for themselves.

WetAugust · 08/08/2013 21:53

FFS! Bringing that chap in to tell him there were 4 people in front of him was fucking cruel - as well as a waste of his time and the housing association person's time dealing with it.

This system needs a flaming good shake up Angry

difficultpickle · 08/08/2013 21:57

I don't understand how the bidding processs works. Surely you should only be able to bid for properties that are the right size? If the lady with the two children was able to bid for 3 bedrooom then surely she should be entitled to it? Confused

williaminajetfighter · 08/08/2013 22:11

Yikes. That was depressing television.

Is there some kind of legal requirement in Manchester to have hideous looking big floral wallpaper?! Wink

Emz8369 · 08/08/2013 22:12

the woman at the beginning of the programme made me Hmm saying foreign people shouldnt get the houses yet the two kids sat beside her on the settee are clearly mixed race

williaminajetfighter · 08/08/2013 22:13

Oh and Ashe and Milly who will clearly be together forever and are the future stars of tomorrow were given a lifelong tenancy. Wtf?! I thought all tenancies were 5 yrs max.

Jubelteen · 08/08/2013 22:20

We heard it from the horses mouth at the end of the programme, the system is crazy and staff are doing their best to work with the rules. I felt so sorry for the poor bloke who didn't get the bungalow he thought he'd been offered, and the lady whose children were not quite old enough for a 3 bed house. The new Dad Ashley should be able to look for work and get on with decorating at weekends like everyone else has to, his earlier excuse was that he couldn't look for work until he knew where he was living.

williaminajetfighter · 08/08/2013 22:26

Emz, I don't think the woman on the sofa was, um, the head of her local Mensa chapter. Bloody depressing seeing the underbelly of the underclass and total no hopers. Sorry but she just seemed dense with her 'blah blah disgraceful...'

PearlyWhites · 08/08/2013 23:08

Disabled people are still subject to bedroom tax.
Yes in most areas social housing tenancies are quite rightly for life.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 08/08/2013 23:31

I thought the HO said Ashe and Milly were getting a provisional tenancy.

Nancy66 · 09/08/2013 08:46

Isn't the fact that council houses are offered for life part of the problem?

Surely that's what's led to the ludicrous situation of having people in London earning over £100k occupying council properties.

I think the tenants should be reassessed every five years or so and if their circumstances have changed then it's time to move in.

A roof over your head at a heavily subsidised price is a privilege and shouldn't be a lifelong one.

78bunion · 09/08/2013 09:11

The very bright girl with the 4 year old and her non working husband would probably find it easier to cope with their private rent if the husband perhaps tried to find some work to tide them over if he can and perhaps she, a student - could try for work too bar work, cleaning although I know even in Manchester jobs are hard to find. If he collects his girl from school every day may be he could do evening babysitting for people or she could?

soverylucky · 09/08/2013 09:24

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