The housing market as a feminist issue

[Bennifer]

This is a conflation of two thoughts. Firstly, the idea that it's ok to be single, and secondly, the rise of cost in housing so that people are priced out.

In my circle of friends I know single women, who, because they're single are in poor housing. One of my friends even stays with a partner because otherwise she'd be in a grotty houseshare or bedsit.

One of knock-on effects of high housing costs is the effect it has on women, and the difficulty of being independent single women.

Another one here; Hate linking to the Daily Mail, but the title shocked me. 1 in 4 women will retire below the poverty line (That's 25%) compared to 12% of men.

Peanut is right, it happened to me. I got flamed at the time on AIBU for suggesting the bank might have been unreasonable!

There is someone doing a research paper on it, supposed to be published around the time of the party conferences. Its likely a breach of the Equal Opportunities Act and the Human Rights Act.

So what is the answer?
House ownership may well be out of the reach of many women, but those with children are positively discriminated when it comes to council properties and housing benefit.
How many single young men are pushed to the back of the housing queues by pregnant young women?
Single mothers on benefits are substantially better supported than single men or single fathers without custody.
I think it goes without saying that the pay gap needs fixing. That's a given.

How is it being 'pushed to the back of the queue'?

As I understand it, accommodation is allocated based on need. You're not really suggesting it's a good idea for newborns to be homeless?! And the fathers of those babies ought to be making their contribution too - pregnant young women do not just grow on branches.

As to the 'answer', valuing women's work properly would be a start, but that's a big thing. In terms of small things, it might help if mortgage/bank stupidities like those described above were sorted out!

Are you suggesting that people should be allocated council housing on a 'first come first served' basis, regardless of need Justfecking? That children should be left homeless so that a single adult can have a home?

Or that single mother's children should be housed and she not?

I don't see how you can get around 'pushing' pregnant women to the front of the queue and maintain fairness.

OK, the housing market if we're looking at it from a council point of view is corrupt.

But, it's assessed on a needs basis. When I moved to the town I'm in now, I would have been placed on silver banding as I was living in a refuge, and our council maintained that we still had a roof over our heads. Every other refuge I was in, women were placed on gold banding, as we were sharing accommodation with up to 11 other women. We'd have out own bedrooms, but we'd share 2 or 3 bathrooms and 1 or 2 kitchens. It was deemed overcrowding, and believe me... when you're having to take turns to make dinner come 5pm, it definitely is overcrowding. Anyway. In the eyes of the law, for those few months, I was regarded as homeless.

The last refuge I was in, as we had self contained flats, we were deemed as being low in need of accommodation (even though these flats were in short suppply)I knew of women who had their baby in that refuge, I knew of one woman who was there for 2 years because she went through the council list. The rest of us were told to go through a housing association which actually gave us priority. Unfortunately, this housing association was operated in partnership with the council, and some of the properties we got sent to view were horrendous... And when we refused to take them for whatever reason, we were threatened with court action. The first property I turned down, I turned down as I knew drug dealing went on in the block of flats the flat was located in. The second property I turned down, I did so through safety issues with the property. Yet, when I raised these with the refuge, th council's default was to tell the refuge manager that I was full of shit.

Anyway, for those who are truly homeless, who would you rather see go without for just a while longer? A young mother with a screaming 6 week old baby? Or a young man, who could probably couch surf for a few weeks? And please don't bring up the "loads of teenagers are getting pregnant just to get a council house". Because they're not. Seems too much like hard work to me, and through all the time I spent with the young mum's group at surestart about 3 years ago, I never heard one person say that was their motivation for having a child. Ever.

SGM - I have to say, they're not all like that. Our block of flats is council owned, some people here are renting privately from when the flats were bought from the council and others are council housing still - it is not bad at all IMO.

I would think simple arithmetic indicates that for all these 'pregnant young women' whose partners are not mentioned, there must be a roughly equivalent number of 'single young men'.

x post with you dontcall.

Reading your story ... that's awful. And it's the babies and children - who have made none of the 'choices' mentioned earlier on this thread, that apparently women should make - who suffer.

I don't believe for one second that these women shouldn't take priority but I AM saying that women are better served in this area of housing than many men.

And being pregnant and continuing with a pregnancy is choice. You can choose to end a pregnancy until very late on.

Sorry Dontcall I hope that I didn't offend you . I meant that women with children and pregnant women should be given priority.

Perhaps that doesn't come across well.

Your story really is horrific.

Ah, so women should have an abortion because society should provide housing for the menz.

But what if you don't want to end a pregnancy, just because your ex has kicked you out, or beaten the hell out of you? Or you become homeless at 25 weeks pregnant?

Of the 42 women I met in refuge, the abusive ex has always kept the property. I wouldn't have left my flat if I'd felt I could stay.

No one is saying they shouldn't take priority.
But the fact is that women with children take priority over men in these instances.

As for mortgages, I haven't worked for many years but my name has always been on the mortgage and the house deeds and I've never had to argue my case etc etc.

No, no, TheRealMBJ, I knew where you were coming from. You'd have to try pretty fucking hard to offend me...

Was aimed at justfeckinggoogleit.

BMJ, now you are putting words in my mouth.

I said women have choices.
Are you suggesting pregnant women, don't?

Why has the abusive Ex kept the property?
My ( non abusive) DH cannot legally stay in our home if we separate.

Elaborate on that, justfeckinggoogleit

On what?

Because the default is that the victim "flees". These were often joint tenancies (or in my case, I'd lived with my partner 4 years, and he refused to add me to the tenancy and the council wouldn't add me without his say so)

On your post at 09:23

Do you not have legal recourse with a joint tenancy? I don't know, I'm asking. I know that if you own a property you can't just be kicked out without a bean, even if you flee.

Choices about pregnancy?

You can choose to continue a pregnancy or not. That's a given, no? Abortion on demand is something women have fought tirelessly for, thank god.

Here's a factsheet about DV and housing rights Although, I've yet to meet one woman who felt her abuser would have allowed her to live in peace had she stayed and kicked him out. The only time I tried kicking XP out (would have been until the morning when I could get away) he kicked in the door. I also know he bricked his ex's windows with his other DS and DSS inside.